Search: “ghanim”

Alghanim Automotive sent me these pictures of a pimped out Trailblazer. They have an accessorizing arm called Kromozone that specializes in pimpin’ cars and this is their latest creation. I think they should have displayed this car outside Virgin Marina Mall instead of the car they previously had on display which didn’t looked pimped at all. You can check more pictures of the Trailblazer below including some of the inside which is just as pimped.

Trailblazer-0001
Trailblazer-0002
Trailblazer-0003
Trailblazer-0004
Trailblazer-0005
Trailblazer-0006

You can contact Kromozone on 6947719

Update: Here are some better pictures:
Side shot
Inside shot
Front shot

After I posted the picture of the new Escalade earlier in the month I got a phone call from Alghanim Automotive marketing people telling me I could take the car out for a ride. So yesterday I took it for a ride and wow what a ride.

The first thing I noticed once I got into the car was how beautiful the interior was. As I mentioned before, unlike the old Escalade who’s interior I found extremely boring and “American”, the new Escalade is much more cleaner and very European. The interior detailing is extraordinary and extremely comforting on the eye. It’s really a huge leap over the old one. The drivers seat was also extremely comfortable and I was quickly able to adjust it and the mirrors before I left the dealership.

I took the car out to the Gulf Road and went cruising. The engine is unbelievable, with over 400HP it just wants to go faster and faster. I had a hard time keeping it at 80KM/h, there is just soo much power in it that a slight tap on the gas and you’re already at the speed limit. Of course speed limits are meant to be broken when no radar cameras are around so as soon as I passed one I slammed on the gas for an earth-shattering kick down. The engine (which comes from the Corvette) just suddenly took on a new life and turned the classy quiet Escalade into a scary loud hotrod.. it was incredible.

After driving for a while I decided to park the car and take some pictures plus explore the various features of the car. The coolest thing I found was the trunk since its fully automated. Basically the old trunk was very heavy to open and close especially for woman so the new trunk is motorized. You press a button on the handle and step back while the door opens up. You press another button and the trunk closes down. I even recorded a video of it, which you can watch [Here]. The car currently doesn’t come with a Navigation system but by the end of the year they will not only be coming with a built in Navigation system but also 3 screens in the back (it currently has 1) and the ability to play a different movie on every screen, plus 3 other people in the car could also listen to 3 different CDs all at the same time using wireless headphones. So in total 6 people could be watching or listening to 6 different things all at the same time.

The exterior of the car has also changed a lot although it still closely resembles the older model. You still have the over sized headlights for example which allows you to spot an Escalade from a mile away. The new Escalades also come with 22inch rims as standard and soon official body kits will be made available by Cadillac so anyone will be able to pimp their ride at the dealer. When driving around on the Gulf Road the car is an eye catcher. It can’t not be since the car is huge and I was driving the Pearl White version so I was sparkling under the sun.

I had a lot of fun driving the car around and when I brought it back to the dealer, the manager gave me a detailed tour of the cars features. If I had the money I would have bought the car right on the spot which brings me to the final point, the price. The new Cadillac Escalade starts from KD20,900 which is cheaper then a Range Rover but more expensive then the Lexus. It’s in a pretty nice position at the moment and I am sure once the car is more widely available the price will come down a bit more. If I had to choose between a Range Rover and the new Escalade it would be a really tough decision, luckily it’s not a decision I am likely to make anytime soon.

Here are some pictures and videos I shot:
Picture of Escalade’s interior
Picture of Escalade’s Exterior
Another picture of the Escalade’s Exterior
Video of trunk opening and closing
Video of a tour around the car

I went to Alghanim today to pick up my cheque when on my way out I noticed the new Escalade. I had seen it before in pictures online but this was the first time I saw it in person and it looks wayyy better then in the pictures. Even the inside is really cool.

