Proton, Malaysia’s national carmaker, was first made available in the UAE more than a decade ago. Using Mitsubishi-derived designs and engines, the two models never made waves, quickly disappearing long before we were even out of college. Now, it looks like Proton is preparing a comeback with their Gen-2 model.
One of the local favorites, the Infiniti FX, has received a mild facelift with changes confined to a slight bumper redesign and nothing much else.
Honda has unveiled their latest iteration of the slow-selling Pilot. Changes are limited to a facelift and a new transmission.
The 2012 Honda CR-V is coming by the end of the year, but the Japanee firm is going to preview the new crossover with this near-production “concept” version at a future auto show, as seen in this leaked photo.
If you’d been waiting for the next-generation Toyota Innova with breathless anticipation, your struggle is now over. The 2012 Toyota Innova was just unveiled at the 2011 Bangkok Auto Show, and it is simply a facelift.
The Toyota Fortuner, soulmate of the Toyota Hilux pickup on which it is based, has just received a facelift for 2012. It has already been revealed in Thailand, where it is built.
Down here in the Middle East, running a business without a Toyota Hilux means you are a loser. Though only a commercial workhorse, there are not many humans on this planet who has not seen or heard of this thing. And with so many achievements, from aiding the world masses with their routine chores to serving wars to conquering terrains where no Jeeps or Patrols have dared to roam, there is little wonder in this epitome of reliability being so popular everywhere. For 2012, Toyota UK has decided to give the Hilux some facial treatments and energy boost while also subjecting it to an interior-beautification therapy.
It easily goes without saying that Toyota Yaris rules the sub-compact car segment in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC. First introduced in 2006, Yaris became such a hit among the public that it simply wiped off the competition, gaining much more success rate than its predecessors, the Tercel and the Echo. And probably that is why Toyota decided to refresh the ongoing Yaris instead of moping it off the line-up, like they did with its ancestors. Toyota UK has taken covers of their all-new 2012 Yaris – and we are probably looking at the same “global” shape that may enter our region too.
Hyundai is the talk of the town these days. Having rolled out several new models in a seemingly short span of time, all so well engineered, well designed and well priced, Hyundai has already caused quite a stir in the market dominated by the Japanese giants. And the increasing damage they are continuing to cause the Japanese monopoly is evident from the shaken chiefs of some major Japanese automakers stepping into the limelight themselves for praising their own upcoming models, in a sad bid to counter competition. As part of Hyundai’s scheme of kicking the Japanese and everyone else out of the game,
German carmaker BMW has just expanded their 6-series line-up for 2012 with the introduction of four new variants – the 640d Coupe, 640d Covertible, 650i xDrive Coupe and 650i xDrive Convertible.