Feature Stories

We held our sixth quick meet back before the start of summer. Direct invites went out to our meet regulars while a last-minute announcement about the meet was made in the MyRide forums, so that we could keep it a small affair where everybody gets to talk to everybody. It was again a great afternoon, as our Honda S2000 made its first public appearance, and we brought along a Lexus IS 300C and a Lexus GS 350 so our attendees could take a closer look at them, and even take them for a spin.

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In a move that no one expected, the Fisker Karma just became the first plug-in electric car to officially go on sale in the Middle East. Mitsubishi briefly thought about making an entry here with the i-MiEV, while Chevrolet has a couple of Volts running around Dubai since last year for so-called tests that never seem to end. But the upstart brand Fisker managed to come to market first, with a launch event held in the UAE.

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This one was a long time coming. Sure, everybody else is busy comparing the Toyota 86 to everything from the VW Scirocco to the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. But aside from the Mazda MX-5, there was only one other car that’s similar to the 86 in recent history, and it’s the Honda S2000. It ceased production only 3 years ago, so it is still possible to buy one on the used market. And whadaya know, we actually own one in our fleet. And our car also happens to be one of the lowest-mileage S2000s in the world. This was going to be interesting.

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The most anticipated cars in this region are always the cars that are near the top of the sales charts, and the Nissan Altima happens to be one of those. As the second-best-selling midsize sedan in the Gulf, the 2013 Nissan Altima is going to be all over the streets of Dubai by the end of this year, and with good reason. The new car has improved in all the right ways.

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When we were driving the top-spec automatic version of the Toyota 86 recently, one of our contributors happened to be testing the base manual version at the same time. So I and George here were in the unique position to check out the differences between the two cars, considering there is a sizeable difference in price between the two.

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When we got the call to come drive the “new” Rolls-Royce Phantom models in Dubai, I had to think hard to remember why they were calling them new models. Then it hit me that Rolls-Royce did launch “new” models of their Phantoms, if only with minor changes. The Phantom Series II may just be a facelift, but the new tech added brings the flagship up to modern standards.

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For a little recap, the Audi TT in its current guise has been around in the GCC since 2007. The first generation was produced from 1999 to 2006, which impressed with its controversial shape, which while certainly different, was not to everyone’s taste. Still, several thousands were sold all over the world for the way it looked, if not for its notorious handling.

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The latest 2012 Porsche 911 is the first all-new design for this long-running sports car since 1998, when it first went water-cooled. Every model before that was simply an update on the original design that debuted in 1963! With cars like the Nissan GT-R proving that the Germans can be beaten at their own game, engineering stagnation is something Porsche cannot take for granted any more, and with the new 911, they have moved their star model further upscale. The only job left now, as per tradition, is to churn out a million variants, the first of which is the 911 Cabriolet.

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Michael Bay pitched his idea about transformers to the legendary producer/director Stephen Spielberg by starting with the line “It’s about a boy”. Why should this article be any different? I was told that “she” was the last model for the year 2008 left for sale in the entire UAE when I walked into the showroom late September that year. I was told that “she” was customised for the director of Dodge in Abu Dhabi. I was also told, if not “her”, then I would have to wait for another 6 months. The “boy” in me couldn’t wait, wouldn’t wait.

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