It has always been obvious that Volkswagen’s designers have no creativity whatsoever, coming up with boring cars and hoping the marketing department can trick naive people into thinking they are cool. Take, for example, their latest “special edition” VW Eos. They named it the Eos White Night, except that the only change involves a white car with a cheesy black-painted roof that makes its folding hard-top look like a cloth roof.
While we never got to drive it for stupid reasons, the 2009 BMW M3 Coupé continues its development. It is going to be offered in special versions under the “M3 Edition Models” banner, offering a choice of four customised cars.
BMW’s Dubai dealerships are now offering the all-new GCC-spec 2009 BMW Z4. The new model comes with three engine choices and a standard folding hard-top convertible roof, while also moving up a class in the roadster market.
While the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X is only available in a limited number of variants here in the UAE and other GCC countries, the UK market is the only one to get as many as three different versions. Beyond the standard FQ-300 and the upgraded FQ-330, the new Evo X flagship model in Britain is the FQ-400, complete with a factory-tuned 403 hp turbocharged engine.
The 2009 Infiniti G37 sedan is finally on sale in the UAE and other GCC countries. While it looks exactly the same as the outgoing G35, it receives a new engine and auto gearbox this year.
Nicholas Guiochet, General Manager-Marketing, Renault GCC, handed over the keys to a brand new Renault Koleos to Nabila Abdulla. The Bahraini national was the lucky winner of a special promotion held by Renault during last month’s repetitive F1 Roadshow, which was held at The Dubai Mall in the UAE.
While the GCC is left to fawn over the ugly 2010 E-Class sedan, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe just went on sale in Europe and Brabus already has an extensive tuning program in place for the new two-door CLK replacement. The pinnacle of the performance tuning options is the BRABUS 6.1 engine.
BMW is once again forcefully defining a brand-new segment in the car market, with the all-new BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo. Finally launched in production form after teasing and horrifying the public with a similar concept a few months ago, the 5-Series GT aims to be combine the features of a “prestige saloon, a highly-versatile Sports Activity Vehicle, and a classic Gran Turismo in brand-new, unprecedented style.” Only, in this case, their idea of “unprecedented style” is a hatchback with a tall roof.
Volkswagen is recalling about 25,000 Jetta models in the United States, built between 2006 and 2009, but only those equipped with the 2.0-litre turbo engine. The Mexican-built compact VW sedan, also sold in the GCC, apparently has a defect that could lead to a crash.
GMC has announced that the all-new Terrain crossover is right on track and is due to be in GMC Middle East showrooms in the fourth quarter of this year.