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Samer Al Saleh: National Sales Director - Toyota/Lexus Qatar #6
21 Plays1 month ago
I ditch Anwar and interview Samer Al Saleh, National Sales Director at Abdulghani Motors in Qatar.
We talk about how he hustled his way into the automotive industry as well as about the unique Qatari market. Is the Land Cruiser still the most dominant vehicle in Qatar? Who are the new challengers? What is it really like owning a Dodge Viper?
If you've got feedback or miss Anwar, please let us know. You can reach us at:
Gulf.specgcc@gmail.com
or
https://www.instagram.com/gulf_spec_podcast/
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
All right, welcome back to the Gulf Spec Podcast. um Unfortunately, it's a little early in Germany right now, so Anwar's not going to be joining us, but I do have a guest today. And I've got Samar El-Sahra with me, and we go back...
00:00:15
Speaker
a long ways. um He used to be my client when I worked on Infinity. And I think one of the reasons we really connected was because he had this G37, which seemed very normal at first. But then all of a sudden, um it had a different engine in it. It got engine swapped. Then it was manual swapped. And like it just kept progressing from there. And I think in the world of like corporate automotive,
00:00:41
Speaker
Samer's a bit of a rarity in the sense that he is a dyed-in-the-wool petrol head, right? And since then, he's worked for FCA, General Motors, and moved on to dealer groups in Qatar, which have included brands like Geely, is that correct? Yeah, Chevrolet, Geely, Hyundai, and now I look after Toyota and Lexus. Yeah, so now you are the national sales director for Ghani in Qatar a for Toyota and Lexus, as you just said. So, Samer, how's it going?
00:01:11
Speaker
It's going well. Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me. It's ah it's been a foggy drive to get here, but I'm glad that we made it I like that neither of us live in Dubai. yeah but Both of us were in Abu Dhabi and we both somehow came to Dubai to record an episode. so that you know this a logistic Logistical genius there. yeah Anyways, ah this is good it's good to be here. And you know as you rightfully said, it's ah you know my love for cars got me in the industry. i'm you know ah The very cool project that you know got me broke, but was... ah But was a very fun learning experience. You know, that car, I don't know if you know, the Golf Spec G37 never came with a manual. Yeah, it didn't. I think that was one of the things I wanted to do.
00:01:54
Speaker
ah So first I'm like, you know what let me join Infinity Middle East and see if I can change that by via product planning and convincing the right people on board. I realized that was a very big business case and you had to convince a lot of people to do a lot of things and...
00:02:08
Speaker
It didn't make sense a lot, let's say. And then I'm like, you know what? I'm going to swap it myself. ah So I've always had a thing for skylines and and so on. So I decided to go with the skyline engine. ah And yeah, and that then that became ah like an engine swap. You know, we got a Frankenstein engine. So there's an RB30 bottom end, RB26 head. and And yeah, we got swapping single turbo manual gearbox from an RB25. And you know how that goes. And it was ah it was very it was supposed to be a very low cost quick swap project. Yeah. But you know how these work, you know? i found a ah guy who showed up from Bahrain and said, look, I'll buy your entire drivetrain. So your engine gearbox, I'll buy the whole thing. So i'm like, okay, good. So that should free up money to do the engine swap.
00:02:54
Speaker
And we did that. And it was supposed to be this quick plug and play. i Went to this shop in an industrial area in Auday Musafah. and they yeah yeah And he just looked at the engine bay. and you know So he was an expert at RB and 2J engines. That's all he did. But it was very cost effective, let's call it. so yeah And then that happened year and a half later. we had a car that was...
00:03:18
Speaker
running, but it wasn't 100%. So obviously there was a lot of troubleshooting, a lot of, it's never been done before, right? So you end up having to customize a lot of, a lot of that, what goes into it, you know, engine mounts, transmission mounts, making sure the shifter sticks out in the right place. So getting all that sorted was not was not very easy. And then tuning it, and then getting the engine to talk to the vehicle, right? So you want you want the car to still, because I wanted a daily drive. I actually daily drove it to work every day here. And actually I was working here in the in Media City. So I had to like drive it every day and you had you you had to make sure that everything worked right. So like keys, when you lock the car, you want to make sure it locked, you know, so people don't break into it.
00:03:58
Speaker
ah So yeah, so that was that was ah quite an adventure, to be honest. That was quite an adventure. You know, that that whole like era just reminded me of like a funny story. And that was I was buying a new car at the time that I was working Infiniti. And i remember if you bought a car that was not Nissan or Infiniti, you couldn't bring bring it into the office gates or pass. had to park outside and walk in or whatever. And everyone was telling me, oh, you should get the Infiniti G35 or the 37 or whatever. And ultimately, I was just like, you know,
00:04:28
Speaker
I want the Teot 86. So I bought a manual Teot 86, and they wouldn't let me bring it in. And like I remember like one or two of the clients were just like, um they were they were not happy about this decision. But you were just like, hey, let's go check it out. And you walked out with me after a meeting, and we'd like, pop the hood, pop the hood. you're just like I mean, I'm not i'm not I don't do fanboyism, right? So I don't like hug a brand and stick with it. I enjoy cars because motorsports fun. i enjoy the, you know, the engines and the sounds and the dynamics. So that's what I really enjoy, you know? So when you get an 86 with like a boxer engine and a manual gearbox, that's something like i would love to drive, you know? So I put the badge aside and I focus on on the and the core. of the car. And that's that's really what really actually what got me into the industry in the first place. right i was ah i was I really wanted to be part of that. I wanted to build my own car. And then I realized, OK, maybe not. Let's focus on sales and marketing. And then I got in there.
00:05:19
Speaker
So yeah, this is this is a really good segue, then. and like What I would like to understand, I think because we were brainstorming this, and I remember you sent me a voice note which about something which I had not heard before, is you wanted to be an F1 driver. Yeah, that was that was the ultimate dream, would say. That was the ultimate dream.
00:05:35
Speaker
F1 driver, but also because I liked i liked you know the mechanics behind F1. So driver slash mechanic engineer kind of. You're in the wrong era, man. That was like the 60s and 70s. telling you, man. I'm telling you. like Yeah, exactly. Like workshop workshop mechanics turned F1, you know, Carroll Shelby's of the world and so on. Like, yeah, i I missed that era for sure. But I tried i really tried to get into it. So it started off by ah being an F1 scrutineer. So when F1 came to the UAE in 2009, there was a program through university. We reached the right people. and Mr. Ben Slaim at the time was looking for volunteers. And we you know put our hands hands up. you know i was a mechanical engineer in the university at the US. and And they opened it up for us. And I signed up immediately. And part of what I wanted to do was to get to know the teams and like ask you know learn how I could get in there. So we were on the technical scrutiny. So we were there for ease, making sure the teams are not cheating and you know doing what they're not supposed to be doing. And I figured through interactions with the teams, I could try and find my way in. And man, it was so difficult. like I was applying left, right and center. I really wanted to get in there. um So that didn't work out.
