The all-new 2012 Ford Explorer, technically a 2011 model, is now on sale in the UAE. The dealers have been quietly taking orders for the new crossover since some time now. And we are probably among the first media people in the UAE to take an unofficial look at it in the showroom.
Down here in the Middle East, running a business without a Toyota Hilux means you are a loser. Though only a commercial workhorse, there are not many humans on this planet who has not seen or heard of this thing. And with so many achievements, from aiding the world masses with their routine chores to serving wars to conquering terrains where no Jeeps or Patrols have dared to roam, there is little wonder in this epitome of reliability being so popular everywhere. For 2012, Toyota UK has decided to give the Hilux some facial treatments and energy boost while also subjecting it to an interior-beautification therapy.
It easily goes without saying that Toyota Yaris rules the sub-compact car segment in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC. First introduced in 2006, Yaris became such a hit among the public that it simply wiped off the competition, gaining much more success rate than its predecessors, the Tercel and the Echo. And probably that is why Toyota decided to refresh the ongoing Yaris instead of moping it off the line-up, like they did with its ancestors. Toyota UK has taken covers of their all-new 2012 Yaris – and we are probably looking at the same “global” shape that may enter our region too.
Abarth, Fiat-owned tuners and racing-car makers, has introduced an upgrade kit dubbed as Esseesse, for their existing Punto Evo, an already-souped up version of the original Punto hatchback.
Hyundai is the talk of the town these days. Having rolled out several new models in a seemingly short span of time, all so well engineered, well designed and well priced, Hyundai has already caused quite a stir in the market dominated by the Japanese giants. And the increasing damage they are continuing to cause the Japanese monopoly is evident from the shaken chiefs of some major Japanese automakers stepping into the limelight themselves for praising their own upcoming models, in a sad bid to counter competition. As part of Hyundai’s scheme of kicking the Japanese and everyone else out of the game,
Geely is on a roll in the GCC region, it seems. Two test cars in light camo which were spotted by two commuters in Dubai on two different streets that lay fairly close by, turned out to be two different models from the same manufacturer, Geely. This one is the Emgrand EC825.
German carmaker BMW has just expanded their 6-series line-up for 2012 with the introduction of four new variants – the 640d Coupe, 640d Covertible, 650i xDrive Coupe and 650i xDrive Convertible.
German tuning firm AC Schnitzer has unveiled their range of performance and styling enhancements exclusively developed for the BMW X3.
So I was driving along Garhoud Bridge in Dubai a few days ago, and a seemingly mid-size sedan bearing light camouflage caught my attention. Like any other car enthusiast I was eager to find out what it was and soon got involved in a brief chase with the unknown driver of the unknown car. Though the chase did not help me get a clue of what brand the car possibly belonged to, I succeeded in taking a few pictures of the car. And as it turned out, what I chased was a Geely Emgrand EC718.
So it is the Lexus LS600h L Landaulet that is in limelight here, and not the wedding ceremony of H.H Prince Albert II of Monaco for which the LS600h L Landaulet was exclusively designed and prepared. Just as the fate of the German makers of the only other Landaulet model is hanging on a thin strand of cobweb, Lexus marches in boldly with their finest piece of engineering till date.