Automotive

DUBAI, UAE, May 23, 2013 – Ford Middle East today launched a regional integrated advertising and communications campaign highlighting Ford’s various smart technologies and the brand’s leadership within the industry. The campaign uses a fun and engaging young Arab character, Youssef, and his friends to highlight the latest Ford models and demonstrate unique Ford technologies such as Blind Spot Information System (BLIS®) with Cross Traffic Alert, EcoBoost™, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping System, and Foot-Activated Liftgate.

In the new campaign, Youssef stands out from his friends by his quirkiness. Always trying to help his friends out, unfortunately Youssef never gets it quite right and, even though his friends like him and appreciate his enthusiasm, they are often slightly frustrated with him. In the series of five commercials, Youssef and his friends are introduced in various situations where Youssef attempts to assist the driver in his own unique way, but unfortunately he doesn’t quite succeed and gradually frustrates his friends even more. In these situations where “Youssef’s way” is shown, viewers will see the corresponding Ford technology as the better solution, or the “Ford way.” Viewers are challenged by “How far can Ford technology take you?”, as they clearly see “the Ford way vs. Youssef way.”

Muscat, 21 May 2013:  The latest in the line up from Chrysler, the Chrysler 200 LX, is definitely a package of great safety with power. This variant which is equipped with the latest in safety features and accident avoidance techniques, led to the vehicle’s nomination for ‘Top Safety Pick’ award for midsize sedans category in 2012, presented by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) in the United States. Chrysler 200 LX earned the honor due to its performances in a new IIHS driver-side crash test that subjected 25 per cent of a vehicle’s front end to a 63kmph collision with a five-foot-tall rigid barrier.

The Chrysler 200 maintains ultimate control while on the road as it equipped with enhanced braking power, an electronic stability control system, and an all-speed traction control system. Chrysler 200 LX features an occupant protection formula with advanced multistage front airbags, seat-mounted side airbags and side-curtain airbags. It also features active head restraints for front passengers, and a specially-designed passenger safety cell with crumple zones to reduce the risk of injury in an accident. Furthermore, The high-tech security alarm system that monitors the door switches and the ignition circuit is self-activated in case of any theft attempt or unauthorized access. The security system also ensures that the vehicle starts only with the properly encoded key.

The Chrysler 200, apart from being extremely safe, also boasts great styling cues, both on its exterior as well as on its interior. From the stylishly designed headlamps and fog lamps that complete the beautiful front fascia of the 200, to the rear is adorned with jeweled LED tail lamps. Featuring LED accents, the bi-functional halogen projector-style headlamps increase light spread performance and deliver impressive forward lighting.  

Ingolstadt/Brands Hatch, May 20, 2013 – Two races, two pole positions – and now the first victory of the season plus the lead of the standings: The Audi RS 5 DTM was unbeatable at the second race of the 2013 DTM at Brands Hatch (Great Britain). Audi thus put an end to a four-race string of victories by BMW.

From the pole position, Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix celebrated a commanding victory in perfect external conditions. For 98 laps, the 2010 Le Mans winner controlled the pace and in the end crossed the finish line with a 7.641-second advantage as the clear winner. On clinching his second success at a DTM race after Zandvoort in 2011 ‘Rocky’, with a one-point lead over title defender Bruno Spengler, took the top spot in the overall standings as well.

“That was a race of the kind you wish for as a race driver,” said Mike Rockenfeller after his triumph. “I won the start and was subsequently able to determine the pace. The option tires degraded a bit faster than at Hockenheim, which came as a surprise. But the others had the same problem and we responded correctly. My car functioned superbly and Team Phoenix performed two brilliant stops. Thank you for that! After Hockenheim, we put our heads together in the team – the result was seen today.”

Established in 1993 and located in Zhengzhou in central China, Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile Co. (ZNA) was launched as a 50/50 joint venture between the Chinese Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd. and Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. Ltd which is the largest investment project of Nissan all over the world.

Backed by Nissan’s hi-tech standards, platform, production line, research and development and quality assurance, ZNA has earned a strong international reputation for quality, durability and safety. As one of China’s biggest automotive manufacturers, ZNA has a strong presence in 36 countries of Asia & Oceania, South America & Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa.

In Oman, with the importance to SMEs being highlighted, the ZNA range of commercial vehicles has all the advantages to be the right partner for the growing SME sector. Because of its robust, dependable and value for money models, ZNA is fast emerging as a vehicle of choice for most SMEs to carry out their differing businesses.

Moreover, the ZNA vehicles have achieved highest certification for the GCC region, when they were put through rigorous testing to be deemed fit for the harsh conditions of desert environments. In order to get the highest certification, ZNA vehicles had to run for a minimum of 50,000km in the Saudi Arabian desert for two summers on the trot. The engineers had to ensure that the vehicles could weather the elements and still be in top driving condition.

Mazda’s latest new prodigies – The Mazda6, CX-5, and CX-9 are available at unbelievable prices at Towell Auto Centre (TAC) showrooms across Oman. The special inaugural prices are for a limited time period only; and have already made customers rush into Mazda showrooms throughout the Sultanate to benefit from them.