00:06:40
Speaker
ah And then, you know, fast forward a few years, I get a g thirty seven and, i you know, we start this club, right? So I i said, this car is amazing to drive. I'm sure there's a lot of people that would love to drive. z right Yeah. So literally started off by pulling people off the road. So I was in Abu Dhabi as I was driving around. Anytime I saw a G37, it was right right when they launched it.
00:07:02
Speaker
And I would stop people on the street, like, hey, cool car. Oh, you drive High five. And you know we're best buddies in two minutes. And then I tell them, look, you know i'm trying to I'm trying to start a club, a G37 club. Would you guys be interested? And everyone immediately, like not a single person turned me down, and regardless of age the like, you know, ah demographic, everyone was so excited because I felt that car was exciting to drive and people that drive it are also equally excited. So ah yeah, 10 attempts later, we had 10 people and we started the club. So we started an event, ah then went to the dealer, say, hey, you know, we're we're starting this up. yeah You guys want to come join us? And they're like, yeah. And they welcomed us with open hands and
00:07:42
Speaker
And that club slowly started growing to the point where they were supporting me invite members. And then, funny story, one of the members was... ah was was actually, so he bought a GTR 10 for his wife.
00:07:57
Speaker
And when I rang him up, he was so offended. How'd you get this number? Why are you calling me? And like, look, I'm trying you know, I'm starting a club. like ah I need to know now how you got this number. but And eventually he turned out he was from the regional office.
00:08:12
Speaker
And he was the guy that ah became like like, you know what, I love what you're doing. And I think he was the guy that, you know, i was if i you know if I was to owe my career to someone, i would it would be to him.
00:08:24
Speaker
And he was the guy that said, you know what, I'll open up a budget for you. I'll put you in touch with the marketing team. Come over, went to Dubai to meet the regional office. And yeah and then it you know just picked up from there. We had an annual budgets. We were doing events. The club expanded from being a G37 only in Abu Dhabi to being a G37 across the country.
00:08:42
Speaker
And then the 350Z came on board. And that was the real, like, the passion for G37 for me started with the 350Z because that was the ultimate car. you know When that came, 300-ish horsepower. The design stage. It's beautiful, exactly. You could buy that car today and it will not look out of out of place. it just looks, an amazing it's like it it's an amazing sports car. And I think like at the time, everyone wanted the three fifty z I discovered there was already like a Facebook page, wrote reached out to the guy.
00:09:11
Speaker
And yeah, and then that club became a GTZ club with Lutfi, who was, I think he's still involved with the club. round I had to, unfortunately, because of my work, I could not, you know, have conflicts of interest. So I stepped aside ah and and they're still very active, actually. They still do events and so on, but like I've been disconnected from that. But yeah, but that but then then like through that regional office, then that guy was super supportive, uh,
00:09:34
Speaker
Yeah, started working with them unofficially and then it became official and he said, you know what, something opened up in Infinity, you want to join? And yeah, and eventually I got a job with Infinity Middle East and started from there. Like I started my automotive career there in product and pricing. So that was my first objective. Like I'm going to get in there and I'm going to get a manual G37. I'm going to make it happen. Watch me, guys. are telling everyone, like, watch me, guys. I'm going to make it happen.
00:09:55
Speaker
then I get there, and I'm like, nope, it's not going to happen. and Sorry, guys. It's like there's only 10 people that want to buy a manual G37 in the Middle East, apparently, or something like that. But yeah, so it couldn't couldn't justify the business case. and And that's what I slowly realized, that it was all about the money. So it's ah as any commercial industry is, you know when you're outside the industry, like, yeah, why can't I have a twin turbo v eight on a g thirty to why i got like you know the dreams Why can't I modify my car? Why don't you let me, you know,
00:10:21
Speaker
but drive around a thousand horsepower g37 and still give me warranty so so as i got into the industry and then i started realizing all the you know meeting all the finance people and all the commercials and starting to understand that this is you know as much as there's passion in this uh a lot of people that worked in that industry are commercial people you know and it's business i have to make money they have to pay bills So ah slowly I started realizing that you know it's not as easy to make these dreams and aspirations come true, especially with the lead times they had. you know So if you were to decide at the time that you wanted to introduce a manual G37, it will come like six, seven years later, right? So by then a lot has changed. So it's also how how good are you are predicting trends and futures when you're in planning.
00:11:04
Speaker
So this is a really good segue. like i I want to loop back to your time at FCA, but only for a minute. And we'll do that later if we have time, because you are, to this date, the only person I know that's ever owned a Viper. So yeah, we'll come back to that. But i think you've hit on a really, really interesting point here with you know the building the business case for a lot of these products because us as enthusiasts, we'd love to just like throw away all the screens. Why do we need EV? Why is everything not a manual? you know But like literally, you would sell one car a year, right? Like possibly. And now in your current role with um with Teoda and Lexus, with Abdul Ghani in Qatar. I think maybe maybe start by, if you could start by painting a picture of what the Qatar market looks like because, you know, overall, because I lived in Qatar a long time ago. I've worked with the Qatari government before, actually, but
00:11:53
Speaker
What I remember from there was that Toyota was so dominant and not just Toyota. It was like the Land Cruiser in particular. It wasn't it wasn't a question of did you ah do you have a Land Cruiser? It was a question of how many do you have per household? Because like we would i like I knew siblings. Was it wasn't white or black? That was the question you asked. Everyone just had one, you know, and like, yeah.
00:12:16
Speaker
Worst case scenario, they would have the Lexus version, right? would have the LX instead, right? But, you know, um but yeah, so I guess paint a picture of like Qatar for us because I think a lot of people would be interested to hear that. I don't think it's a market we hear that much about. Yeah, I mean, I mean i i would i would assume that Qatar would have become a bit more popular with World Cup a few years ago. ah But yeah, it's not... it's ah i You know, I moved to Qatar and the first thing that really, as you said, that wowed me was, wow, that's a lot. of There's a lot Land Cruisers here, right? ah And I realized that this is like a mandatory to have in a household. It's just a reliable car. And the resale value for Land Cruisers in Qatar has picked up so much that, you know, anyone that's rational and wants to like, you know, thinking of this from a commercial standpoint, always went a Land Cruiser. You buy a Land Cruiser, you drive for a few years, you sell it, you don't lose a lot of money. And that's not the case with a lot of other brands in Qatar because given the market size and at the time also there's a lot of transients. So it's very expat-based you know it's almost fifteen percent local eighty five percent expat expat and a lot people that come on short term projects. So this kind of drives the mindset of, you know, people are buying cars with the intention of reselling them.