The World Cup is coming up and Chevrolet in Kuwait are presenting their Winning 11 Chevrolet team. They have exactly 11 Chevrolet models and its everything you need to make a winning football team. Everyone is cashing in on the World Cup fever and they cannot ignore the frenzy. Thats why they are equipping all 5 of their showrooms with plasma screens and ART subscriptions to display the games live. They also have an offer where if you buy any car at Alghanim Automotive you can win a trip to the winning country of the World Cup. They will send you there in business class and even give you KD1000 to spend as you wish.

In addition, all their showrooms are branded ‘football style’ with flags, TV screens, salesmen wearing jerseys etc.. Even if people aren’t buying a car they want them to visit the showrooms and enjoy the games with them. So if you have the time pass by and check them out.

On Friday I picked up my friend and we went and had lunch at IKEA before heading off to the H3 Ride & Drive event. When we got to the location it was like arriving in the middle of no where, we couldn’t see anything it was all desert and hills. Then we noticed some dust coming up from behind one of the hills and we decided to go and investigate. Luckily I was in my Wrangler because there was no paved road, its like you needed an H3 to get to the H3 event. I didn’t mind that since it felt like a true off road event even before I got to the place. When we reached the top we found the H3 camp, it was located at the bottom of the hill surrounded by a ton of Hummers and random visitor cars. We drove down to the camp and parked the Jeep… first impression was very positive so far.

We walked into the tent where we were greeted by some cute girls who took our names and made us sign a disclaimer stating if we got hurt they wouldn’t be responsible. I found that odd since its supposed to be just a test drive.. how bad could things go you know? Once we signed the papers they gave us a goodie bag and pointed us to another person who would put us into a Hummer.

This is where the fun starts. We get into the Hummer and drive off a hundred meters down the road where the Hummer driver tells me to swap seats so I could drive. I get into the drivers seat, adjust everything to my liking and then drive off towards a Hummer flag further down the road. When I first was told about the event, they told me that there were two tracks, a soft one and a hard one. I would be allowed to drive on the soft one while a professional driver would drive on the hard one. So automatically I assumed the soft track would be a stupid flat circle where I would safely drive around looking like an idiot. Well that turned out to be a completely wrong assumption. When I got to the Hummer flag I saw a deep fucking ditch in the ground filled with water. I figured that was the end of the test drive and I probably need to swap seats with the Pro driver so he could take me around the hard track. To my surprise the driver was like ok go in. I was like where, in that ditch? He was like yeah so I was like fucking cool. At first I thought this was a privilege I got because I knew the organizers but it turns out it wasn’t a privilege but in fact this was actually the start of the soft course! I got down the ditch and drove through the water till the end where I reached to a wall. I am not exaggerating here it was a nearly vertical sand wall that was soo high up I couldn’t see out of the ditch. The driver told me to step on the gas and not to press the brakes. I thought for sure the front end of the car would hit the wall before the tires but it didn’t. Up the wall I went and out of the ditch I drove. It was very cool and kinda unreal. I drove down to the next check point and this time the road ahead turned into holes. Each hole was maybe around 40cm deep and they were placed on both the left and right sides of the track. We drove through the track without any problems and very smoothly. Sure the car was moving up and down like a fishing boat in a perfect storm but we were driving through a track filled with 40cm deep pot holes! The whole time I was thinking shit my Wrangler can’t do this…

When we were done from the soft track which involved numerous impossible to climb looking obstacles, it was time to give the control back to the pro. He drove us to the hard track and put the H3 on 4x4low and told us to fasten our seat-belts. The first obstacle involved the H3 driving across two small dunes where half way through the driver stops and explains to us how the H3 at this point has only 2 wheels touching the ground. We then continue off to what I can only describe as a roller-coaster ride. We went up and down so many obstacles that were so high up and so steep it was just unbelievable. I tried to take pictures out of the window but all I could capture was either the sky or the ground. It was seriously jaw dropping. Once the drive was over I called up Nat and told her to get ready because I was going to come and pick her up. I drove all the way to Salmiya and back just so she could experience the drive. That ofcourse was a big mistake because now she can’t stopped nagging me about how she wants an H3 and when I could take her to the showroom.

