Category: Automotive

I’ve known about this event for weeks but couldn’t share details until now. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to go to a monster truck show, and it’s finally going to happen!

The Hot Wheels Monster Trucks show is coming to Kuwait next month to perform 4 shows over 4 days from October 23 to 26. The event will be taking place at the Basel Salem Alsabah Club and is it brought to you by Blast Off Events and Live Nation.

Tickets will start at 15KD and will be available later today on Eventat.com and LiveNation.me

If you want a preview, check out @hotwheelsmonstertruckslive

Update: I replaced the main photo with the official poster now that it’s launched.

Auto World Show is a car show that’s more than just a car show. Last year was their first year and they had a bunch of different things happening during the week including talks, sim and RC racing, stunt shows, a 4×4 proving ground and more. This year they’re back again for the second year running and the show starts from today and will last till September 28th.

All the major car brands will be there including the major European ones as well as most of the Chinese brands. I went to it last year and I didn’t find it interesting at all since there wasn’t any car I hadn’t seen before, but I’ll be going to it again this year just for fun.

The show is being held at the Mishref Fair Grounds and is from 10AM to 10PM. For more info, here is a link to their website.

Yesterday the Ministry of Interior announced they’ll be installing new intelligent AI-powered traffic cameras. The new cameras are meant to automatically detect seat belt violations, and drivers using their phones while driving. This isn’t the first time the MOI announced automated monitoring. Back in January 2023, the MOI announced they were installing new smart cameras that could detect both those violations, but that never materialized for some reason.

Although not much information was shared yesterday regarding the new cameras, based on some research I did there are a couple of companies that provide these traffic cameras, including Acusensus and VITRONIC. VITRONIC recently installed AI cameras in the UAE and have a Middle East office so it’s very probable those are the ones we are getting.

No matter which brand we are getting, they all work similarly:

• The traffic cameras capture high-resolution images of approaching vehicles.

• Artificial intelligence (AI) software filters the images to detect possible mobile phone use, or failure to wear a seatbelt by the driver and front seat passenger.

• If AI does not see a potential violation, it will reject the image.

• If AI detects a driver who may be using a phone or not wearing their seatbelt, it flags the image for further review.

• Images which are flagged for potential violations are then checked and verified by an officer.

So AI won’t be issuing tickets automatically, violations will still be double checked by a real person which is good news. These new AI cameras are also really effective. In Australia they trialed a similar AI traffic camera and in the first month alone, 1,500 drivers and 225 passengers were caught not wearing seatbelts, and almost 1,200 drivers were caught using their mobile phones.

Not sure how bad seatbelt violations are, but I’m really hoping this will stop people using their phones while driving since they’re the most annoying drivers.

I’m a huge fan of the way the Cybertruck looks. There is at least one in Kuwait since I’ve seen it park next to my office but there’s now another one and it’s for sale.

The local car dealer AlSarraf Motors has a Cybertruck in stock with 0 mileage available and it’s priced at KD62,000. In comparison, back in July a Cybertruck with just 500miles sold for around KD36,600 on bringatrailer.com. Add around 600KD for shipping plus 5% for customs and it would obviously be cheaper to get one directly from the states. But, if money is no object and you want a Cybertruck right now, this is your only option.

A few days ago they introduced a new feature to the Sahel app where you can transfer the car registration from one persons name to another using just the app. Below is a step by step video on how to do that.

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The new Nissan Patrol got released yesterday and the Kuwait prices are already available. The price of the entry level Patrol starts at KD 19,399 while the top of the line model is priced at KD 30,499. Here are the prices:

Patrol 3.8L, V6 (310HP)
XE: KD 19,399
SE T2: KD 20,950
SE Titan: KD 23,499
SE Platinum City: KD 26,099

Patrol 3.5L, V6 Twin Turbo (425HP)
LE-T1: KD 23,499
LE-T2: KD 24,999
LE-Titanium: KD 26,950
LE-Titanium+: KD 27,950
LE-Platinum City: KD 30,499

Nissan Kuwait already have the car up on their website along with the details on what every version of the car has in terms of equipment so if you want more details, click here.

There is a German car dealer that has a 1963 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider for sale that was originally sold in Kuwait back in 1963.