00:13:22
Speaker
So this is something that no one's that has that long-term vision of I want to drive a car for 10 years, 15 years, I want something that doesn't break down. They want something that when in two, or three years they have to leave or you know their contract ends or they have to go to a different country to be able to sell without losing a lot of money. And I think that's where you know when you go and see a lot Land Cruises on the road and a lot of Toyotas, you think, OK, that's the car to have. right So I think that's a strategy a lot of brands are pushing right now is that even if I have to lose money in the short term, I want to get as many cars on the road to change that mindset so that people, once they see it, then they say, OK, that's a brand I can trust. And then, which I think you see a lot with, for example, like Chinese brands today. is that you know They're subsidizing ah you know their sales big time to put as many cars on the road. And and and I think that's that's that's a strategy a lot lot of brands are following. But yeah, so this is about Qatar. You notice a lot of Teoras, a lot of Land Cruisers. ah Lately, that's changing, obviously. So you're seeing a lot of, you know as you see everywhere, Chinese brands are coming in.
00:14:20
Speaker
um You know, we we're funny. Finally, we're looking at a study the other day in 2018. think Chinese brands were around one percent of the market in Qatar. As of two months ago, they're 30%. Wow. One in three cars in Qatar is now a Chinese car.
00:14:33
Speaker
And these are the guys that report their sales. there's ah There's a bunch of brands as well that do not report their sales. So we don't we don't know we don't we don't have that count. But if you just focus on the guys that actually report their sales, you're looking at 30% mix. And that's that's a crazy mix. you know And it'sre you're starting to see that the younger generation especially are starting to change change their... their mindset and their perception of of of Chinese brands. you know They're no longer brands that you know but people are willing to take these risks and and gamble with Chinese brands.
00:15:00
Speaker
I think Imtushan brought up that point, right? Like with a lot of these cars, like whether it's the Land Cruiser or the Camry or whatever. Like for me, it was the Camry and Accord. He pinpointed exactly, right? And it was just like that. The Cressida. The Cressida, right? These were my dad's cars. There is no way I'm going to drive one of those, right? So I think maybe there's that. But what do you think are the, in Qatar specifically, you think are the market drivers for people like switching to Chinese cars and so quickly? Is it a value consideration?
00:15:28
Speaker
I think a lot of it is the you know the coolness of being different. okay I feel there's a lot of that in and Qatar. People want to be different and they they want to make statements like that. So they'll still have the Land Cruiser and Toyota at home. So this is not negotiable, right? but But then they want to show up in the next new toy that is talk of the town, you know? Whether it was the G Tour at the point and now it's the other BYDs coming in and then you've got you know the likes of Rocks. and So a lot a lot of cool cars coming into the picture. and and And they like to talk about these cars, you know. The other day i was talking to a customer and he ah came in with a Zika, I believe. And he was, you know, telling me all these stories about it and, you know, acceleration. And, you know, so he was really passionate, you know. And I think that's the element. So as you said, like he still has a Land Cruiser parked at home. But this is a new toy that he's he's playing with. I don't think there's...
00:16:21
Speaker
ah I don't think it's a rational decision. So there's nothing commercially, you know no one's thinking about ah RV resale value and you know what's going to get me in two years. None of that. It's priced very aggressively. So people are are like, you know what? What's the worst that can happen? you knowllll I'll pay the money. I'll get the car. I'll play with it.
00:16:39
Speaker
you shine That's what happened. You shiny toy. you know so and and's And you're seeing that a lot. You're seeing that a lot. The people are Qatar, especially ones you know from, ah like they have the disposable income. They're like, yeah, I'll get one for my kid, get one for my daughters.
00:16:53
Speaker
and And you're starting to see it's like becoming a trend, you know? that's that's really That's really interesting to see. I mean, like, because i I was in Saudi last week. And for example, over here in the UAE, all you see is jet tours everywhere. Everything is a jet tour now, right? And um i go I go to Saudi and I saw like, i this is Riyadh specifically. I don't know what their sales are. But just anecdotally, from what I could see on the roads, was like I think I saw two the entire week I was there. yeah And I was like,
00:17:21
Speaker
This is weird. It feels kind of like the same place, but it's, you know. um i mean, I understand they're very different markets with different, you know, distribution, different, you know, demands whatever. But that that was kind of the general feel. Yeah. And Saudi, do you see have a lot more like Korean cars. I feel they have a high market share. And like in Qatar, for example, the number two brand now is G Tour.
00:17:43
Speaker
Wow, OK. So this is unmatched anywhere. So if you want if you really want to see G tours populating, you come to Qatar. You see a lot of them. So is it like the Land Cruiser and the T2? That's what Pretty much, yeah. Those are now Land Cruisers in tiooos and T2s. And it's funny. you know it's ah it's I would have never.
00:18:00
Speaker
The same people that are buying T2s today If you spoke to them, you know, sort of anchor cruiser went from a v eight so the the VXR, the GXR V8 and so on, they moved they moved from V8 to a twin turbo V6.
00:18:11
Speaker
The twin turbo V6 is a superb engine. It's got the power, it's fast, it's got the low end. So it's it's a better, and and it has much better fuel economy. So it's better in every aspect. But every time you spoke to a Qatari about it, what, you're killing the V8? Come on, man, how can you kill the I love power, I can't drive V6.
00:18:28
Speaker
And they're like, dude, look at the numbers. Look at the power. Look look at the fuel economy. So it was it was hard to convince someone that we're going from V8 to a twin turbo V6. People were against it.
