According to an article in Gulf News, plain-clothes RTA officials have been going around Dubai fining people for simply sharing a car to get to the office. Basically, even if they see you picking up your buddy on the side of the road, you could be slapped with a Dhs 5000 fine. And I can bet you they are probably targetting people with economy cars. Like the trusty old Toyota Corolla that my family owns.
I updated the Future Car Preview page, seeing as how a lot has changed over the last few months. Release dates have been added to some of the confirmed cars. For example, the Nissan GT-R will come to the GCC in the beginning of 2009 at the earliest. Other new vehicles include the Ford Flex and the Volvo C50.
Hyundai announced “Genesis” as the official name of its luxury sports sedan, and launched the car in Korea. The rear-wheel-drive Hyundai Genesis is attempting a credible alternative to premium offerings from Germany and Japan, with a range of V6 and V8 engines.
The limited-edition 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show last month. The Mustang Bullitt, named after the 1960s movie Bullitt, is available in green like Steve McQueen’s original in the movie, but it can also be had in black. The classic movie is often credited for creating the car-chase movie genre.
We haven’t asked for a Hyundai tester in ages because, well, who wants to drive a Hyundai? But at last month’s Los Angeles Auto Show, Hyundai officially showed off their new rear-wheel-drive Genesis coupe, but in so-called “concept” form. This is basically a weak disguise with paint and stickers to show off the tuning potential of the car.
I’d like to think I single-handedly created the best new car buyer guide in the Middle East, even with all its little inaccuracies. It’s so good, I’ve even caught local car magazines lifting details from it without giving me credit. But maintaining it is a long-term job, especially since eleventy-billion new cars were launched during the recent Dubai Motor Show. I managed to integrate the more popular new models into the guide over the last few weeks, and figured I’d unveil them in time for our third anniversary on the net. Oh, and happy UAE national day,
Koenigsegg has released the production CCXR supercar, which will eventually aim for the “world’s fastest car” title. The biofuel-powered car has a twin supercharged 4.8-litre V8, and will put out 1018 hp at 7200 rpm, and 1060 Nm of torque at 6100 rpm.
This is some footage I grabbed at last year’s Ford Ride & Drive event for their 4WDs. It demonstrates the abilities of the Ford F-150 Lariat 4×4 truck on sloping surfaces.
So I was hanging with my buddy as he was trying to catch a taxi. He being a brown person, expectedly around 10 empty taxis passed by without slowing down because, as everyone knows, most of these racist drivers only stop for white people and tourists, in anticipation of a big tip. I became pissed off after 45 minutes, and lightly slapped on a speeding Toyota Camry taxi with my hand. The taxi hit the brakes, turned around, and a big beefy Pathan driver got ready to fight with me.
Volvo has developed a system where the car will brake by itself if it realises that the driver will not stop in time to avoid hitting the car in front. Interesting system, but it is scary to think what tailgaters will use something like this for.