desertdude

Funny story, back in my safari days I wouldn't move until all the pax in the car were belted. This one time we had large FOC group from India. I asked everyone please belt up and then after a while I asked everyone is belted, most said yeah, but as routine I would also check via my rear view mirror. The pax a young lad in his 20s maybe in the third row seat of the land cruiser was still unbelted. So I specifically asked in a slightly raised voice. SIR you could please wear your seat belt. He looked up and said oh sorry yes yes. The he proceeded to pull the belt out wrap in a loop like a noose around his neck and then click it in. Ok now sir ... I was like

Too British specific, I bet more than 70% here don't even know what a Austin or Vauxhall is ( Sorry not much love for tiny brit cars here ) let alone anything specific about them

I think a wiper on the rear on all non 4x4s SUVs is a rare case rather than a normal feature. How many sedans have a rear wiper? Even a Rolls Royce does not have a rear wiper. I know old 80s Camaros had a rear wiper, and even some Toyota hatchbacks.

Maz 535 8x8

I think what MM was trying to say is most "professional mechanics" being so locked into going by the book is they can't think out of the box ad immediately poo poo any notion they havent heard or see before! Lord knows I remember I created a malestorm here when I suggested using diesel oil in flat tappet motors and water ingestion decarbonization !!!!

Well I'm not going to dissuade you from not going for a proper one i.e the V8 but let me tell you a small story. Back in the day both my brothers ended up with a mid 90s Camaro at the same time, Only one was a V6 and the other a proper Z28 V8. Man they were like two cars, even just starting both up felt so different, forget driving them. Every time we lifted the hood of the V6 I could help but feel sorry for my middle brother, the motor literally just ended almost where the hood started and huge empty space from the end of the motor to the rad. The V6 felt nothing really special tbh, specially coming from a Honda Integra, I was a total newbie at the time and had just gotten my driving license and other the real bad rear visibility the V6 felt not much different from the Nissan Sunny I had been training on to get my DL lol ! I could drive it without any issues or hassle. The V8 on the hand was a total beast, just the V8 note and vibes resonating through the car you knew you were in something special, so I would say go for the proper muscle car and all that it entails not a wannabe poser version. Hey you only live one Having said that I've driven this mustang a lot! Althought it wasn't mine but a friend owned it and we met and hung out everyday and he was always too tired from work and I drove it 90% of the time, it was even the same red as posted in the pic but with a white convertible top. Other than regular maintenance didn't really need much, although towards the end it developed tranny issues, gears started slipping and the trans oil would get really hot, so hot that once we dropped the pan and the ATF was actually bubbling! Anyways showed it to a few people and they all recommended expensive fixes so ended up selling it. For sourcing one I would suggest got to Ducamz they used to ( dunno about now ) have a lot of Jap imported Mustangs with 50-80k kms on the clock and jap imports as you must know are clean as a whistle and luckly for you most are V6s Also check out Chris Fxs channel on youtube, he has a similar Mustang and has done a lot to it. https://www.youtube.com/user/PaintballOO7

LOOOL ...no not really, if that was the case, I'd be long dead by now. I imagine they have slightly less traction in wet weather but I've driven in wet weather with those, without actually realizing any loss of traction, but then again I'm a very careful and cautious driver who is not into any shinanigans on public roads. In dry weather they have very good traction since its softish rubber and the thread pattern is somewhat semi slick type-ish, also very smooth on the roads dude to the same thread pattern, and also because of that they wear very evenly. Also the only tyre I can remember with a AA Temperature rating, good for such hot climate. Very good performance in the desert. Even with high pressure. They are manufactured by Sumitomo Tyres in Japan ( Same plant as Dunlops ) so quality is not an issue and they are cheap, so really the best tyre IMO for my kind of driving and usage. If they came in a 19" size I'd probably have them on my Range Rover too

Our company every now and then use to buy Land Cruiser pickups and they came out of the dealership looking like this With tall skinny tyres and we drove them around like this for sometime until the first 1000 kms service and sometimes well beyond that because they were crucial to our operations and just didnt have the time to leave them at the dealer for a day or two. Honestly they did not drive too bad with those and pretty capable of taking most of what we threw at them but latter we always upgraded to 275s because we asked a lot from these, loaded up well beyond max capacity and then hit the dunes and trails. We even loaded them to the brim with full 3 day camping gear and supplies for 20 people and hit Liwa, so any increase in footprint and the stability provided by the wider wheelbase was welcomed. Personally skinny tyres are alright for light commercial usage where you'll be doing tracks most of the times and not loaded up like a donkey. But for anything else i.e some fun in the sun wider tyres is well worth compromise. but not too wide. I found the best desert performance I got was from Shaheen sand tyres. They have the tread of a 900 sand tyre but are steel belted radials and not too wide and not skinny either with a decent amount of side wall and rounded shoulders so best of both the worlds. So in conclusion I say both sides of the camp are right in this, And IMO a middle ground will achieve the best results, in my case those were the Shaheens and they did My Disco and work LC in liwa pics for reference

My car has 5 Two for the windscreen, 2 for the headlights and one for the rear windshield

Well here you go http://www.raktrack.com/arrive-drive

A new go kart circuit opened up right across the street from where I live here in Al Jazirah RAK. Roughly opposite IceLand. Might be worth a look, they are new and in RAk so rates obviously going to be cheaper, plus a drive to Rak away from the city.

