GCC

The holy month of Ramadan is a time for being humble and hungry, so it pains us to see it being turned into a commercial enterprise where hotels that generally serve booze year-round try to entice customers with overpriced “ramadan tents” and car dealers start offering interest-laden products with “take loan now, get screwed later” offers. However, we don’t really mind genuine discounts in the spirit of Ramadan, and as such, the car market comes alive during this time. We just had a boost in traffic to our website thanks to people researching various models for purchase. Here is a list of the top 10 most researched vehicles on our website this Ramadan,

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Last year, when we actually had some contact with Ford, we were told that the Ford F-150 Raptor would come to the GCC eventually, but only in four-door form fitted with a larger 6.2-litre V8, instead of the two-door version with the 5.4-litre V8 that debuted in 2009. The four-door version has finally come to fruition, dubbed the 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor SuperCrew.

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The new Chevrolet Cruze sedan is selling well in many parts of Europe, South America, China and India. The car was just introduced in the United States too, and the car is already on sale in South Korea and Australia under Daewoo and Holden badges respectively, making it a true “world” car. Sales in the Middle East have yet to pick up, but we actually have one in our fleet right now to investigate further why it is so popular elsewhere. General Motors is hard at work to extend their market share however. Europeans love hatchbacks more than sedans for some reason,

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The U.S. market has just received a new SX trim level for the 2011 Kia Sorento. The Sorento SX comes with a unique new front bumper, LED tail lights, 18-inch wheels, chrome trim and, most importantly, new “Dual Flow Damper” shock absorbers that make the ride more comfortable while retaining car-like handling. Interestingly, there were so many complaints about the regular Sorento’s harsh ride quality over bumps that Kia has decided to make the “DFD” shocks standard on all U.S. Sorento models for the 2011 model year.

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The U.S. NHTSA safety agency has announced a recall on the 2010 Kia Soul and the 2011 Kia Sorento, apparently to replace interior lighting wiring harnesses.

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The Dodge Durango, once a full-size 4×4 joke that was so bad, that production ended in 2008 but you could still buy a brand new one in 2010, has been completely revamped for 2011, now that it is based on the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee platform.

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While some say that car sales are picking up around the world, the recession is busy taking names and beating up stragglers in the automotive marketplace. Manufacturers are keen on cutting models that are underperforming in terms of sales, either because demand has subsided or because they were niche models in the first place. Here is a list of eight good cars that have either been confirmed for cancellation soon or have rumours circling in the media about their demise.

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We figured we were done with how the 2011 Hyundai Accent will look, when the Chinese-market Hyundai Verna was launched this April at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show. However, it seems Hyundai is introducing multiple variants of that car in different markets. The Hyundai “RB Concept” was just launched at the 2010 Moscow Auto Show, looking very showroom-ready, and destined for local production and sale in Russia. It is possible that this is the car that will reach the GCC as the Hyundai Accent.

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The Toyota Corolla, quite possibly the most popular car in the world, is being recalled in the U.S. over engine stalling issues. So far, the recall is only for 2005 to 2008 models built in the United States.

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The European-spec Lexus IS has been facelifted, but with no real mechanical changes. However, the changes are so minor that we’re hard-pressed to figure out what they are.

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