After 10 faithful years I have switched to the new Landcruiser VX, I have been a faithful driver of the Landcruiser for 10 years at this point and my Landcruiser has held on strong and it has been the perfect car for all situations and managing to take a beating without so much as squeak from the car. I have to say that I do drive hard but I take to its maintenance schedule and change all the parts necessary. But now I have change cars to the new Landcruiser and I have pretty much all that I wanted except for a manual car instead of an automatic and this is due to Toyota’s belt tightening scheme with very little modified orders, you can only ask for so many specific items and if the dealers want something very specific they have to have a minimum order of 250 cars before making a change to their manufacturing line.
The first thing I did as soon as I got the car was take to Huper Optik in Al Rai for a nice semi-dark tint to go with the color of the car and a nice big GulfRun sticker on the rear tire. After trying out multiple tint places across Kuwait and really checking out the real heat protection and putting it to the test, I was surprised that the results didn’t match what these places quoted and Llumar was really doing a lot false advertising and I would avoid Ibtikar, VKool and Zeibart are decent but Huper Optik turned out to be the best and their tint is ceramic not metallic such as all the other tinting companies. Two reasons I went with Huper Optik there resistance to heat was the highest by far and the tint doesn’t interfere with the GPS strength. I’m going to go into a detailed post about tinting in Kuwait at a later point.
I have to say that I am very happy with the new Landcruiser, after 5000 + KMs on the odometer it really does have everything. If you are looking for a fast SUV then this is not it, but if you are looking for roomy, comfortable, solid handling, powerful, amazing sound, reliability, great air conditioning and aggressive looks then this car is for you. I asked for the rear tire option as I don’t like the under carriage tire option so with that option I lost out on have a back up camera and extra sensors, but my old land cruiser didn’t have a back up camera or sensors until very late in its age so I could live without it. I went for a dark grey interior and exterior with the dark tint I think it looks pretty good. Three main improvements over the 99-2007 Landcruiser, the gearing is smoother and peppier, the suspension is much better handling, the brakes a world of differences it really stops because they are all disc brakes now not drum brakes, the interior is roomier and the sound system is nice unlike the old one. Two points which were a bit annoying the engine is the 4.7 Liter and not the 5.7 Liter which is available in the US and the new Lexus LX 570 so its the same engine the older model but they have geared it right with a lot more torque, there is no iPod integration because Japan considers it to be a luxury option which shouldn’t be in the Landcruiser. Other then that I have to say that I am extremely happy with the Landcruiser and love driving it every day, plus I have the remote start which cools the car before I get into it and it has work from 10 floors up in a building but steel structures can get in the way sometimes.
Top Gear does it again, they take a new car and thrash it around their track. I would really like to try my luck on that track, at least the straight away. I have been hearing about this car for sometime now but I didn’t realize how powerful the XFR is with 503 bhp, and now they are comparing it to the BMW M5. I honestly think that the M5 can never be compared to any Jaguar even if it has figures to match. But it does seem like a powerful car but the looks does not convey its power, its cheaper, but I don’t think a Jaguar can ever really compare to German engineering.
Ken Block is forever famous for his rally driving skills and those insane videos, but Ricky Carmichael isn’t as famous to the general public but he is one hell of a dirt biker probably one of the best period. This video is probably one of the most intense I have seen from Kenny Block, less stunts and more insane driving and it gets a lot better towards the middle. Top Gear did a great job of putting this video together, these guys seriously know how to get our bloods pumping.
The Challenger SRT 8 is already a powerful car, but Hurst is taking it a step further. I don’t know why but I can picture myself driving this car with the tunes of Dukes of Hazard playing in the background. Hurst has a package for this car to bump it up to 572 bhp with all the tweaks you would like, and I really like this blue color scheme. It has this classic but new look to it that I think Dodge got right in the design.
The package includes:
- Eibach suspension system
- Magnaflow exhaust system
- Hurst 20-inch alloy wheels
- Color-matched leather inserts and stitching for the interior
- Matte black exterior accents
- Competition/Plus short throw shifter with the classic white ball
It will be available in B5 Blue, Hemi Orange, Tor Red
Link: Autoblog
Now this is an interesting line up, I remember seeing the Mclaren F1 when I was kid in London in the early 90s in a small dealership with just that one big room for the desk and the car. It was the first Supercar I have ever seen and I have a huge amount of respect for it, and it requires a drivers skill to operate it. I respect it so much more then the Bugatti Veyron, its so pure. I find it interesting that they decide to use Abu Dhabi for the supercar shoot out, I’m not sure what they are doing to accommodate Top Gear but they have done it right.
Link: Autoblog
I have an extreme admiration for the Corvette ZR1 being a powerful vehicle, at 641 bhp from a V8 supercharged engine, doing 0-62 Mph in 3.3 seconds. I just love when they do these types of competitions, and this time around they are doing with the fighter jet from the Blue Angels, a Boeing F/18 Hornet, the stunt fighter pilots who do all these shows and fly with extreme precision.
The Ferrari California has been an interesting vehicle for the past year, and I saw it in front of me at the Zayanni Showroom and pictures do not do it justice. I think Ferrari have done an exquisite job of creating a beautiful hard top convertible, and it has this aggressive stance to this vehicle. Edo Competition have done the right job of not going overboard with the modifications to the vehicle, but some tuning modifications and wheels have made this vehicle look quite agressive and give it that extra boost to about 500 bhp out of the 4.3 Liter V8. With a top speed of 315 km/h and a 0-62 of 3.9 seconds this vehicle is a force to be reckoned with.
Link: Autoblog
It has at last come out, the identity of The Stig is Michael Schumacher, I don’t think that he was The Stig for so long but it does explain the damn good track times he gets. This could be like their previous stunt, but I will stick to the notion that The Stig has always been Schumacher but how luckier could Top Gear be to have such a driver as their track driver.
360 Performance Training are one of those schools that teach you how to take your car sideways and really enjoy it. Getting better lines, pushing your car to the limits in an open and safe environment in El Toro Air Force Base. The difference about this training company from all others is that they are flexible to the needs of their clients and people can have a hell of a lot of fun. This is now another driving school to add to the list, including the Lamborghini driving school and this I think my driving my schools would improve drastically.
So. Why would you pay money to go to 360PDA? Because if you want to learn drifting and outer limit car control, you apprentice in a few of the coolest driving techniques at one of the coolest schools taught by one of the best, if not the best, drifter there is. And since Hubinette owns the school, “we’re in control and we can choose the clientele and group settings, and be very adaptive with different groups of people.”
Link: Autoblog
Link: 360pda
There has been a lot of PR going around about the Chevrolet Camaro and now they have taken it a notch up by launching it in Dubai as if its a big thing. I think Dubai has done a great job of presenting it’s self as a desirable location and a good press launch location for the car.
Now what I find interesting in the location are those open roads, where are they and how can I get there. I always like an open stretch of road. I wouldn’t mind trying the V8 SS manual for some fun but I wouldn’t really own the car. My hat goes off to them for some very nice shots of the Camaro.
Link: Autoblog