I took a lot of pictures that day but something happened to the memorystick and all my pictures got erased. But, Alghanim sent me pictures yesterday that were taken by a photographer who came in from Dubai and they are way better pictures then the ones I had taken. Check them out, they are all from the Ride & Drive event here in Kuwait. The H3’s have Dubai numbers because they were brought in from Dubai. [Pictures]

I had a lot of fun.

Thanks for everyone who participated in the H3 Ride & Drive contest. Over 60 people participated but sadly we only had 10 tickets to give away. I just sent out an email to the 10 winners, 8 were chosen by random and 2 were handpicked. I gave a ticket to the first person who sent in a picture of an H3 and I gave a ticket to one user who looked like he walked around the Marina Mall Alghanim parking lot looking for H3s because he found and shot 9 different ones. Anyway I hope to be seeing you guys at the event.

I was able to get more info on the Hummer H3 Ride & Drive event and I was also able to get 10 tickets to give away!

On the 27th and 28th, Alghanim Automotive is having a Hummer H3 Ride & Drive event which will happen at the Gharnata park, near the ministry of health. This is an event that is organized throughout the Middle East and Levant. It is a full day experience, with test drives, professional hard track drive (no other 4×4 can do that stuff), Hummer gear fashion show (with 2 sexy models from Dubai), open buffet, shisha, kids section, the works!

Now the cool part is since Alghanim Automotive are the sponsors of 2:48AM they have given us 10 tickets to give away. Each ticket will allow entrance for two people so you can bring your friend along. Since there are only 10 tickets to give away I have decided to do a small contest.

The Contest
All you need to do to win a ticket to the Hummer H3 event is to take a picture of an H3 on the streets of Kuwait using your camera phone or regular camera and email it to EMAIL REMOVED. It can be a shot of a parked H3 or one on the streets.. its up to you. Ten winners will then be randomly chosen and they will be able to go pick up the tickets from Alghanim Automotive. The last day to submit the pictures is April 24th so you have 5 days to find an H3 and shoot it. My advice is to pass by the showroom in Al-Rai or the Marina Mall parking lot.

Here is a map to the location, if you go there without a ticket they won’t let you in so take a picture and send it in. [Map]

Note: Please do not send me pictures of H3’s from the web, they have to be taken by you here in Kuwait. It’s been less then an hour since I posted this contest and already I received 2 pictures of H3s that were taken from the Hummer website or something..

There is a Hummer H3 Ride & Drive event on the 26th and 27th of this month. It’s an off-road event where people will be allowed to take the H3 out for a test drive on a professional course. The event is by invite only so I am once again trying to get myself an invite. The Mardi Gras event is tonight btw, hopefully I can take pictures. When I first saw the H3 last April at the showroom I thought it was ugly but now that I see it on the streets the design is growing on me. I think black is my favorite color on it.

Anyway I will try to get more info on this H3 event since I think its being organized by Alghanim Automotive who are my sponsors.

For the next three months Alghanim Automotive will be the main sponsors for the website. As you can see they have purchased the banner space on the top of the sidebar and they might be swapping their ads every 2 weeks or whenever they have a new offer.

Alghanim Automative are the dealers for Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer, Opel and Saab and around every two weeks I will be invited to try out a certain car. That should turn out to be really fun since I haven’t done anything like that before. Most importantly they will not be interfering in the reviews which is also a cool thing.

This support by Alghanim Automotive is a good thing for the site because the money from this deal will be reinvested into the website. I met the Alghanim marketing team last week and they are a nice young group who are great fans of the blog so I am glad to be working with them.

The next few months will be very interesting and filled with surprises so enjoy the ride.