According to confirmation from the Alfa Romeo archives, the Spider they’re selling was delivered to Kuwait on 1 April 1963. The car later went to South Africa and then a few years ago was sent to Germany where its now on sale again.

I actually have a copy of the ad above that I had taken from a 1962 issue of the Kuwait Times that showcases the Spider. The dealer for Alfa Romeo back in the early 60s was Kazima Trading Co.

It’s a beautiful car and I kinda feel someone needs to buy it and bring it back to Kuwait. I would have, but at over 40,000KD it’s not really an impulse buy. Link

Last week, there was a heated debate in the Kuwait Reddit community about why anyone in Kuwait would get an electric car when fuel is so cheap. Curious to find out for myself, I contacted Mercedes and borrowed an EQS 450 electric SUV for a few days. Now, I think I have an answer.

It turns out EV owners in Kuwait never have to pay to charge their cars.

From what I can tell, all the public charging stations in Kuwait are free. There are currently over 40 different charging locations in Kuwait, including all along the Gulf Road, and in popular spots like The Avenues and 360 Mall. If you work at an office tower like Al Hamra or Al Raya, you also have EV chargers available there. That means you can charge your car for free while you’re at work or out shopping. But, in some apartment buildings like mine, there are power sockets in the parking that residents can use for free. So, when I had the car, I just plugged the car into one of the sockets and charged it overnight at no cost.

I also tried charging at one of the new EV chargers on the Gulf Road to see what that experience was like. They’re located in all the parking lots that were part of the recently refurbished waterfront. I chose to charge at the station next to the Kuwait Towers because I needed a nice shot for this post and it was super easy to use. I didn’t even need to use my own charging cable, the chargers have cables already attached. All I had to do was take the cable and plug it into the car, and it started charging right away.

I’m not saying you should buy an electric car just because you don’t have to pay for fuel. There are many other benefits to owning an EV, but free charging is definitely a nice bonus.

Last year the MOI purchased and installed new smarter cameras and looks like they’ve been having success with them since they just ordered more than 100 new ones. The smart cameras are made by Jenoptik and can detect red light, speeding and moving vehicle offenses, such as illegal turns. The cameras are expected to be delivered third quarter of this year but no word if they will be replacing old cameras, or if they’re going to be installed in new locations.

Jenoptik has been involved in a variety of traffic safety projects in Kuwait since the 1990s. source

The popular car vlogger Shmee was in Kuwait last week to film the car collection of Dr. Adel Quttainah, the plastic surgeon. I had assumed it was his first visit to Kuwait but in the video he mentions it was his second time although I couldn’t find any details of his first visit. If you’re into cars, check out his video on YouTube

Yesterday someone on Reddit shared a video he took at a beach in Abu Halifa. The video shows a guy driving an SUV (Toyota FJ Cruiser) carelessly on a beach when he suddenly loses control and the car flips over throwing the driver out.

That original post disappeared but not before the video quickly going viral locally. It even started going viral online with one post getting 54,000 up votes and a reel on Instagram getting over 5 million views.

Supposedly the car was stolen and the driver was later apprehended although I can’t find a news site verifying that information. If you haven’t watched the video or if you want to watch the full unedited video, I’ve uploaded it to YouTube and shared it in this post.

Just a quick update on my previous post on a new rule requiring a triptik for your car if you’re planning on driving out of Kuwait. Yesterday I had a day trip to Khafji and I didn’t get triptik for my car and nobody asked for it at the border.

The only issue I had actually was a 5KD parking fine. They wouldn’t let me leave Kuwait without settling the fine, luckily the border was empty due to the rain storm, so the guy just let me pay the fine while still at the window using the Sahel app.

So lesson of the day, always check to see if you have any fines before traveling. This applies only for expats.

Update: So it seems it could depend on what border you exit Kuwait from. The Salmi border are supposedly asking for triptik, the khafji border isn’t.

I recently heard that any expat wishing to travel by car outside Kuwait now requires a car “TripTik”. No idea why they announced this new rule but it basically means you need to get an additional paper now for your car before traveling.