00:18:40
Speaker
And then all of a sudden these same people are saying, yeah, I don't mind the Tour, the two liter turbo, no problem, it's okay. It's 130K, I don't care. So it's it's it's funny how times have changed. you know the same and And I feel like it's a lot lot of psychology is is that people convincing themselves. you know So the same people that were against V8s now talk poetry about the V6 twin turbo and now say, yeah, I don't mind the two two- liter turbo in a G Tour or and any other car. so that's a That's a really interesting point to me because I remember back when, this this is an industry-wide transition, right? This isn't like driven by the cut-and-market or the GCC or anything. It's like everyone has been like sizing down their engines, but increasing like reducing cylinder count, but increasing forced induction or whatever to get better, you know improve fuel economy. Now it's like the hybridization or electrification, right? But I remember BMW at the time, it was in the previous generation 7 series. They were ready to kill the 12-cylinder, but they couldn't do it because of the Middle East, Russia, and like one other market. I can't remember. The demand for the 12-cylinder was so strong. They're like, we can't because it's it's actually a status symbol, right? So we can't just say this is the 760, but it's got a V8 hybrid, you know? like So they had to keep the V12. I don't know if the current generation has a V12 anymore, but... cant I can't remember. I honestly think that maybe they've gone V8 twin turbo. I just keep looking at like it just meant they they they push the i7 so hard that it just feels like an electric car to me. Like I know there's, you know, petrol versions, but I've forgotten. But I think that that takes us to another interesting point. Right. Like it's like what other. So we've we've talked we've covered the, you know, the prevalence or the the rise of Chinese cars and Jitur specifically in the the market. But what are what are the other um what are the other trends that you're seeing in Qatar and then maybe overall in the Gulf that you could speak to right now? um
00:20:27
Speaker
ah The trend... So one one thing one thing I'm seeing is... ah status quo is changing a lot. you know So it's if you looked earlier on, you would see that you know a brand would dominate and they would be in the number one position and it is that's that's the way it is, right? So you didn't have these threats coming in and when they came in, they didn't make a big dent. I think right now you're seeing disruptions, right? So there's, you know anytime, you know especially with the Chinese coming in. So I think that's that's what's what's what i'm what I'm noticing mostly right now is that
00:20:59
Speaker
these cool they know with the availability of social media and trends and people wanting to be ah trendy and and different, you're seeing a lot of people you know experimenting and trying out different brands just to be different. So I see that a lot in Qatar. ah I see finally EV was introduced as economically, ah you know, makes sense economically. So people, you know, the EV business case, when it was introduced, it was, you know, to save on fuel and to save money and and so on. And what I'm seeing right now is that people are driving EVs because of the coolness factor, not because they want to save money.
00:21:33
Speaker
and And, you know, I still feel like people here are, you know, when you when you look at the EV brands, It's not the small, you know, anytime a brand and introduces like a small, economic, efficient EV brand doesn't sell.
00:21:45
Speaker
And what ends up selling are the big, flashy, shiny, technologically advanced, expensive EV brand, which defeats the whole purpose, right? So I'm i'm seeing that, you know, a lot and... and And I think a lot of brands bet on EV too much too soon. Yeah. And and that's one of the things I like about Toyota. Toyota's sitting there and watching like, OK, do we go all in? No, no, i'll hang on. Let's do the hybrid first and see how that goes. Because that gives you like the best of both worlds. and i think I think they were like, whoever decided to do that, you know, should be given a tap on his shoulder because really they, a lot of brands that went all in and saying, I want to be 100% green and EV by 2030 or whatever. And now realizing like, oh crap, I'm losing a lot of money.
00:22:31
Speaker
and Go back, you know? I mean, if I'm honest about that, that looks like To a large extent, that was the result of, or the fallout of Dieselgate for Volkswagen, right? like Because they were doing so strong with diesel and and even their fuel cars. But diesel was so reputationally and financially bad for them, the whole scandal, that they had to pull back and say, OK, we're going commit fully to EVs. i think they you know and I'm happy to be corrected by the audience on this. But like you know they they then worked with their lobbyists to get the laws changed in Europe. And everyone then had to kind of follow suit because they're such a juggernaut when it comes to like global auto sales. But I think now Toyota had the comfort and luxury of being so big that they could commit to a multifuel strategy. right they didn't they didn't have all their eggs in one basket. They were still still with petrol.
00:23:18
Speaker
They still had hybrid. they They dabbled in EV a little bit. And they've got they're still, you know out from what I've seen at least, and you can correct me, is like they still seem to be committed to hydrogen as well. like That's the thing that they keep talking about at every opportunity.
00:23:33
Speaker
But what I mean, what would you say is the, you do so you do have hybrid models on sale. what do you What do you think is the take up for that in your, like which which one, is it this it the Camry, Corolla Cross, something like that? The entire lineup now you can, I mean, I think Toyota and Lexus will become 100% hybrid some point. Yeah, so so slowly we're starting to see like the new RAV4, for example, is coming with ah with a hybrid. And across, like you could like for example, you can't get a full option RAV4 that's not a hybrid anymore. okay As an example, the RAV4 adventure. the rough for adventure ah
00:24:04
Speaker
Camry hybrids, you know people were initially scared of hybrids, but you know you see them in a lot of taxi fleets and they're doing crazy mileage, 300, 400, 500,000 kilometers, no questions asked. So that the fear, that reliability fear that was associated with hybrids no longer there.
00:24:18
Speaker
ah So you know commercially, and now we're seeing a lot of companies, so Toyota does a lot of sales also to B2B, it's not all retail. And when you see that that all the B2B businesses are going after hybrid because you get the best of both worlds, you don't have to worry about you know your car and charging and so on, but at the same time you get the fuel mileage and the price gap is not as as crazy as a full EV. ah So you're starting to see these companies slowly move into hybrid as well. um The thing with EV here, you know fuel is very cheap in the and in the region, right? So it's not it's not as expensive as you see in Europe or in the rest of the world. So commercially, convincing someone to go EV for the commercials of it might not make sense for retail. But when you go businesses and you start crunching numbers on a fleet of 1,000 cars or 2,000 cars, then it makes a difference. Every every penny you save on fuel is money that's in your pocket. And not just that, some of the large multinationals, they have like ESG ratings and commitments to show to their investors or whatnot. And if you've got a hybridized or at least like or electrified
00:25:21
Speaker
um fleet of cars, that certainly helps, right? So, yeah, I'm sure. In Qatar, there are tenders, for example. You cannot bid on certain tenders if you don't have a Class A rating, for example. And, you know, a lot of, for example, lot of banks now are, you know, we spoke to a few banks in Qatar, and apparently they're doing hybrid finances, like interest-free or low-interest financing, out-of-pocket to maintain that sustainability sustainability rating.
00:25:44
Speaker
to be able to get the government subsidies and the benefits from central bank and so on. So so there is a there is an element. There is a government push, obviously, to go EV and green. So are they incentivizing individual sales as well? So like if I were there, like, you know in the US they have like tax credits towards EVs. Not that there's taxes in Qatar.
00:26:04
Speaker
I think businesses are are incentivizing it and banks are incentivizing it. you know So if you wanted to finance an EV, you probably got a better interest rate than you would if it was petrol engine. so Because hybrid and EV are coming whether we like it or not. So I think a lot of dealers are also or manufacturers are putting effort into... swaying customers in that direction and making it more attractive. Try and get them to see it to say like, hey guys, look, you know you get the benefit. It's not so bad. Best of both worlds. And I think where that's where hybrid really hit the nail in the coffin. like you know you get You get the performance and the enjoyability of a petrol engine, the engine revving and all that. But then you also get the mileage and the economy and the range extension from ah from hybrid. So the best of both worlds, really.
00:26:43
Speaker
So, I mean, I guess on a related note, is that new FJ coming to the region? It is. is. It is. It is. It is. Around the corner. It ah should be in the middle of next year. Okay. Sometime, yeah. I mean, I personally think it looks really cool. I will speak for Unwar, who thinks it's ugly, but he's not here, so we don't have to listen to him today. so it's ah I think the pictures don't do it justice, like many cars. ah its its it feels and looks a bit smaller than actually is.
