You can always trust the Tokyo Auto Show to have the most intriguing and the most wacky concepts. The 2009 edition of the show is no different. This is one event where the concepts outnumber the production car launches. However, this year’s show is a bit muted due to various automakers pulling out, blaming the recession rather than poor management. Many of the concepts are hybrids or zero-emission vehicles, affirming the green slant of the show.
Hell will freeze over before Land Rover’s marketing people will invite me to a launch event, even if it is held in Dubai and will cost them nothing extra. It seems there was a media event to introduce the 2010 Land Rover LR4 in the UAE, with easy offroad courses set up to exaggerate the aging 4×4’s sand abilities.
After spending half a decade in development hell, running the ‘Ring in camo, briefly getting cancelled during the recession, and even racing at a few events, the production version of the Lexus LF-A supercar has finally debuted in Japan.
The Veritas RS III Roadster has begun its limited production run and first customer deliveries will take place in January 2010. Built by Vermot AG, this cockroach of a car has already been sold to eight customers, but none from the Middle East yet. The eight are part of only 30 that will be produced. It takes 15 people about eight weeks to build one car and three cars at a time will be built.
Rolls-Royce has launched its new Ghost model in the GCC. It was unveiled in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as part of a Middle East tour.
Kia has announced that their all-new luxury sedan will be called the Cadenza. The full-size sedan will replace the Kia Opirus.
Over the years, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been recalling a number of older American-made models over the issue of “leaking” cruise control switches in certain brands. By 2008, the agency had recalled around 9.6 million vehicles to repair a faulty Texas Instruments cruise-control deactivation switch, and now after an NHTSA investigation, Ford is the target of the latest recall, adding 4.5 million Ford and Mercury vehicles to the list.
The Nissan Z will mark its 40th anniversary in the United States, celebrating the launch of the reliable 1970 Datsun 240Z, with its gross 150 hp 2.4-litre inline-6 and its sporting looks that brought about a revolution in a sports car market. The 370Z 40th Anniversary is being launched to celebrate the occasion.
Officially introduced in the UAE at a launch party in Abu Dhabi, Porsche held a media driving event for the all-new Porsche Panamera GT sedan. The road trip comprised of a drive from Dubai to Fujairah and back in cars shared with other journalists, and a free lunch somewhere in between.
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X is a somewhat uncompromising sports sedan, based off of an economy car platform. But the American market is getting a new MR Touring “luxury” model that puts it up against German brands in terms of pricing.