The compact Audi Q5, designed to go against the BMW X3 and the Mercedes-Benz GLK, has been unveiled at the Auto China show in Beijing. While it brings absolutely nothing original to the table, initial unconfirmed reports suggest it will be built in China as well as Germany.
The awesome new Opel Insignia sedan is all set to replace the aging Vectra in Europe by this summer. Opel is sort of an abandoned nameplate in the GCC, as even parent company General Motors Middle East doesn’t bother mentioning Opel in their list of brands any more. Too bad, because this new model has to be the most stunning interpretation of a midsize sedan yet.
Mercedes-Benz is world-debuting the production-version of the compact GLK at the Auto China fair in Beijing on April 20.
Since we hung out at the Times Square Mall after testing the Altima Coupe, I guess it is now a good time to reveal that we’ve reached a deal with auto-accessories superstore, Yellow Hat, whereby they’ll supply or install various car accessories or products free-of-charge on our cars, so we can review them, as well as describe how the install went.
We have a familiar car over here, but only from the driver’s seat. The cabin is shared with the Altima sedan, with the exception of an actual handbrake replacing the sedan’s parking foot-brake and three front cup-holders, so Coupe buyers only have two cup-holders up front. Other differences include cramped rear legroom, a manual passenger seat for quick rear access, possibly less headroom, and very interesting exterior styling, even if a bit bloated-looking.
The Dubai Grand Racing Weekend has drawn to a close. If you are interesting in the highlights, attached is the press release from the Dubai Autodrome providing a good summary.
The American-built 2009 Honda Pilot has been unofficially unveiled in the United States. To be called the Honda MR-V in the GCC, it is definitely not a looker. It seems like Honda’s original design team went on vacation after the Civic redesign back in 2005, and hasn’t returned ever since.
Since Bentley gave us our most expensive test car ever, at Dhs 1.3 million, I figured I’d write a bit more on it. Considering Aston Martin wanted proof of age, website demographics, blood group, etc, just to take out their Dhs 800,000 DB9 for 6 hours (which they never did give eventually), it was a leap of faith for Bentley to give us their Arnage R for four whole days on request, no questions asked. But all things considered, the 6.75-litre twin-turbo V8 is one hell of a motor.
At the Chinese Auto Show in Beijing next week, Hyundai is going to unveil the 2009 Elantra.
This car is seriously crazy. Built like a limousine inside and out, the Bentley Arnage R drives like a muscle car from two decades ago. It is also the most expensive car we’ve ever tested.