I have been regularly poking fun at the Hummer H2 almost since the early days of this website. So it came as a bit of a surprise that, during my never-ending vacation from testing cars, I got a call from GM asking if I’d like to test the updated Hummer H2. In traditional hypocritical Dubai fashion, I said yes. Read more… »

The 2010 Cadillac SRX has been revealed, alongside the CTS sport-wagon. While the older SRX was based on the larger rear-driven CTS platform, the new SRX will be based on a smaller front-driven platform to be shared with the upcoming Saab 9-4X. Read more… »

Cadillac has developed a station-wagon version of their CTS luxo-sport sedan. The midsize estate is really targeted towards the hatch-loving European market, where GM expects 60% of all CTS sales to be of this big-assed variety. Read more… »

Just as Lexus is to Toyota and Infiniti is to Nissan, Japanese carmaker Honda has a luxury brand in the United States called Acura, churning out unique cars since the early 90s. Their latest creation is the incredible 2009 Acura TL, and it is unfortunate that Honda does not intend to bring the Acura brand here. Read more… »

Considering all the hype over the debut of the new 2010 Camaro, Ford brought out its fully-camouflaged 2010 Mustang prototype at an event in the United States. Read more… »

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, which more or less looks just like the overexposed prototype, is going to be revealed on July 21 in the United States, and these are the first photos. Powered by a 300 hp 3.6-litre V6 or a 400+ hp 6.2-litre V8, and riding on a shortened Lumina SS platform with four-wheel independent suspension, the new Camaro already makes the low-tech Mustang seem outdated by three decades. Read more… »

General Motors has announced that they will soon unveil a new compact car called the 2010 Chevrolet Cruze, ready for release by mid-2009. The fact that it will be launched at the 2008 Paris Auto Show in October, and that it will also be available in the United States, hints at a new “world” car that will rival the Toyota Corolla and the Ford Focus in international reach. The car has already been spotted undergoing testing in USA. Read more… »

Ford has revealed the 2009 Focus RS hot hatch that they’re going to show at this month’s London Motor Show. Along with all the body-kit pieces you see in the photos, the car will pack a 295 hp 2.5-litre turbocharged 5-cylinder, using 410 Nm of torque through the front wheels, good for 0-100 kph runs under 6 seconds. Read more… »

I was pissed when my PR dodo told me he arranged a test-drive during my self-imposed break from road tests. It didn’t help matters when he said the only car he managed to get was a Ford Focus. I went and picked it up today, with a minor confusion as Ford and Jaguar/Land Rover are separating their offices, for obvious reasons. On top of that, the tester turned out to be the 1.6-litre version, instead of the larger-engined one. However, it is in Ghia trim, with upgraded 16-inch wheels and 205/55 tyres. After taking it away and pulling it through some corners, it just confirmed my previous beliefs — that the Focus has the best ride/handling balance in the history of compact economy cars. Read more… »

The new top-rung version of America’s favourite sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, has managed to a pull off a time of 7:26 minutes at Germany’s famed Nurburgring racetrack, driven by a GM development engineer. The ZR1 thereby beats the amazing 7:29 set by the “basic” Nissan GT-R recently (after setting 7:38 on a wet track earlier). However, the ZR1 has a tough battle ahead, as the prototype lightweight Nissan GT-R V-Spec has already been casually timed doing 7:25, while the pricey Lexus LF-A prototype has already pulled off a 7:24. Honda is already testing an NSX prototype, with rumours that Honda bosses are pushing to defeat the GT-R. Read more… »

Since one of our readers, Ali Z.Tabrizi, brought up the Cadillac BRX in a message to me, I figured I’ll use this vehicle to introduce the new incarnation of the Future Car Preview section, now rolled into this blog itself. As for the pictured Caddy, it is the Provoq concept, which was supposed to become a new crossover called the Cadillac BRX. The word now is that this will simply replace the slow-selling CTS-based SRX, thereby becoming the 2010 Cadillac SRX. Read more… »

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. Read more… »

We spent the entire morning today at the Dubai Autodrome, driving around in the most unusual vehicle, at a German manufacturer’s launch event. But we will talk about that drive later, because we came home to have a new unrelated test-drive car delivered to our doorstep. And that new tester is the CSV CR8, which belongs at the track, but just to clarify, it’s not the car we drove at the track. As tired as I am, I took the CR8 for a 2-minute spin before typing out this note. And I am already sold on it. It is the most pleasurable driver’s car I’ve had the opportunity of piloting in the past year. Notice that I skipped over the Corvette ZO6, the Continental GT and even over the new Mini. It is that much easy fun. Read more… »

BMW, Hyundai and Hummer all have new GCC-spec cars lined up for the latest model year. Read more… »

The 2009 Mazda 6 has finally been launched in the United States. It is interesting to note that the American version is actually a bit longer compared to the GCC model, with unique front and rear designs. Even better are their engine choices. Read more… »

The American-built 2009 Honda Pilot has been unofficially unveiled in the United States. To be called the Honda MR-V in the GCC, it is definitely not a looker. It seems like Honda’s original design team went on vacation after the Civic redesign back in 2005, and hasn’t returned ever since. Read more… »

Naming a car after a natural disaster is never a good idea. It gives people like me a chance to come up with cheesy titles for articles. But I did take our recent Chevy Avalanche Z71 tester up and down the Jebel Hafeet mountain road. Considering it was a family picnic, I did not try to beat any records that I might have set with the Bentley. But it gave me the opportunity to try out some smooth driving techniques with a vehicle that has more body roll than the sinking Titanic. Read more… »

The 2008 New York Auto Show this week is playing host to a number of hot new cars, all for the American market. None of these cars are due for a GCC release anytime soon, but it is always nice to have hope. Read more… »

That’s correct, our latest tester is not that golden Hyundai My-Name-Is-Neo or whatever. It’s the giant Avalanche next to it. Frankly, naming a truck after a natural disaster isn’t the smartest of moves, but it fits in a way, I guess. People should run away from one of these as they do from a real avalanche. Because this thing is huge. It is one of the largest vehicles we’ve ever tested, possibly beaten only by the Infiniti QX56 we got last Eid. Read more… »

These are the latest additions to the New Car Buyer Guide. As usual, prices are a bit iffy, especially since they differ from city to city, and keep changing daily. Everything else should be in order, and more updates will follow later. Available information on some cars are limited, so do not hound me for any mistakes that might crop up, but do let me know so I can correct them. If the updates are not visible in your Internet Explorer browser, then press and hold CTRL, and CLICK on Refresh in the browser. And if you can’t figure out that instruction, you probably work for VW, and I don’t want to hear from you.

Lincoln - MKX, MKZ (correct prices)
Peugeot - 308
Hummer - H2. H3
Ferrari - F430 Scuderia (info update)
BMW - M3 (info update)
Bentley - Azure, Brooklands
Mazda - 6, CX-9 (correct prices)
Mercury - Montego, Mariner

Read more… »