Greetings
I just returned from a trip to the UAE to visit family and we spent some time traveling through Oman, almost to the Yemen border. That drive takes about 14 hours on mostly good roads and skirts the edge of the legendary Empty Quarter. And it is indeed empty -- nothing but flat desert and a few camels for hundreds of miles. We passed through quite a number of military checkpoints with few problems but you pretty quickly realize you're not in Kansas anymore.
Toyota owns the market there, although there are quite a few Range Rovers and G wagons in Dubai. Even the military drives Toyotas that have been modified to include a rooftop machine gun mount.
I didn't see too many of the older Land Rovers and those I did were well used.
I was also able to attend the Mideast Tuners Show in Dubai which was a mixed bag in terms of what was displayed. Drifting is huge there so many of the cars were set up for that. I did get to speak with a number of vendors and they shared some interesting perspectives on the market. Much of it is driven by what the sheikhs want and drive so there is a fair amount of turnover in trucks and equipment. One of the most interesting vendors was a company that buys crashed high end cars and trucks and resells them for either parts or to be repaired. Case in point is this G Wagon.
The same company had a McLaren with front end damage that had been a gift to the 18 year old son of a Sheikh. It had 3000 kms on it when he drove it into a wall. Daddy bought him a new one -- in red. Several of the vendors confided that most transactions were cash -- they would literally show up with suitcases of it.
There were some beautifully restored and prepared trucks there including this Patrol and a number of FJ's.
One of my favorites was a Gwagon that had been modified by a German Company that set up shop in Dubai. The Sheikhs love their GWagons so they do a tidy business restoring and modifying them. This company has developed front and rear bumpers that accommodate a number of platforms that slide in to hold winches, lights, jerry cans -- you name it. They even made one that can hold a remotely controlled mini-gun for a Sheikhs security detail.
I will post additional pics in a separate post.
I just returned from a trip to the UAE to visit family and we spent some time traveling through Oman, almost to the Yemen border. That drive takes about 14 hours on mostly good roads and skirts the edge of the legendary Empty Quarter. And it is indeed empty -- nothing but flat desert and a few camels for hundreds of miles. We passed through quite a number of military checkpoints with few problems but you pretty quickly realize you're not in Kansas anymore.
Toyota owns the market there, although there are quite a few Range Rovers and G wagons in Dubai. Even the military drives Toyotas that have been modified to include a rooftop machine gun mount.
I didn't see too many of the older Land Rovers and those I did were well used.
I was also able to attend the Mideast Tuners Show in Dubai which was a mixed bag in terms of what was displayed. Drifting is huge there so many of the cars were set up for that. I did get to speak with a number of vendors and they shared some interesting perspectives on the market. Much of it is driven by what the sheikhs want and drive so there is a fair amount of turnover in trucks and equipment. One of the most interesting vendors was a company that buys crashed high end cars and trucks and resells them for either parts or to be repaired. Case in point is this G Wagon.
The same company had a McLaren with front end damage that had been a gift to the 18 year old son of a Sheikh. It had 3000 kms on it when he drove it into a wall. Daddy bought him a new one -- in red. Several of the vendors confided that most transactions were cash -- they would literally show up with suitcases of it.
There were some beautifully restored and prepared trucks there including this Patrol and a number of FJ's.
One of my favorites was a Gwagon that had been modified by a German Company that set up shop in Dubai. The Sheikhs love their GWagons so they do a tidy business restoring and modifying them. This company has developed front and rear bumpers that accommodate a number of platforms that slide in to hold winches, lights, jerry cans -- you name it. They even made one that can hold a remotely controlled mini-gun for a Sheikhs security detail.
I will post additional pics in a separate post.