I went to Alghanim Electronics tonight to pay for an installment. There was a queue of around 10 people and I came and stood with them in line. Two minutes pass by when suddenly an Egyptian guy in his 30’s comes and stands in front of me. At first I thought he was with the guy in front of me but then I realized he didn’t stand next to the guy, he stood behind him. So I tapped the guy on the shoulder and asked him what he was doing. He told me he had forgotten something in the car and that he just went down to get it and came back up. I told him well when I came he wasn’t there and that he should just stand behind me in line. He refused, so we started arguing over it. I mean it wasn’t anything major, it was just over a place in line and we were both standing at the end of it. We started lightly shoving each other and yelling out insults when a guy a few places in front of us in line told me I could stand in front of him. I told him thanks but its not about the position in line anymore. This fuckhead came in out of nowhere and cut in line in front of me. If he had explained to me nicely before coming into line that he was there before me I would have let him cut in in front of me since its only 1 space but instead the guy decided to arrogantly come in as if I was invisible.

Alghanim employees although abundant didn’t seem to care about this little scuffle going on in the line, its as if they were bored and this was their entertainment. I couldn’t for one back out of this fight since I had been placed in a corner. If I stopped scuffling with the guy what would I do next? Just quietly get in line behind this fuckhead as if nothing happened? That wasn’t gonna happen.

Suddenly the Egyptian guy gave me a semi strong shove with one hand, I took that as a sign of aggression and decided to go ahead and let him have it. By then my leg had already started shaking from all the adrenalin rush and I was just waiting for him to get just a bit more aggressive so I could make my move. I grabbed the guy with my two hands on his shirt and I forcefully shoved him 2 meters back onto a fridge. I then picked him up again while he was stumbling and pushed him back hard onto the fridge again. I then grabbed him and started punching his face. Suddenly I felt someone pull me back and the other guys in the queue started to break up the fight. One guy from the queue yelled at an Alghanim employee for not stopping the fight from the beginning, the Alghanim employee told him its not part of his job.

Anyway Nat was with me and she told me we should get out of the place and that the guy wasn’t worth it and so we left. I spent the rest of the walk back home wishing I had punched the fucker in the nose to make him bleed.

The Mac store Solize has moved from Muthana Complex to Dana Complex in Salmiya (same building as Lime Light). They are located on the 4th floor, apartment 403 and you can contact them on 7215943 or 7215949. I heard from a friend though that they are selling refurbished Mac’s under the pretense they are brand new. I haven’t been able to confirm this though.

In other news, Al Ghanim Electronics are now selling iPod Videos. They are priced similar to Virgin I believe (meaning expensive like $700 for the 60GB) but at least you can get it in installments if you can’t afford the cash price. Currently only white is available but they are getting black ones in a few days.

Yesterday night I passed by the Qualitynet branch in Eureka. My first experience, they are nice friendly people. The guy tried to help me out as much as possible but due to the fact I was a Shownet customer and had a Satellite/DSL combo, I have to go to the main branch in Khaleejeyeh Complex. I did finish most of my paper work though. At one point he was calling this one guy who had more info about my situation, and he was like “I hope the guy answers, there is a big game today”. I was like big game? what big game? He was like Barcelona and Real Madrid are playing. I found that very funny and luckily the guy did pick up. I am sure if the guy hadn’t picked up my first impression about Qualitynet would have been much different.

The reason I went with Qualitynet was the price. For KD32 a month, I get a 512KB connection and a free DSL modem. This is with a 1 year contract which you can pay in monthly installments. I was planning on going with Fasttelco at first though. I had spoken to an FT salesman at Al-Ghanim Electronics, the guy told me FT had a double your bandwidth option also. It would cost me the same price, KD32 if I paid the bill online. Disdavantage is I had to pay KD20 for a DSL modem but the advantage was, this one a month by month contract not a yearly one. After leaving the salesman at Al Ghanim I decided to pass by the main FT office. When there I asked them again about the double your bandwidth option, they told me it existed but ONLY if I did the yearly contact which I had to pay the full amount all upfront. He told me if I wanted to go month by month I would only get a 50% increase. That meant 384KB instead of 512.. not enough. So, I decided to go with Qualitynet.