News

The biggest vehicle I’ve spun the wheels on is a van. Some have done it with a bus. Watch where you cross the road.

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This is probably the beginning of the end for petrol-powered cars. A Japanese company called Genepax, dedicated to finding ways to turn water into power, has unveiled what it calls the first practical car to run solely on water. The firm claims putting just one litre of water is enough to keep its automobile going for 60 minutes at a respectable speed of 80 kph. And the water can be from the tap, falling rain or even from rivers.

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BMW let loose their designers to create the weirdest possible concept car, and they came up with the GINA Light Visionary Model. GINA stands for “Geometry and Functions in ‘N’ Adaptations” and the car’s single most interesting feature is its outer skin, which is made entirely out of textile fabric, pulled tightly around a frame of metal parts and carbon-fibre wires. The best part of this BMW Z4 lookalike is that it can change shape.

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The Kia Mohave is apparently for sale in the GCC already. We only find out about local Kia news through third-party sources, since the Kia’s regional reps generally suck at communication. I found out through a billboard on the street. We also believe the truck-based offroadable Mohave is only available in “280 hp” 3.8-litre V6 form. We already reported on the Mohave before. Anyway, I am using this opportunity to announce that from now on, I’ll start replacing the term “4WD” with the term “SUV” in reference to such vehicles.

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The controversial Toro Rosso STR2 was brought to the UAE and was briefly displayed in front of the Yellow Hat auto accessories superstore at Times Square Mall in Dubai. The STR2, brought in to showcase Advanti Racing wheels, was only shown over the weekend of June 5 to 8.

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One of our readers, Mohamad, pointed us to a thread at nissan-arabia.com, showcasing photos of a consignment of seven American-spec 2008 Nissan GT-R models which have made their way to Abu Dhabi for local customers who can’t wait till next year’s release of a GCC-spec version. The same reader also spotted a GT-R at a Nissan workshop in Dubai, probably used for technician training. Yet another reader, Don, spotted the all-new 2009 Nissan Maxima trundling around at a freezone in Dubai, which is the first real confirmation that the new Maxima is indeed coming to the GCC.

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I figured I should go over Dubai’s heavily-hyped hybrid taxis a bit more, considering the general media is happy just reprinting press releases. Operated by the much-loved Road & Transport Authority (RTA), the cars — five Chevy Malibu Hybrids and five Chevy Tahoes Hybrids — are beginning their one-year trial to see if they survive the Middle Eastern heat and whether they actually save any fuel in this publicity stunt.

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The week when we picked up our first Infiniti EX35, we also drove a Honda Accord, a Jaguar XF and a CSV CR8, while also covering the Yellow Hat tint install on our BMW M Roadster — a hectic week for sure. I didn’t spend too much time going over the EX35’s features after measuring its performance figures. So we asked for an EX35 again, before I take a break from testing any more cars for a while. This second greyish EX35 is actually a different car than our previous silver tester, but all else was the same,

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Dubai’s Road & Transport Authority (RTA) has, over the last few weeks, come up with various ideas that they are going to implement over the coming months. Some of these ideas seem to be confidential in nature, but Gulf News somehow always gets their hands on official sources.

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The Nissan Xterra 4WD and Navara pickup have been facelifted for the 2009 model year.

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