A reader recently had to get this paper done at KIAC and this is what he shared:

There are 2 options for the TripTik, 1 month & 12 months validity. 1 Month was recently introduced by KIAC on announcement of this new rule to make it more affordable for expats, but if you travel a lot you should get the 12 months validity. The TripTik will be stamped entering and exiting the border similar to a passport.

Here is what’s required:

For 1 Month
Fee: 20KD
Deposit: 50KD that you’ll get back when you’re back from your trip
Paperwork Required: Civil ID, passport, and car registration

For 1 Year
Fee: 50KD
Deposit: 50KD that you’ll get back when you’re back from your trip
Paperwork Required: Civil ID, passport, and car registration. In addition to that you also need a Kuwaiti guarantor as well. The Kuwaiti guarantor needs to have their Civil ID as well as salary certificate.

Issuing the TripTik takes a few minutes after submitting all the correct paperwork.

In case you’re traveling by car, please double check the above information since it might change over time. You can contact KIAC on 24827524 if you have any questions or visit their website kiac.com.kw

As someone that travels often by car I’m personally really annoyed by this.

Thanks Uzair

UPDATE: According to a number of readers, they were able to travel to Saudi without requiring the TripTik. So looks like it might not be required or they haven’t started requesting them yet.

UPDATE2: I just went to Saudi yesterday and came back, didn’t require TripTik and nobody asked me about it either.

If you’ve ever wanted to see the rare Mercedes Gullwing in person, Mercedes currently have one temporarily on display.

The Mercedes dealership recently renovated their main showroom in Al-Rai and part of the new look is a display area in the middle featuring two cars. The first is a replica of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen which is considered to be the first practical modern automobile and was built in 1885. The second car on display is a 1956 Mercedes 300 SL “Gullwing” which is on loan from the popular plastic surgeon, Dr Adel Quttainah.

The car is nicknamed the “Gullwing” because of its doors which open upwards. They’re pretty rare cars and can cost anywhere between $1,250,000 to $2,000,000. Some rarer examples of the car have sold for three times that amount as well.

The new dealership is actually pretty nice and around double the size of their previous showroom. They had a lot of cars on display including the Maybach by fashion designer Virgil Abloh, which is the sand colored car above.

If you want to check the cars out, the showroom is right next door to Xcite in Al-Rai, right on the 4th Ring Road. Google Maps

This is not a Land Rover Defender. It might look like one in the photos but thats because the INEOS billionaire owner decided to build a replacement for his old Defender after Land Rover stopped making them. The Defender wasn’t a very practical car and it was known to have a lot of shortcomings. The Grenadier is the spiritual successor of the original Defender but with all the problems fixed.

I’ve been interested in this car ever since it launched so I was super excited to drive it. I had the car for 24 hours so I got to spend a lot of time with it and here is what I liked and disliked.

The Good
The exterior has a timeless look so it won’t get old. The interior is filled with buttons which I love and there are even buttons on the roof. The AC worked great and I drove it during the hottest parts of the day. There were both USB-A and USB-C ports, wireless CarPlay, reverse sensors and camera, and every other essential but basic tech. The car was very comfortable on rough roads and the engine easily picked up speed on the highways.

The Bad
The car I drove had the glass sunroof option which meant I had the sun in my face all day. The AC although strong had 4 only blower steps, 4 was too powerful, 3 wasn’t powerful enough and I couldn’t set it in between. The AC knob also didn’t have a nice feel or click to it which is weird considering all the other 600 buttons felt great. There is no dash cluster in front of you which is fine because your speed and other info is displayed on the left of the center screen. But that pushes CarPlay too far right and the reverse camera also all the way right. It was annoying in use. Finally, the biggest issue I have with the car is the cost. The car starts at 21,900 while the model I drove is 26.5. That’s a lot of money but I guess everything is expensive nowadays.

Would I buy the car? Yes totally, if it was cheaper. I’m the perfect customer for this car so I feel this car was made for me. I love the look; I like that it has only the essential tech and I love the story on why this car exists. It’s a perfect go anywhere do anything 4X4.

There is no INEOS showroom yet since the car officially launches in Kuwait at the end of the year. The dealer is Al Babtain and you can check out the car or get more info by calling 67677715.