P.P.S : I actually had a golf once, and the only reason I liked it was because of its frugality with petrol. And these were the times when a gallon cost something like 3.75 a pop

Oii when did this topic get split into two! Anyways I replied in the original thread and to add to that yes barry you are right. Kids want them. Im in my early 40s I have no affection for them, even though I saw the real deal roaming the streets here back in the day.

Japanese, enough said!

My brother had an integra, the one with the four round headlights. Its not entirely the manufacturers fault, its the laws, anything fast or thought to be fast or with a turbo was much banned here. I remember the time when there were skylines on the road (Im talking early 80s), supras and celicas here but then everything got clamped down. Even today you pay almost double in insurance for a coupe because its considered a "sports cars" So a lot of factors contributed to this. Plus tiny hatches really arnt for this place, with big open straight roads all over the place, and specially when for lesser money you can get big V8s The sad fact is a 2000 V8 mustang is cheaper or the same price as a similar year Corolla. So what would you get between the two. Only die hard fans are into hot hatches here as they really dont make mucb sense here. Alrhough having said that I wouldnt mind having a fully loaded 1990 prelude, integra and civic. Purely for nostalgic value though. 1st two my brothers owned and my first car that I bought with my own money was a fully loaded one owner 4dr Civic sedan.

Sorry when I said hatchback I actually did mean hot hatch. I totally forgot thats what they are called, the sporty hatchbacks that is. Shows how much I care about them! Lol. I do agree about the if it aint jap its crap attitude most people have and thats also evident here on the boards, when ever someone asks for a recommendation for a car, he is advised to go for jap crap. But fortunately there are enough people here to negate that too, which is evident from the sheer numbers of non jap Luxury sedans and SUVs on the roads. Mercs, BMWs, Porsches, RRs etc etc and if you zip around New Dubai its not totally uncommon to spot a couple of super or even hypercars in a single outings. Something still very rare even in the west. Sometimes we take things for granted. Idunno how it is now but I remember many a times German tourists ogling Porsches and I was like what, these are made in your country! Yeah but we hardly ever see them on the road here. A friend visiting from Canada remarked that Dubai has more Range Rovers than New York has yellow cans! Lol So yeah money, cheap-ish petrol and and abundance of used cars for sale, no one here really gives a crap about hatchbacks.....oops I meant hot hatches P.S : The Peugeot not only did not take off here, it didnt take off anywhere, hence was discontinued.

Sorry to say outside of Europe no one really gives two hoots about hatchbacks, and if France's only claim to fame are a few outdated hatchbacks no wonder globally they have been left behind or more like they were never really in thr global race in the first place. Maybe time to tap into the Luxury Sedan and SUV. Wait I think they did try the Luxury Sedan segment but failed.

Well that engine was the only good thing about that car.

Replica, meh! This guy owns one of the original ones used in the show. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3YKtQrYNKPg

Yeah but being and old American V8 probably put outs something like 150-190hp LOL Old yank V8s are notorious for have huge displacement with puny HP numbers. Im currently on a smaller 4.4 V8 BMW M62tu in my L322. In the future plan to upgrade to a Jag 4.4 AJV8 from the 2nd gen L322s being a much more reliable and less problem ridden unit than the BMW one. I ditched the plans for a 5.0 supercharged one as I really didnt feel a huge difference between the two when last month I had a supercharged in my possession for a few days and also the associated issues with the SC along associated difficulties for DIY maintenance. I do like the whine on the supercharger when you give it the beans though. Like a angry little banshee wanting to get out from under the hood.

Agreed, Ghurka to me atleast always invoked the image of a tribe of tough people who grew up in the harsh cold ans barren environment of the Himalayas and then out of those a select few were chosen by the British Army as a elite force. To me its the other way around. Naming a puny 85hp diesel is not in keeping with Ghurkha name. I think the Ghurka name becoming synonymous with a lazy watchman is due to poor nepali immigrants cashing in on the ghurka fame. Im sure in the past actual retired ghurkhas were sought after by the rich as their body and security guards. Because who could be better at that job than an actual Ghurka. Its like hiring a member of the SAS for security.

Trying to copy Lambo perhaps?

Your choice man, personally I have no love for them at all. Its like buying a washing machine, doesnt matter which one you get. But if its a choice between a Corolla and Camry. Id go for the 308. Because the yotas are the blandest of the bland. If you dont want to look like you are driving the cheapest rent a car in town, look around there are many other cars too. I know everyone's needle is always stuck on toyota for some odd reason. Look at what the Koreans and the Americans have to offer too. This being a buyers market,maybe even consider slightly older Merc C and E classes.

Damn thats such fugly shizz son!

My condolences Sertac.