00:27:09
Speaker
ah I think it's a funky toy. it looks It looks funky. I like the way it looks. I think it'll be rugged as well, so I haven't driven the car yet. I can't comment on performance, but I think it will i think it will do good.
00:27:19
Speaker
So we're excited. I have this, so and I have a question based on this as well. as that I remember when I was in at university in Qatar, centuries ago. ah Somebody, this before they officially went on sale in Qatar, there was a there was ah ah ah there was quite a bit of a gap before they arrived. I think they went on sale in the US s first, and then the rest of the world got them much later. um A year or two, I think there was a lag there. yeah and So one of my professors ordered burgundy-colored FJ in America and had it shipped. He liked it so much. and he And the color, like, think about that for, you know, in respect to Qatar. Burgundy FJ, wow, okay. And he ordered it. It was the first FJ in the country. Okay. Okay. And he was stopped everywhere by every Qatari offering like cash on the spot to buy that car off of him. I think he let it go within six months because the offers were so high. He couldn't drive anywhere without being harassed. Does it still have that cult following there? It's still crazy. I mean, it's it's one of...
00:28:19
Speaker
I still think it's one of the favorite cars. know, Qatar is big on off-roading and, you know, going to the desert, sea line. Exactly. yeah So you would know. I don't have to explain that. So and and and I think the FJ was one of the one of the key, you know, it was just, you know, you could drive it on the road and you can drive it in the desert and had a good balance between both. And I think until today, people still like you you put a used FJ on Qatar sale and it flies like it's it's really big demand on it. Our used car department as well. Like we we did a few trade ins and these cars could not, you know, they sold too fast. Like we wouldn't even advertise them before they sold. So ah yeah, so there's still ah the whole cult around FJ and people asking when is the FJ coming, when is the FJ coming. So
00:28:58
Speaker
And I think heard a story. I don't know how true that is, but I think the FJ was part of the reason it was extended because of demand the Middle East. Toyota had plans to scrap it earlier. And because of the continued demand in the region, I think it got extended. But this was a story I heard. it before my time. It could be. No, I think i think that's true because I recall a period like where you would get onto like the UAE website and brand new FJs. But you'd go like on Reddit and like the Toyota forums, people would be like, oh, no, I wish I could still buy an FJ. And like the rest of the world's like... you know And this was mainly like America and whatever. but I think Japan and the Middle East may have been the last to stop getting them. I think it was recent, like within the last couple of years where they stopped those. But um that's super interesting. um There was a... So now this is, and we hadn't talked about this, so if you, it like, this is ah just a question that came to mind right now, is one of my absolute favorite cars of all time is a really weird one, but it's ah the V12 Toyota Century.
00:29:55
Speaker
V12, wow. so the So the second generation, yeah. The second generation, there was the only- it just the engine or the entire car? just I mean, yeah, okay. I have a little scale model of the car on my work desk at home. But like, i yeah, I think it's interesting that it looks like it came from another era, yeah but it's completely modern and has the only V12 that's ever been utilized for one car. It's just a weird thing, right? Like, we've put this in this car only for this car. We're not going to use it anywhere else. But um I love it for that. yeah I love cars like that that are super random. Super random, in a cell. And people using that V12, they're like in drift projects and race cars and they're doing crazy stuff with it. I think the CEO of Lexus US at some point, I remember he was doing an interview. He built an American style like hot rod.
00:30:35
Speaker
And I think he had stuffed like the V12 Century engine in there. And I was like, this is ridiculous. I can't remember if that was the exact story. might have Maybe it was a Lexus V, I don't know. But it was he had definitely taken some obscure Japanese engine choice and thrown it into ah a a very American looking hot rod. I wonder if that car still exists. I'll have to look it up. I guess on a related note, like I think we've just seen the announcement of Century as a brand. um what What do you think of that? Like, I mean, just like, is that, are they going like, is that Maybach level now? Or they're targeting Maybach? Because it felt like even with Lexus, like I remember when they first launched it it was launched outside of Japan because in Japan, Teotihuacan is such a strong brand. You don't need a luxury tier, right? yeah You can sell a luxury Toyota and an economic Toyota or like economy Toyota and people don't care. that It doesn't matter matter from a brand like reputational level or whatever. But in America, for example, like, yeah, no, this is a Toyota. This is, you know, for peasants. um So actually Lexus, a funny story. Lexus was actually introduced and and the name Lexus actually came from luxury export U.S. s
00:31:39
Speaker
Oh, that's where Lexus comes from. believe I did not know that. Yeah. So it was like a funny board. Like they were brainstorming what they should call the brand. Because as you rightfully said, when when when they launched it, the plan was not to launch Lexus in Japan. It was aimed at the U.S. market. and And that's what they came up with. and And yeah, Lexus stuck. And it is the brand that it is today. ah Again, I think they saw a space they wanted you know they wanted to be in. And Century comes, like it's that ultra luxury domain, ultra high end.
00:32:10
Speaker
so I think they're introducing ah they're they're they're they're becoming an independent brand and and I think they are independent brand actually but yeah they want to introduce couple of cars in that lineup they showed a few cars the at the motor show in Japan so yeah think last month yeah so right now they've got the the sedan the traditional like sedan and they've they've launched the SUV as well which has got the suicide doors and things but then um Like when that SUV came out, I remember I was on WhatsApp with Anwar. I was like, yo, this is going to end. They're going to, they're going turn this into another brand, aren't they? And then lo and behold, like now I think there's like that elevated coupe situation. Not sure how feel about it, but I'm excited. I'm excited about this brand. Do you know, do you know anything about it? Like, are you allowed to say anything about it? Like, uh, I, yeah, so not much of it is confirmed. So I'll just like, you know, Japanese tend to keep things secrets when it comes to this stuff. So I can tell you that it is going to become an independent brand, whether it will sell out of an independent, whether it's going to become fully independent or piggyback on Lexus and then become a separate brand. So there's a lot of talks around how it's going to go to market. But yeah, but the lineup and what's coming region right now, there's only talks with the SUV, but obviously it's going expand down the road and they have a lot of...
00:33:25
Speaker
Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot for that or anything. but like but i mean so I also don't want to say something that's not accurate. yeah I don't have anything. All I hear for now is talk. So we don't have like a yeah proper plan yet. So we'll see.
00:33:37
Speaker
so what what are the i mean So we've spoken about the Land Cruiser and the FJ. What are currently the other like strong sellers in Qatar for Toyota? of So and again Hilux is a big big player so both to retail individuals and to companies so Hilux is i would say still the most reliable go-to pick up when it comes to that segment so companies especially businesses mostly because of its ruggedness and you know it lives forever and then when you come to sell it you can sell 300 400,000 kilometer for
00:34:08
Speaker
without losing much money on it. So that's, I think, still the go-to, even though it's, you know if you look at the segment, it is the most expensive in the segment. But, you know, commercially, still makes sense. ah Other cars, the Aris obviously is very popular. Again, so qat Qatar's dynamic is a bit different because there's a high percentage of the of sales go to B2B.
