The results of the 2013 Middle East Motor Awards were announced last evening at a ceremony on the Al Majaz Waterfront in Sharjah, hosted by Muhammed Ali Sajjad of the Expo Centre Sharjah. I was one of the 18 judges, although the cars were score and the points were tallied long ago, so were there just to hear who were the winners in each category, as well as Car Of The Year.
We knew the new front-wheel-drive 2014 Chevrolet Impala wouldn’t cut it in the Saudi market, where the love of big rear-wheel-drive sedans runs strong, even after the demise of the Ford Crown Victoria. So it came as no surprise when a reader dropped us a note saying the long-running Caprice is back in Saudi Arabian showrooms as a 2014 model, with a few changes.
Chevrolet recently revealed some details on the new Camaro Convertible. The car is due to make its official appearance at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show this month.
So if you thought that every car manufacturer was going the ‘Ford Explorer’ way when it came to overhauling their existing midsize SUVs, you’d be wrong. There are a few manufacturers who decided to try the opposite route, taking a step backwards by choosing to transform a commercial pick-up into a four-wheel-drive wagon in a half-hearted bid to create a viable replacement for their already-cancelled midsize SUV. So what was essentially competing with the refined Toyota Prado, now tries to go after the simplistic Toyota Fortuner. That new wagon is none other than the all-new Thailand-built 2013 Chevrolet Trailblazer.
Police in Saudi Arabia apparently shot at a speeding Chevrolet Caprice to stop the vehicle after its Kuwaiti driver reported its brakes were not working.
The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu has been selling better than the previous version in the UAE, largely due to an extensive advertising campaign and cheap pricing here. But the GCC as a whole is a miniscule market compared to the United States, where the latest Malibu became a large-enough sales flop for General Motors to quickly go back to the drawing board and churn out a facelift within a year of its debut.
In a PR-building move, Dubai Police has added a Chevrolet Camaro SS to their fleet, apparently for “highway patrol” duties.
The Chevrolet Camaro has been been facelifted for the 2014 model-year, debuting at the 2013 New York Auto Show. The two models displayed include the Camaro SS and the new Camaro Z/28.
General Motors has unveiled the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS on a U.S. talk show, of all things, with no other photos or information available of the car.
Here’s the latest automotive news in brief from the Middle East and around the world.