News

Our long-term 2010 Chevrolet Malibu had been taken away for more than a week for an agency photo shoot, during which time we cruised around in a courtesy Cruze. Our Malibu is back now, with about 500 additional kilos on the clock. As interesting as the Cruze is, upgrading to a Malibu again is like getting bumped up to first-class. In fact, on the day we got it back, we took it along when we returned the Accord Crosstour to the Honda Middle East HQ. We gave a tour of the Malibu to a person from Honda, and he uttered the words “wow nice”

Read More …

Among the clutter of tuner cars at the SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas last year, Chevrolet showed off a V6-powered Camaro with a body kit and a painfully green paintjob. Dubbed the Synergy Special Edition, that car will now be offered as a limited-edition trim level, with some coming to the GCC soon.

Read More …

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel bounced himself back into contention for the world championship with an easy European Grand Prix win in Valencia on a day when a spectacular back flip left Mark Webber on the sidelines in the other Red Bull.

Read More …

We’re one of the first people to test the all-new 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour in the GCC. So fresh it is that this is the same opal-green car that was displayed at the Atlantis launch event less than a week ago, and it still has less than 400 km on the clock. We’ll have to say though, that the car isn’t really as revolting in person as it is in photos. In fact, we’d go as far as calling it “nice” in an oddball way.

Read More …

One of our readers, Nabeal Malik, spotted this 2011-2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS prototype filling up at a petrol station in Dubai. The next-generation CLS-Class has been spotted in Dubai before, undergoing hot-weather testing, but this time, it has distinctly less camouflage than before, as the final body styling has already been finalised.

Read More …

The American-market Honda Accord has received a facelift for 2011, which amounts to little more than a nose-job and a bit of fiddling with the tail lamps. Engine choices and transmissions remain the same, although a few bits of equipment have been added.

Read More …

The controversial J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Initial Quality Study is out. The study on American-market cars has been conducted annually for the past 24 years, and while not wholly accurate, it is an interesting look at the number of defects that show up in brand new cars. Lexus, Honda, Infiniti and Hyundai are expectedly on top of the listings, while Chevrolet and Nissan have seemingly placed above Toyota. Volkswagen and Land Rover take their usual spot at the bottom of the tally.

Read More …

Few companies offer media drives of their all-new models in the UAE itself before they become available to consumers. And we don’t get invited to most of them because they are afraid of us. However, Fiat is making a comeback in the region, and they did invite us to their 2010 Bravo unveiling in Abu Dhabi, complete with a fleet of European-spec test cars for the event.

Read More …

Alongside the stunningly popular Honda Accord Crosstour, Honda also revealed a pair of motorcycles at a UAE press event in Dubai. One would be the VT1300CX and the other is the VFR1200F. Both are niche products for Honda, considering they are better known for their superbikes.

Read More …

Fiat launched the compact 2010 Bravo hatchback in the UAE, marking its return to the GCC with its second model, after a gap of nearly a decade. Joining the Fiat 500, the Bravo was locally revealed at a press event held in Abu Dhabi.

Read More …