00:34:27
Speaker
Right. I would say probably... 30, 70 or 40, 60 in that range. So 40% of sales go to retail. Wow. Okay. That's, that's, that's my, i don't, I don't have numbers, but I feel from what I've seen, ah through various companies, that's usually the mix. And again, that's, you know, tied into the country's, uh, demographic of, you know, transient leasing, you know, people working on contracts. So people, So the company car is still a thing. company car is a thing. is a thing yeah There's a lot of leases. And you know Qatar's economy also depends on a lot of conferences and events that they organize. So a lot of people come in short term, temporarily. And you'll see, like in summer, they you know when it gets too hot, all the the country goes to sleep. And then come Q4 and Q1, it's crazy. Like conferences, events, whether it's business or you know commercial, political, or even sports, you know it just just it's just busy.
00:35:24
Speaker
so ah So, yeah, so you see so you see a lot of the cars that you would see in rent-a-car kind of environment. So, like Camrys, Yaris, Corollas. Small SUVs are becoming a thing. So, Urban Cruiser is picking up a lot. RAV4.
00:35:39
Speaker
The new Prado is is impressive, to be honest. It looks great. Yeah, it's it's and it's it's a solid car. Yeah. Is it just the petrol version in Qatar? or do you okay For now. For now. In the region. they haven't introduced the There are plans to introduce a hybrid.
00:35:53
Speaker
and okay don't know if I should say that. But yeah, anyways. So there's probably a hybrid coming around the corner in a few years. But yeah, it's a cool car. We couldn't get enough of them in the and the first year, to be honest. The demand was overwhelming.
00:36:06
Speaker
A lot of upset customers you know who' would get on a waiting list and couldn't get one fast enough. So that was ah we had to you know ramp up our production and and get allocated enough cars for our market.
00:36:17
Speaker
Oh, interesting. Yeah. okay So yeah, we had to, um it was a consumer protection got involved and we had to you know standardize the process to take orders and first come first serve kind of approach because the demand was really overwhelming when we launched the car.
00:36:33
Speaker
Like that's what happens every time a patrol launches in the UAE. Yeah, true, true, true. But, and so every, every stop you've had along the way and starting with that g three seven you've had ah a very, very interesting on brand car. Do you have a Toyota or Lexus in your garage right now? I had a Supra.
00:36:51
Speaker
Oh, okay. I had a manual Supra for a while. ah And I think I had to accept that driving it daily it was just not becoming practical. It was, I convinced myself that I would do it and I did it for a year and then I just gave up. It was...
00:37:08
Speaker
It was not the most practical. I had to worry about, especially when I have meetings in an the industrial area or with customers. you know If I have a predictable route, then I'll take the Supra. But a lot of the days, I don't have a predictor. I don't know where the company location or the person that i'm meeting where I'm going to meet. Or some meetings come up. you know Last minute, you get called in, you know government meetings. And you know I had a modified exhaust on it as well. So I'd rock up to a professional meeting. with a loud loud ass car was not still remember we were going to a meeting and i i told my boss like hey younna you wanna you wanna come you wanna come with me it's okay let's take your car and i didn't i don't i don't think he expected that we would take the supra i think he thought i had a because i was also driving a lexus company car and i think he thought we were in the lexus or something and then he rocks up and it's this supra tiny ass car like okay
00:37:55
Speaker
We get in, I start and it was like a... That exhaust was practically a straight pipe. I mean, I don't know why they call it a cat back. There was no cats or backs. Anyways, but yeah, it was it was it was really loud. As soon as I started it, a cold start. He's like, nope, we're taking my car. So switch off the car, jump in his Lexus, and we go to the meeting. And I think it's...
00:38:15
Speaker
I started realizing that, you know, driving a manual every day, not the most practical, a lot of fun, but, you know, can you rip your car every day going to work? It's eventually it gets old, especially when you're stuck in traffic and cops everywhere and you can't really enjoy ah driving a manual as much. So,
00:38:34
Speaker
Fortunately, had to go. And right now, I'm still waiting. and they Maybe ah the new GR Yaris. I don't know if you've seen it. okay That's something I've got my eyes on. ah That thing is a toy. I don't know if you've ever had the chance to drive one. no It will blow your mind. i Did they bring the GR Yaris to this market all? Very soon. Stay tuned. This is the news. yeah is like yeah so were ah Finally, actually so just like Century is becoming a brand, g r is going to become a brand. oh okay So the Yaris and the Corolla.
00:39:02
Speaker
So the Corolla, so the last episode, we talked about cars that are not in the Middle East that should be, and I was like, the GR Corolla needs to be here. Oh, they're coming. They're coming. So i i had i had a GR Corolla in mind. So a GR Corolla, so we we imported non-GCC spec because we have the GR racing series now. So what we're actually doing is we get we get like enthusiasts in the country, and we have around like 10 teams, and they compete in a GR cup, and they compete within in Qatar, and then they go compete in Kuwait. with the Kuwait GR series as well. So to do that, we had to import a few non-GCC spec for racing purposes. And i got I had a chance to drive one of the cars.
00:39:41
Speaker
And I was immediately mind blown. Like the car was not modified. So it's not like stock, but just like they end up having rolled cages and slight modifications. So it's not like souped up or it's got like big turbos, nothing. And man, these cars, the GR Yara specifically, was was really mind blowing.
00:39:55
Speaker
Such a toy, so nimble, you know, pointed to your kind of, This like beautiful, beautiful. And I'm like, no, that's a car. So I kept that car in mind. It was a bit too basic inside. So eventually I felt like it would get boring driving it daily every day, but it's definitely a cool, cool cool toy to have. The GR Corolla was a bit more refined. So a GR Corolla is like, if you want a daily driver that is less crazy and stiff, but more fun, more of a daily, I felt like Corolla was also, you know, had four doors and it's a bit more practical.
00:40:25
Speaker
So they're both coming. They're both coming. I'm not going to lie to you. Like, I definitely need to go talk to at a dealer right now. I need to talk about the Perola GR. Put your name down. The new GR as well, like, looks crazy. Like, rear fenders, spoiler. It looks, like, it looks, and, you know, not just looks, but also, you know, does the walk, you know, not just talks it. So I'm very excited for the GR. I just really, I think, I think I'm going to, I might end up buying one.
