saudi Archives | AutoDepot

Video: Saudi woman’s “right to drive” protest video circulates online despite gov’t. efforts

Filed under: Government/Legal, Videos, Middle East

Women's right to drive bumper sticker in Saudi Arabia

Manal al-Sharif’s campaign for women’s right to drive – Click above to watch video after the jump

The Arab Spring has brought a wave of change and reform to the Middle East, but that tide has seemingly stopped at Saudi Arabia. According to The New York Times, the Saudi government has effectively squelched a movement championed by Manal al-Sharif. The woman wasn’t campaigning for the overthrow of the government or the death of the country’s leaders. Instead, she was simply demonstrating for women’s right to drive in her country. Sharif posted videos of herself driving on YouTube and started Facebook and Twitter accounts that prompted other Saudi women to do the same.

That’s when the Saudi government stepped in. Sharif was arrested for her transgressions and her videos were removed from YouTube. Later, a Facebook page she had set up to instruct other women about how to get involved was deleted and a duplicate of her Twitter account began posting messages indicating that she had stopped her efforts.

But this is the internet, and nothing is gone forever. Copies of Sharif’s original message have reappeared on YouTube and an Al Jazeera report on her campaign is still available. You can check out the full report at The New York Times and watch the videos after the break.

Continue reading Saudi woman’s “right to drive” protest video circulates online despite gov’t. efforts

Saudi woman’s “right to drive” protest video circulates online despite gov’t. efforts originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 May 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Video: Saudi woman’s “right to drive” protest video circulates online despite gov’t. efforts”

Video: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah knows how to make an entrance

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Celebrities

King Abudallah returns home

King Abudallah returns home – Click above to watch video after the jump

It’s kind of a big deal when Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz returns home from overseas. Following a massive welcome ceremony at the airport that includes hundreds of men performing a traditional sword dance, the monarch is treated to a vehicle procession that makes the American president’s motorcade look like a couple of VW Buses caravanning to Bonnaroo. In addition to a fleet of armored German hardware, King Abdullah is accompanied by a number of assault SUVs just in case anything should go awry.

In the video after the jump, you’ll see that the Saudi ruler’s route is lined with both flag-waving supporters and members of the country’s armed forces. AThe king returned to Saudi Arabia amidst growing unrest in Africa and the Middle East that has seen more than one ruling party ousted amidst calls for democracy. Hit the jump to see the video for yourself.

[Source: Gadling]

Continue reading Video: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah knows how to make an entrance

Video: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah knows how to make an entrance originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Video: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah knows how to make an entrance”

Wikileaks: U.S. believes Saudi Arabia is running out of oil

Peak oil, according to Wikipedia, is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. Opinions vary on when the world will actually reach a peak oil scenario, but a new report detailed by Julian Assange’s infamous Wikileaks website indicates the United States believes it’s staring us right in the face – as early as 2012.

Maybe that’s what the Mayan calendar is on about?

It may not exactly be the end of the world as we know it, but if the report is accurate, it could mean death to a number of popular vehicular segments; namely the gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle, heavy-duty pickup truck and possible even the mainstream performance car. Electric and hybrid Mustang and Camaro models might not look so bad in the very near future, eh?

This revalatory report centers around a meeting between Sadad al-Husseini, a geologist and former head of exploration at Aramco (the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia), and U.S. officials. Husseini, an expert on the subject, suggested that Saudi Arabia doesn’t have as much oil left as the country wants us to believe and that it is unlikely to continue producing its current rate of 12.5 million barrels per day.

None of this is to say that the world has run out of oil – far from it, in fact – but it does mean that Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the Middle East and the country that’s thought by experts to hold about one-fifth of the world’s proven total petroleum reserves, won’t be able to provide enough oil to keep the world operating as it does today.

If nothing else, this report gives us reason to believe that oil prices won’t stay nearly as low as they currently are, and that large-scale price increases could happen sooner rather than later. Thanks for the tip, Glenton!

