According to Dubai’s Radio One, the credit crunch has dealt a serious blow to the venerated extravaganza of excess known as the Abu Dhabi Motor Show. Several major manufacturers have pulled out of the venue due to start on the seventeenth of this month, citing diminishing returns for the capital invested in the displays. BMW, Porsche (which just pulled out of the Canadian show as well) and the VW Group (most notably Audi and Skoda) all cut bait. Who’d a thunk it? The Cayennes, X5s and Q7s blasting down Dubai’s dusty but extremely smooth highways almost outnumber Nissan Tiidas and Toyota Corollas. General Motors, on the other hand, has upped their square footage to dominate the Exhibition Hall in downtown Abu Dhabi. They’ve also setup a test drive program (as long as you have a driver’s license, are 21 and don’t look dubious). GM offers easy financing: “0-new car in 60 Minutes.” As many of the potential customers of the various GM models in the UAE are ex-patriots, or imported slave labor with limited UAE credit, this prearranged financing should prove very successful. Manufacturers certain to display their wares: Lamborghini, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Shelby, with the fastest production car in the world, the Ultimate Aero.
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expatriate – unless of course you are referring to former members of the NFL team. Then it would ex-Patriots.
“…and don’t look dubious” in Abu Dhabi.
LOL, Mike
Well the Abu Dhabi SHow was never the cream of the crop, that is the Dubai Show. ABu Dhabi always misses out on a few exhibitors because the local dealers dont deem it necessary.
however it’s the Dubai show again that illicits the interest of the regional offices/manufacturers, and it’s then that you can actually consider if thei’re in a fix or not.
but most of the brands in the UAE are reporting either increasing or plateau’d sales growth.
however the reason it hasn’t dropped yet, is that the truth of how deep the economical abyss that is coming hasn’t sunk in with the people living there.