00:40:54
Speaker
That's cool, man. I love it. I love it you you always Like I said, we started the podcast with that, and like you always keep it real when it when it comes to the the the cars. But now like like lets's I think this is a good point to go talk about. I need to talk about this Viper, right? Because I love the Viper. like I don't know how you how you like talked yourself out of it at some point, but I'm sure there's reasons. What was it like having a bike? could not talk myself out of it, to be honest. so it was it was at the peak of my RB adventure with the So at that point, it was... ah
00:41:26
Speaker
I had the G37. I left Infinity Middle East. i joined Stellantis. And i was as I was there, we had one ah Viper. It was one of four, I think, in the region. It had the special candy red paint. So the Vipers at the time, they had this program where you could... ah order a custom paint, they call it the Striker package. And it had, a I think, four coats, like a special paint, looked like very different kind of shine, and they had Striker red, green, they had a few colors.
00:41:57
Speaker
And I think only four of the Striker red was ordered to the region. And it was it was a press car. So it was a car that actually ah brought it in. ah And I think like it was the car. So if you look if you look at all the regional videos that were shot with the Viper, when you see like the the red Viper that was used for events, I think arab GT and I think I'm Sean probably drove it. And so that car, that press car, was put on auction internally saying, okay, guys, we're selling the car. Who wants it?
00:42:27
Speaker
And I was, I could not believe that. And it was such a good deal. I'm like, okay, fine. I need to jump on this. So I put my, sadly, I put my GTR7 up for sale. And it sold for peanuts. I just wanted to sell it. I could not i could not afford to have both cars at the time.
00:42:43
Speaker
So I had sell the GTR7 and I jumped on the Viper. As soon as you know i put my name down, I won the the bid. And yeah, i bought I bought the car and it was... It's a big word to say. I think it was one of the best, if not the best car I've ever. Like, it was there was something about owning and driving that car. It was a gas guzzler. Like, i was I spent more time at the gas station than I spent on the road. Like, it was it was crazy. But yeah, it was an 8.4 liter V10, manual, only manual.
00:43:12
Speaker
ah the the The pedal position was weird. So it was like you sat a bit weird and you burnt your foot every time you stepped out because the exhaust came out of the side. Yeah. so ah So that was ah like a Viper thing, you know, like your car. Foot scars. Yeah, foot scars all the time. Yeah. ah But yeah, it was it was a really fun car. it was beautiful. i I think I might end up buying one down there. Oh, wow. yeah it's Would you go with the same generation? or like Same generation, probably an ACR. You had the the third generation? was it No, it was the fifth generation. Oh, right. OK, in my mind, ah but because I see it. I know they call it the fifth generation officially. But in my mind, there's like the original, then there's the updated one, and then there's the one. ah So the iconic, so there was original.
00:43:58
Speaker
That was a classic looking. like Yeah, the one that was made with like tape and tape. I have to watch what I say on the podcast. But yeah, it was it looked like the fender gaps could you could see them from a mile away. That's how like it was. It looked like the windows you had to like. Yeah, but again, it was the first Viper and it was a project. I think that was, you know, it was doing a thing. Yeah. yeah so It was a cool car, like it's iconic, you know, but it was it was the second generation Viper. So that's the GTS. with that the g Yeah, the GTS with the two, like the the blue with the two stripes. That was like every kid had that. Like i had had a poster. I had everyone asked a car. Wow. Yeah, that was the car. If you wanted to own a Viper, that was a Viper to own. ah
00:44:38
Speaker
But yeah, but again, it was like it was. ah It was a bit too extreme, right, as well. So you have to, like, they had no electronics, no, you know, it was your foot, you know, the you and your foot, really. So you had to really be careful driving these cars. And then I think they had the third and fourth generation. They looked a bit similar.
00:44:57
Speaker
The third and fourth generation, like, they always felt like the weak link. like yeah I didn't even know the fourth existed because the third was ah um a better designed, I guess, not not better looking. I don't think it was the worst looking. I think was better engineered. i think Yeah, better engineered, like that the roof properly worked and like the windows were electric, you know, like stuff like that. But then the fourth was a fixed head version of that, which I actually didn't know existed until I looked it up like two years ago. i was like, wait, that happened? Yeah, exactly. So that wasn't popular. But then the fifth generation was really popular. It came with electronics. It came with a screen. so it came with all the gadgets that you needed to even drive the car daily.
00:45:32
Speaker
You could, I think I drove it daily for some time. And it was. Wow. Yeah. No, because you keep hearing about how scary they are. They are. They bite, man. They bite. It's. It's really, really have to the torque that you get at such a low end is is crazy.
00:45:49
Speaker
you You like you put your foot down, the car wants to go sideways. Plus, they didn't do it a favor because they gave it ah semi almost semi slicks. It came with it came with semi slick Pirelli's and these and these Pirelli's were like when they're cold, they slide around. like You need to get them up to temperature. And not many people also you know knew that. So when it's cold, you know, rev try to show off at a car meet, whatever, you end up hugging a wall, you know? So ah so yeah, so it was it was one of those cars you had to really be careful driving. The fifth generation was the first one that actually had traction control.
00:46:21
Speaker
So people weren't killing themselves in them like they used to in the previous generations. uh but yeah but that car was you know it just looked amazing the hood was the side exit the v10 sound it was yeah iconic if yeah if i if i have ever get around to actually owning a viper it would be it would be fifth generation but i'd have to get the i'd have to go back to that second generation paint job i need the the blue with the white stripes yeah that's that's the one to have yeah yeah i think that's yeah so that's a legendary car legendary car uh
00:46:52
Speaker
So you said that was probably the best car you've ever driven. what What else is in the on that list? ah What else is on that list? ah I like the Huracan.
00:47:04
Speaker
okay So the Huracan was a... Anytime I wanted to spoil myself, I would rent one. So I love the V10. So I think after the Viper, I got attached to V10s. But this was a different design V10. So this is like a high revving, screaming V10 versus the Viper was more of a low rev, torquey...
00:47:21
Speaker
I don't think it was the best sound. So the V10 on the Viper was not is not the best sounding V10 unless you're flooring. It's LFA. yeah Exactly. There you go. Yeah. So the Lexus LFA, for example, that was like, you know, Yamaha engineered V10. So that that that car sang like the engine. That's perfectly on brand too. You yeah you can use these. The Lexus LFA is the greatest car ever made. Yeah. I don't know don know about that. But it was it was it was the engine.
00:47:46
Speaker
The engine was was like the note. The engine no was was wow. ah But yeah but so yeah, I like V10s in general, I think. ah V12 as well. you know The ones you get on Aventadors and A12s. You really get like the nice, you know the F1 sound, especially when you made it with the right exhaust. You get really F1 sounds. And and and they they touch your heart. you know You literally feel them go through your body. It's not just your ears. You know you feel the vibration.