A winner of the prestigious ‘Red Dot Award’, the Mazda6 is for those who have a passion for driving. Embodying a pure form of excitement, craftsmanship, sports driving and proactive safety, the Mazda6 sedan is available at the starting price of Rials 6950/- only. The all-new Mazda CX-5 which has won 43 awards globally is available at the initial price of Rials 8499/- only and the new Mazda CX-9 seven-seater All Wheel Drive SUV is obtainable at an unbelievable price of Rials 10900/-.

Mazda’s All New Mazda 6 and Mazda CX-5 come with a new SkyActiv Engine which delivers more power and driving pleasure than before and also provides efficient fuel consumption and utmost safety. All the three new models now embody the KODO – Soul of Motion design.

Mr Paul Valiyaveetil, Head of Sales, Passenger Cars & LCV’s, TAC says, “Mazda cars are known for their excellent driving dynamics and offer both absolute safety and utmost comfort. With the new SkyActiv technology, the Mazda cars have undergone a tremendous change. This is indeed the perfect time to buy your dream Mazda car as you have choice between 3 latest models, all reasonably priced. In fact, we are already seeing a large number of customers flocking to our showrooms to buy the new Mazda vehicles or to trade their old vehicles and benefit from the unbelievably priced luxury and quality features the Mazda vehicles provide”.

Towell Auto Centre (TAC), the sole distributors of the Geely Emgrand range of vehicles in Oman, has recently unveiled their first SUV in the country -- the Geely Emgrand X7. This SUV is the flagship model of the Geely Emgrand series and is well-known for its value for money and excellent safety performance stance.

Having many firsts to its credit, Geely Emgrand X7 is the first SUV to have received the 5+ star rating in the China - New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP) test which adds on to Geely’s entire range of cars that already have 5-star rating. In this prestigious test, the Emgrand X7 outshone several leading international joint venture models and many best-selling SUVs and class-B cars. Emgrand X7 is also the first SUV to have ‘6+1’ air bags configuration, where 6 include conventional front, side and curtain air bags and 1 is the KABs (knee airbags). This feature is not seen in models of the same class.

Mr. Paul Valiyaveetil, Head of Sales, Passenger Cars & LCVs, TAC, says: “This is the first time Geely Emgrand has brought an SUV to Oman, so there is much excitement among the admirers of this leading global Chinese brand. With the Geely Emgrand X7, we are also confident we will be able to give Oman’s robust SUV market a new definition. Geely Emgrand X7 is complete value for money; and will be launched at the starting price of RO 5490 only. Moreover, the Emgrand X7 has achieved top safety performance and outdone many international models in the C-NCAP test. By introducing a car with both competitive performance and price yet again, we are certainly taking another leap towards fulfilling our commitment and providing our customers with the highest quality products”.

Hyundai’s commercial features one of the world’s leading artists, Philipp Weber, creating seven stunning images depicting the New 2014 Centennial

Hyundai Motor Company has linked up with one of the world’s leading artists, Philipp Weber, to produce a unique series of pictures depicting the company’s luxury flagship sedan, the New 2014 Centennial. The project, which took six months to complete, forms the subject of a captivating advertisement that is currently airing across the Middle East.

Tom Lee, Vice President and Head of Hyundai Middle East HQ, said: “This collaboration represents the latest step in communicating the principles behind our brand direction of ‘Modern Premium’, and builds on our tie-up with the world-renowned designer Hermes and the Centennial at the recent Seoul Motor Show. This project also exemplifies our brand slogan “New Thinking, New Possibilities. We hope that everyone in the Arab world enjoys our new advertisement and appreciates the amazing art that Philip Weber has produced.”

Weber focused specifically on features that help the Centennial stand out from its rivals. These include the front headlight, Head-Up Display, TFT cluster supervision cluster, wing mirror and rear headrest, screens and seats. The series of stunning images is rounded off by a full exterior picture.

Unique settings offer easy access to favorite infotainment features

Like many of today’s smart phones and tablets, a deep dive into Cadillac’sCUE in-vehicle user experience reveals customized conveniences and advanced features that enable user-created shortcuts to their favorite infotainment features.

From accurately guessing an intended destination to aggregating music playlists, CUE’s customizable approach to working a vehicle’s traditional audio and navigation features allow settings to be tailored to specific tastes.

Most navigation systems prompt users to insert destination information by separately inputting state, city, street, and house number information. CUE users can manually input the entire destination address on one screen, saving time and keeping drivers focused on the road. In some cases, CUE will take a hint from partial information and automatically fill in city and state information.

CUE also offers “presets” of frequently visited destinations similar to radio station presets, CUE will support access of destinations and phone numbers without having to separately launch the vehicle’s navigation system or phone book. These presets live along the bottom row of all CUE screens, allowing for instant access regardless of application the user is in.

To offset security concerns, engineers equipped CUE with a “Valet Mode,” which blocks access to all center stack and instrument panel functions, as well as the storage bin behind the center stack.