We already revealed that the 2011 Toyota Corolla is in UAE and Omani showrooms, but for some reason official details remain scarce, even as the new model can be seen on the streets of Dubai. We’ve finally tracked down official photos of the facelifted model, as it first came out in Europe a couple of months ago.
The 2011 Mitsubishi ASX, also known as the RVR or the Outlander Sport in other countries, has been officially launched in the UAE. The sub-compact crossover fits in a limited market segment which is currently occupied by only a handful of direct competitors.
While the Rover-derived Chinese Roewe models, rebadged as MG, are still undergoing testing in the UAE before its imminent launch, the MG 550 as well as the MG 750 are already on sale in Oman via an official dealer.
The aggressive Dodge Ram full-size pickup truck was redesigned a couple of years ago. Then parent company Chrysler went bankrupt, sort of got bought out by Fiat, who promptly decided to restructure the American firm by separating the Ram line-up from the rest of the Dodge range. Thus Ram is now a brand all on its own, although the vehicle is still essentially an unchanged Dodge Ram. The Ram Laramie is currently available in the UAE and some other GCC countries as an upscale truck for yuppies. And in the States, a Ram Laramie Longhorn special edition is now being offered.
The airbag was first developed by Mercedes-Benz after 13 years of research. The first car to receive an airbag was the W126-code 1980 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, in its early 280SE, 380SE and 500SE guises. Mercedes-Benz has also offered a standard driver-side airbag in all models by October 1992.
Hyundai has revealed three new models at separate venues around the world within the space of a week. They are i10 mini-hatchback, the ix20 hatchback-MPV and the Solaris sub-compact sedan that will become the next Accent.
Land Rover has finally unveiled the 2012 Range Rover Evoque in its entirety. The Evoque is a compact luxury crossover with no discernible offroad capability, and will initially be available in 3-door trim, with a 5-door coming later.
German carmaker Porsche has announced yet another variant of its aging 911, dubbed the 911 Speedster, which will make its official debut at the upcoming 2010 Paris Motor Show. Judging by the lukewarm response to our last 911 story, interest in the 911 is waning fast, and new variants of the same old formula isn’t going to cut it.
Normally we don’t put up reviews from other sources, but we came across this ancient Top Gear video from 1997 that tests a Toyota Corolla hatchback from that era. They even pit it against a Volkswagen Golf GTI, and the results are satisfying. Interesting to note how many awards that car apparently won back then. We also own a 1997 Corolla that we bought new, but we had no idea how class-leading it really was at the time. I was just a high-school kid with no internet back then.
While we were trolling around in Dubai looking for a midsize sedan to buy, we came across this attractive compact car, fully registered, and driven by staff from Arabian Automobiles, who happen to be the local dealers for Nissan, Infiniti and Renault here. On closer inspection, “SAIC” badges revealed its Chinese origins. It was also badged as an MG 550 1.8T. Those who keep track of such things will know that Chinese carmaker SAIC now owns the MG brand as well as some bits of Rover. On further pestering, the “owner” told us that Arabian Automobiles has handed out a bunch of these cars to staff members a couple of months ago,