5 Mar 2008
Local news round-up: Lexus, F1, Honda
Lexus unveiled their 2008 LX570 luxury 4WD in Dubai yesterday. The vehicle is largely based on a Toyota Land Cruiser, but includes a unique front end, a detuned 362 hp 5.7-litre V8, special trim and a totally different interior design. Interesting features include front, rear and right-side parking cameras, as well as active cruise control, variable suspension and a pricetag of Dhs 325,000.
Meanwhile, at a recent press conference in Dubai for the Gulf Air-sponsored Bahrain F1, it was mentioned that flights are getting full for the April 4-5-6 racing days, and it is advisable to book right now. A second grandstand has been built to double the spectator capacity for this latest event. Apparently the availability of hotel rooms has also improved this year.
And Honda must’ve put their new Accord coupe on sale by now in the GCC, if plans to release on March 1 have been followed. The Accord coupe comes hot on the heels of the new Nissan Altima coupe, which was put on sale locally just two weeks ago.
Pending reviews at this point include the Nissan Altima V6, the Lincoln MKZ, the Honda Accord Coupe and the Bentley Continental GT Speed. I’ll also do a write-up soon on my high-stakes drive up and down the Jebel Hafeet mountain road in the heavy Bentley, which turned out to be more nerve-wracking than our Accord coupe track drive.
by Saad Bashar, on March 5 2008 @ 6:30 pm
Why? Is the Bentley a bad handling car, or were you afraid of damaging a 1 million dirham ride??
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on March 5 2008 @ 7:17 pm
There’s more to the story.
by Bashar Dahdah, on March 6 2008 @ 12:06 am
yay
it looks very nice. i can’t wait to see the performance figures and some interior shots
by Ace, on March 6 2008 @ 1:02 am
Any news on the new Mazda 6 and Infiniti EX…I thought they were launching in march as well
by thatsit(mohamad), on March 6 2008 @ 8:21 am
mash, my father told me that there are increases in the prices of some cars in UAE(he read this from a newsletter)..is that true?? and what are those cars???
by cb, on March 6 2008 @ 11:16 am
the car was so heavy that once on top of jebal hafeet, the mountain sank a few meters down. mash is now in jail for causing damage to natural resources.
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on March 6 2008 @ 11:46 am
thatsit, prices have always been going up randomly. That’s why I cannot keep up with the guide. And cb is a jackass.
by cb, on March 6 2008 @ 12:09 pm
by thatsit(mohamad), on March 6 2008 @ 11:51 pm
loooooooooooooooooooool
by Saad Bashar, on March 8 2008 @ 11:20 am
Haha cb you are so funny. Looking forward to another comment from you.
by Zao, on March 10 2008 @ 7:05 pm
hey Mash..Mazda 6 is launched today…..i was there at the auh showroom…car looks cool….but new model is bit pricey….2.5ltr full option is Dhs 94000 - 98000 depending on sedan or hatchback…..options are much better than accord n camry….
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on March 10 2008 @ 8:11 pm
Thanks for the heads-up, Zao. Someone else told me too. Shows you how well Mazda markets their cars - they didn’t even send me a press release.
by Zao, on March 11 2008 @ 1:10 am
lol being a mazda owner i had invitation for visiting auh car launch….
by wish, on March 12 2008 @ 4:30 pm
twin cousin of land cruser i seriously have problems with the design espcially “the back” the performance still the best toyota