[Source: Yahoo News | Image: Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty]

Wikileaks: U.S. believes Saudi Arabia is running out of oil originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Wikileaks: U.S. believes Saudi Arabia is running out of oil”

Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio coupe enters production with Saudi investment

Filed under: Coupe, Europe, Maybach, Middle East, Luxury

Xenatec Maybach Crusiero coupe

Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio coupe – Click above for image gallery

Want to get your hands on a Maybach coupe? You’ve got two options. First would be to commission a replica of the Exelero concept car on the chassis of a Dodge Viper. That’ll set you back €550,000, or about $730k at today’s conversion rates. Your other choice is to have Xenatec convert a Maybach 57 S limo into a coupe for €675,000 ($894k).

We brought you initial news of the project back in May, followed by details in October. For a quick refresher, the German coachbuilder brought in Fredrik Burchhardt, designer of the original Exelero, to pen the modified shape for the coupe. The result keeps most of the saloon’s mechanicals in place – including the 600+ horsepower twin-turbo V12 – only with modified bodywork, cabin and (of course) two longer doors instead of four.

Seen until now only in sketches, the Xenatec Maybach coupe has been (awkwardly) dubbed the Cruiserio, and it has just made its debut at Daimler headquarters in Stuttgart. The project is now being underwritten by a €70 million ($93M) investment from AutoKingdom of Saudi Arabia. Over the course of three years, Xenatec and AutoKingdom ambitiously anticipate building 100 examples, and say they’ve already got enough orders to keep them busy for the next year or so. Can’t wait that long? The first example is up for sale out of Riyadh, with a price tag of just under a cool million.

Gallery: Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio

Gallery: Maybach 57 S Coupe by Xenatec

[Source: JamesList via World Car Fans]

Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio coupe enters production with Saudi investment originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio coupe enters production with Saudi investment”

Report: Saudi university to start $500 million carmaking enterprise

Filed under: Middle East

King Saud University Gazal-1

King Saud University Gazal-1 – Click above for a high-res image gallery

Few took them seriously when the students of King Saud University unveiled their first design in Geneva last March. But the Saudi institute of higher education is reportedly putting their plans to begin producing their own line of automobiles into high gear.

According to Reuters, the project is being undertaken by the university’s investment arm, Wadi al-Riyadh Technology, with technical and financial support from an as-yet undisclosed South Korean firm. Could Hyundai/Kia be behind the effort? Hard to say, but whoever it is, they’re tipped to be putting up 30 percent of the cash, in addition to the technical know-how. The university is set to put in as much as 15 percent of the capital needed, while the rest is reportedly being offered to outside investments. Altogether, the project is budgeted at $500 million.

The outfit’s first vehicle will reportedly be “an economic car suitable for local use,” as opposed to the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen-based SUV concept pictured above. Spokespeople say they hope to offer the vehicle in other countries in the region, including the Gulf emirates and North African countries.

The development is peculiar for a number of reasons, namely that (a) Saudi Arabia, though the largest economy in the Arab world, is not known as an automobile producing or exporting country, and (b) most cars are not built by universities. Still, if any country has the oil money to pull it off, it’s surely Saudi Arabia.

Gallery: Geneva 2010: King Saud University Gazal-1

[Source: Reuters]

Report: Saudi university to start $500 million carmaking enterprise originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Saudi university to start $500 million carmaking enterprise”

Report: Saudi prince claims to own 1% of GM

Filed under: GM, Earnings/Financials, Middle East

The dust is beginning to settle around the General Motors IPO, and we’re finally getting a sense of exactly who is holding onto big slices of the company. The New York Times is reporting that Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal has managed to snag a full one percent of the automaker with a massive $500 million investment. The prince has a long history of backing various American companies through Kingdom Holdings, including Citigroup. Talal says that in the case of The General, he has faith that the company’s new management can pull off respectable growth and profits.

The prince calls King Abduallah uncle, and while he isn’t likely to ever ascend to the country’s throne, odds are he wouldn’t want to even if he had the chance. Last we heard, the guy was worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 billion thanks to his successful investments.

[Source: The New York Times | Image: Rabih Moghrabi/AFP/Getty]

Report: Saudi prince claims to own 1% of GM originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Saudi prince claims to own 1% of GM”