Chinese automotive brand Great Wall Motors launched a new model in Dubai this week. Till date, the only Great Wall models available in the UAE were pickup trucks, and this would be the local dealer’s first foray into the car market, with the release of the Great Wall Florid sub-compact car. Ironically, it seems like the launch event only involved the traditional media, with possibly no actual automotive publications invited.
Lincoln, Ford’s oft-forgotten luxury division, displayed their latest models at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Motor Show at the Ford stand itself. While the focus is on the MKX this year, Lincoln also quietly launched the 2011 MKT crossover in the GCC, essentially a completely-redone version of the Ford Flex.
BMW had a track event at the Dubai Autodrome racetrack last week. Dubbing it “X Meets M Roadshow”, it was an attempt by BMW to legitimise the X5 M and the X6 M as true sporting vehicles worthy of the M badge, while also having the M3 as well as regular X5 and X6 models at hand for comparison. Interestingly, it was even open to the public, and all you had to do was sign up on BMW’s regional website for a slot. The only problem was BMW’s local outfit chose to advertise this event on everywhere except the Middle East’s most popular car website,
Last week we picked up a 2011 Lexus RX 350 for a couple of days to see what updates the crossover has received for the new model year, as well as to have a comfortable ride to travel to the Abu Dhabi Motor Show, an hour-and-a-half drive from the centre of Dubai. On the day we returned the Lexus, we also received a 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe for only a day. There won’t be any of our quirky comparison tests, but there will be ‘first drive’ stories soon on both these cars.
Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah cruised to a comfortable victory in the 32nd Dubai International Rally today but lost his FIA Middle East title to fellow-Qatari driver Misfer Al Marri.
ويشكّل طراز ماكلارين إم بي4-12سي المبتكَر بداية عصر جديد ضمن الفئة الجوهرية للسيارات الرياضية. فهذا الطراز المكوّن من مقعدين وبمحرّك وسطي، يقوم على هيكل شاسيه أحادي من ألياف الكربون (Carbon MonoCell). وهذه المرة الأولى التي ترتكز فيها سيارة ضمن هذه الفئة على حلول هندسية قوية وخفيفة الوزن مستوحاة مباشرة من عالم رياضات السيارات. كما أنها المرة الأولى التي تُصنّع فيها أي سيارة بهيكل من قطعة واحدة مكوّن من ألياف الكربون.
When the Skoda dealer rep dropped off the 2011 Superb 3.6 at our doorstep and gave me a briefing, he chose to swiftly mention one little feature, called Park Assist, which we thought was just a parking sensor system. Later we were digging through the instruction manual to figure out where the USB port was (there isn’t one), and we found the section that told us how to operate the automatic parallel parking feature!
For those not in the know, Skoda is a Czech brand owned by Volkswagen. Skoda does fine in Europe, selling variantions of VW platforms alongside Seat and Audi. But thanks to sub-standard dealers and all sorts of internal politics, the brand never took off in the UAE. Now a new dealer has taken over sales of Skoda in the UAE, and they are looking to move cars in a big way instead of playing second-fiddle to VW. To coincide with the launch of their Dubai showroom a couple of weeks ago, dealers Ali & Sons released the 2011 Skoda Superb 3.6,
The current-generation Lexus LS 460 has always been available with a powerful direct-injection 4.6-litre V8 in other markets. However, when the latest LS was launched in 2007, it came with a detuned V8 for the GCC market, possibly over concerns of poor petrol quality in some countries in this region. Now the UAE dealer has rectified that.
Al-Futtaim Motors, the exclusive dealer for Lexus in the UAE, launched the new IS models, including the IS-F, at a Dubai Autodrome event.