We are all used to those banners plastered around malls announcing discounts for customers. It is such a norm in Dubai that some outlets have discounts throughout the year. Keeping in mind with this image, Dubai police have announced 30% discount on traffic fines that were accumulated before September 10th 2011.
“The ZL1 delivers more horsepower than a Ferrari 458, more torque than an Aston Martin DB9 V12, and a better power-to-weight ratio than a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.” — Camaro Chief engineer, Al Oppenheiser.
An all-new European Honda Civic is on its way with spy shots and official teaser photos circulating on the internet. But emission restrictions have already ceased sales of the current stock Type-R across most of Europe this year. So keeping in line with the current trend of launching limited editions of limited editions, Mugen and Honda have upped the ante by launching a 2.2-litre version of the existing Civic Type-R Mugen.
This prototype Mercedes-Benz was caught refuelling at a petrol station in Dubai. Mercedes-Benz prototypes have become a common fixture on roads in the UAE for hot-weather testing, which is probably a good thing considering how “well” European cars fair in the Middle East climate.
Harley-Davidson Middle East and North Africa, maker of “heavyweight” motorcycles, is holding an Open House Day in every Middle East country on September 17 this year, under the name of “Make Every Day Count”. The Open House Day will introduce new 2012 Harley models in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and which will “allow both riders and non-riders to experience the true spirit of Harley-Davidson” at dealerships across the Middle East.
It is rather odd that we’re having to depend on our readers for important car launches when it is us who should be hearing from carmakers. Nissan has already plopped the manual-gearbox version of the 2012 Nissan Patrol in some showrooms around the UAE, and these are the first photos.
So I racked up another 10,000 kms on my Mondeo, and it was time to visit the dealer again for a service -– a major one this time. The major-service interval for the Mondeo falls every 50,000 km; my car which has done a tad less than 40,000 km, has gone through the major service. For those who bothered to follow the previous long term reports of this car, the story behind doing a 50,000-km service despite car doing only 40,000 kms will be nothing new.
Since we drove the new 2011-2012 Ford Explorer this month, before it even hit showrooms we might add, there has been many requests for more specs on the vehicle, such as available GCC trim levels and prices. As the first few vehicles trickle down to customers via UAE dealers, Ford has sent us the full spec sheets for the various Explorer versions.
Our run with Volkswagens continues, this time with the VW Scirocco 2.0TSI. After driving the VW Golf R, we didn’t expect much from this one, but our time with the car has been pleasantly surprising.
We got a chance to briefly test-drive the 2011 Kia Cerato Koup at the Dubai dealership when we went in as potential customers. Oh my, from where to where the Kias have come – what a car the Cerato Koup is! For the first time ever, I found a vehicle that has its roots in Asia while having a pure European character – rivalling some of the European marques!