The Middle East is forced to feel content with the 360 hp Chevy-badged Lumina SS, but its Australian maker is really having some fun with it for the domestic market. The 400 hp HSV versions of the Commodore (aka Lumina) sedan were released a year ago in Australia, but this is the first time they have unveiled the HSV version of this Holden Ute pickup derivative, named the HSV Maloo R8.
To give our lumbering Infiniti QX56 some company this Eid, we also got a brand new GMC Acadia as a little brother. Except that the “little one” is also pretty big and likes to park in the adult parking lot. It’s a good thing and a bad thing that parking is free during the holidays. Good because I don’t have to shell out more money to the RTA. Bad because every cheap nincompoop will now come out of the woodwork and fill up the limited spaces.
Shelby Supercars (SSC), manufacturer of the exotic Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo which recently blazed its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘World’s Fastest Production Car’, will be present at the 2007 Dubai Motor Show.
While I test cars, I unconsciously compare them to my 17-year-old inline-six “baby” Mercedes to see how far cars have progressed (not far enough really). Similarly, I compare tested sports cars with my 20-year-old modded twin-turbo Supra. But I’ve never owned a 4WD before, and I needed one to judge new trucks against. I set a budget, and I started researching for a reliable, tough and true 4WD that could go up against the latest. Oddly enough, the 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 you see in the picture fit the bill. A Jeep? Reliable? There’s more to the story.
It is amazing that the company which brought us the goofy Spark can also create something as world-beating as the Corvette ZO6. The thing has enough power to wipe out most of the German and Italian competition. In fact, you’d have to spend a million dirhams at the Ferrari showroom to overtake this American piece of plastic. Shop at Porsche, and you have to get the Turbo model to take on the ZO6, at a 35% higher price. Think it can’t handle? Well, think again.
GM came through for us and home-delivered this yellow Corvette ZO6 with a six-speed manual. This should amount to our fastest car yet that we’ve had for review. 505 horsepower is no joke. This is also the first time ever I blurted out “cool car” to the dude who handed me the keys.
Dodge is desperate for a hit now, since their only moneymaker, the Charger, is starting to be shunned in America due to rising oil prices. So they came up with the Tourney, a crossover styled so safe that it can disappear in the background even though it is brand new.
General Motors home-delivered this blingtastic Hummer H3 to our doorstep. It is a very eye-catching vehicle, like no other midsize 4WD on the road today. It has a uniqueness similar to the Jeep Wrangler and the Land Rover Defender, but it is designed to be accessorized. In fact, our tester itself had some extra-cost options installed, and it looked great (and expensive) from the outside. But the interior is a different story.
During some American classic car show, called the Woodward Dream Cruise, Chevrolet introduced the 2008 HHR SS. It is the turbo version of the standard car, with 260 hp on tap.
The Saab 9-7X is considered somewhat of a flop. Simply a dressed-up Chevy Trailblazer, consumers never took to the awfully high price. The new limited edition 9-7X Aero is an attempt to make it more capable at chasing X5s and Cayennes, with a Corvette engine.