I am feeling a bit depressed right now. I value my cars as much as people value their family jewelry. But thanks to the glorious vision of the RTA (and decision-makers in Abu Dhabi), the value of my decent 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 AMG dropped as low as the price of my new mobile phone. It is the ultimate slap in the face for me, as it was my first car, bought in 2004 with my own earnings back in college, when every other kid on campus had a brand new car gifted by daddy. I can only drive it for two more years before it is scrapped, due to new rules which say cars older than 15 years will be banned by 2010, and I won’t even be allowed to sell my car after this December. I had two options. The first option was to keep the car till 2010 and then destroy it in a filmed Top Gear-style stunt. The other option was to sell the car and not watch it suffer its eventual demise. I was eventually planning to replace the Merc with a newer sports sedan, but these new rules have hit my long-term goals as well as my pocket. So I put up an ad and sold the car to a decent Filipino guy who knew he was getting a nice car, if only temporarily. Read more… »

To be shown at the upcoming CEATAC show in Japan, Nissan has developed a system designed for cars that could automatically avoid collisions, using ideas garnered from the natural abilities of bees. Read more… »

The Turkish-built Renault Symbol is a new economy car that will soon reach GCC shores in the coming months. To celebrate its European debut, the French manufacturer held the officially-monitored Renault Symbol Eco-Challenge in Turkey which saw the diesel-powered Symbol 1.5 dCi 85 return fuel consumption figures of just 3.15 litres per 100 km, which is equivalent to a range of 1700 km on a full tank. While the diesel model will not come here, Renault says they applied eco-driving guidelines that can be used in any car. And they’ve listed out those fuel-saving ideas. Read more… »

The forward-thinking nation of Bahrain is at it again. This time, some politician there wants to block foreign expats who make less than BD 500 (Dhs 4900) from applying for driving licences. Read more… »

American research firm J.D. Power and Associates has just released its 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study that measures vehicle quality in the first three years of owning a vehicle brand. The study also says that long-term vehicle quality has also improved 5% across the industry in 2008, with the industry average dropping 10 PP100 (problems per 100 vehicles) down to 206 this year. Their full list is rather interesting. Read more… »

The current-generation Toyota RAV-4 has been mildly facelifted for the 2009 model year, as seen in these photos for the American version. Also new is an upgraded 4-cylinder engine. Read more… »

While dealer-owned service centres here get away with crappy service, dealer garages in other countries usually give you a free replacement car to drive around in while your own car is being serviced or fixed. In Europe, Ferrari has chosen the Fiat 500 as its courtesy car for local customers. About 200 special Fiat 500 units have been manufactured exclusively for the Ferrari sales network all over Europe. Read more… »

The all-mighty Road & Transport Authority has now benevolently lifted the ban on carpooling, to allow the humble residents of Dubai to share rides to work with co-workers. But first, you have to take their permission by applying for a piece of paper that will give you limited rights on who you are allowed to transport. Read more… »

The 2009 Kia Sportage will be the recipient of a minor facelift. It is due to be launched soon, unless it is already in local showrooms and we were not told about it. Incidentally, this new version has already been on sale in China for a while now. Read more… »

It seems the Nissan Tiida, one of our recommended choices, is involved in a bit of racing, leading from lights to flag in the third round of the China Circuit Championship held at Beijing’s Golden Port Circuit on June 8. Read more… »

The Romanian-built Dacia Logan was launched in 2004, under the ownership of Renault, as an ultra-cheap car for Eastern Europe, which later became a hit in places like Brazil, Iran and even Western Europe. Renault even showed off the car, badged as a Renault Logan, at the 2007 Dubai Motor Show, but we never heard any more about it after that. We believe Renault’s GCC operations are seriously considering bringing this car here, although it would end up competing with their own outdated Clio Classic. Before it could even make it here, the original European version has been given a facelift. Read more… »

After 3 months of development, 2 months of painstaking research and data-entry, and a month designing and cleaning up the look, my ultra-exclusive, never-before-seen-in-the-region Ultimate Car Buyer Guide is finally ready to hit the public airwaves! I’ll be cleaning up the look some more over the rest of this week, but basically, every car now gets its own page, which means it becomes possible to add more info for each car in the future if time permits. Also, it is much quicker to update, and older models do not disappear any more. Be sure to check out the surprising reliability data for some of the cars, including the last-generation Chevy Lumina, the current-generation Kia Optima, and any-generation Volkswagen Golf. It’s so surprising that you’d think I’m lying, so do your own research too! Read more… »

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. Read more… »

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. Read more… »

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. Read more… »

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. 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… »

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. Read more… »

If you are into aftermarket automotive equipment shows, there is the Automechanika Middle East trade show in Dubai, already running from June 1 to 3 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi, events are taken to the next level by the Turbo tuner show in Abu Dhabi, to be held from November 13 to 15 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Read more… »

TAG Heuer just signed up local hero Mohammed Bin Sulayem to endorse their watches in print ads. The interesting bit is that Sulayem said he will donate all the money he makes from the deal to charity.

Around town, unregulated diesel prices have gone up to Dhs 17 per gallon in Dubai, and expected to go higher. Meanwhile, ADNOC in Abu Dhabi continues to sell diesel at Dhs 8.6 per gallon.

In other news, in an attempt to appear commuter-friendly, Dubai’s RTA has announced that they will “allow” people to carry passengers to work or wherever, provided they apply on the RTA website for a certificate registering the names of a maximum of four people that they want to carry in their cars. If you are caught without such a certificate, and the passengers are not your frigging relatives, you’ll be fined Dhs 5000.

And now, some more entertainment, courtesy of Dubai taxi drivers. A taxi driver became so angry when his female passenger asked him to go in a different direction during the journey that he stopped, dragged her from his cab, hit her and stole her mobile phone. Apparently he was going the long way round and the Filipina asked him to take a certain shorter route. When she tried to call the police, he took her phone and drove off. The loser cabbie is now in court, but many say this is becoming a common occurence in Dubai. Read more… »