00:48:14
Speaker
So yeah, so... what else What else did I drive? I liked i like VA three-wheel drive. So I had ah i had a ZL1 at some point. was a manual ZL1 as well when I first moved to Qatar. The ZR1 or ZL? L, the Camaro. Oh, right. Okay. Yeah. So that was that was fun to drive as well. Modified the a little bit. So it had a nice supercharger whine and manual as well. and they had the Tremec. The Tremec is as a fantastic six-speed gearbox as well. So very notchy, predictable. You know, you could get the right gear all the time. You don't have to worry about misshifting it.
00:48:44
Speaker
So that one was nice. ah What else we had? We had a Z06 as well. That was also cool. Very long first gear. So it was it felt like it was accelerating forever before you get second.
00:48:58
Speaker
Yeah, but but yeah, i would say I would say, yeah, the Viper. the the The Viper, there's something different about the Viper. It's it's just the character. It comes with that... character, the rawness, you know, it's something we miss with all the electronics that we have today. And you start to feel a bit disconnected.
00:49:13
Speaker
With the Viper, you were super connected. You felt everything. it was harsh to drive. It was uncomfortable. Like for any passenger to get in the car, uncomfortable. But to drive, it was ah it was ah it was a beast.
00:49:24
Speaker
I mean, I i recall, you know, I miss my 86 on certain days. yeah But I think with my current commute, it's just not like a tenable option anymore. But I remember, you know, and I think my wife used to complain that, you know, oh the ride's too hard. It's like my back hurts. You know, like people come visit. Like her family would come visit. We'd have to shoehorn them into the back of the thing. Like it was just... You know, because she's i' like this her this is really her fault for not having a license and a second car. But no, i get it. And it's just, you know, but I miss that. Every single one of those little, like, flaws adds up to the character of the car. But I think I've never seen or experienced something that's just a so, like... outlandishly characterful as the, for me, the Viper. I think maybe, for me, a close like a close comparison would be something like, ah would be the the TVRs at their peak, you know? Like they were, they were they were thought like they if they worked, they were they were special, you know? Like I've been around a Tuscan a couple times, and it was just, um
00:50:25
Speaker
i didn't think I didn't sit inside it or anything. I just heard it. I saw it. I was just like, wow. this is like And it looks like nothing else on the road. It's the same for the Viper. is like I feel like that is the British and the American interpretation of like what a minimalist, like muscular,
00:50:41
Speaker
sports car would look like if it came from a different planet, you know, like that's the 100 percent. I I remember renting a Shelby Cobra replica. OK. in in And in South Africa, it's a thing. So if you ever go to South Africa, make sure you get one of those. It's AC is a South African brand. No, no, it's this. I don't know i don't want the story behind it, but it's it's ah it's literally like open roof, side exhaust, V8 and like agents like just basic, no technology, nothing. Just you and the car.
00:51:11
Speaker
And I think that's something we miss nowadays. Like nowadays you feel like there's a lot of intervention and intrusion and You feel like the electronics are driving the car rather than you. You miss that connection. you have electric steering now. So it's not like... and and then with that car, it's very minimal.
00:51:27
Speaker
Like there's nothing almost zero electronics in that car. It's all like... I don't remember. it Probably didn't even have... I don't know if it had power steering. i'm I'm trying to remember if it had power steering. But it was one of those like super light, super fun to drive. You just rip it through the gears.
00:51:42
Speaker
And that's one thing i miss i I miss. I miss that. Like if I if i was... if i If I ever get the time again, I want to build like a project car of some sort that is like similar to that. Like maybe it's something you get with like a KTM or something, you know, where it's just very raw. It's just drive like steering wheel. yeah something something along these lines. i Like I miss the rawness of that, you know, making all the nice noises, the right noises.
00:52:09
Speaker
maybe Maybe an RBA again. Maybe ill i'llll I'll get back into RBA kind of project. I think that would be fun. you Okay, so going back to like the the corporate level, because I think you've you've hit on an interesting point about like all the electronic like nannies and things like that in the car now. Do you think that as a wider trend in the industry, it feels like we've gone too far and now we're starting to like roll it back a little bit? or or i almost feel like, is it... I'm trying to and make sense of it as an enthusiast, right? Because on one side, you've got this... like unstoppable like march towards autonomy and electrification and stuff like that. But it doesn't I feel like it's not the only route.
00:52:48
Speaker
I feel like there's there's this alternative path that like people like Gordon Murray and Singer and stuff are also taking us down, where it's like, no, there is still a space for, admittedly, a very expensive space for, ah but you now Toyota is doing it too with the GR cars clearly where there's still a space for something that's much more connected with manual you know stuff like that and and it's not and I feel like it's not just in cars right like you you see it like the Walkman has come back like you know like people are buying cassettes again and like CD players are back all of a sudden yeah but yeah I think
00:53:21
Speaker
I think one thing's for sure. The regulators are not car guys. that's this I think this is where the problem stems, is that the regulators are pushing very hard you know to, and for the right reasons, you know probably you know global warming, ah carbon neutrality, and so on. But all these regulations being put are slowly killing the enjoyment of the car world. you know So engines are getting smaller. They're getting quieter. They're getting turbocharged.
00:53:49
Speaker
Now I'm hearing about noise. So the new European regulation putting restrictions on the noise. And I'm reading us an article about AMG having to do something with the C63 engine because of that regulation. So if you look at what's driving this, really, it's it's it's the emissions, it's the emission regulations. So the engines are getting smaller. you know The V10, like for example, for me, the V10 on the Lamborghini disappeared. you know And now it's a twin turbo V8 that is probably a lot faster. mewhile But you don't get the same...
00:54:18
Speaker
It's apparently brilliant, but it's not the same. Yeah, but it's not the same. You rev it and it's like, why does it sound like a vacuum cleaner? What's going on here? don't know. So I think all these regulators are tampering too much with what makes driving enjoyable.
00:54:34
Speaker
So this is really putting ah putting a lot of stress on manufacturers to make fun cars you know when you have to navigate around all these regulations. And that's why, as you said, the Gordon and all these cars that end up being fun to drive become so expensive because they had to R&D the hell out of these cars to make them somewhat compliant, tick a box somewhere.
00:54:55
Speaker
I think I think it goes back to what you were saying is that it's it's about um it's about the money. Right. And I think the market is spoken because I think I don't even this is going to be embarrassing, but I don't actually remember the names of many of the Ferraris anymore. Like the numbers have gotten so weird. yeah But the the replacement for what would have been the 458. How amazing was that car? 458? That was peak Ferrari, I think. That was just like Ferrari at their absolute best. It was beautiful, naturally aspirated, brilliant to drive. Made the right noise.
00:55:28
Speaker
The only thing it was missing, it's the only Ferrari I've driven. No, I've driven the 430 as well. But like... um the But I think the only thing that was missing is I don't think there was a manual option on the 458, right? That was the first one where they'd gone fully yeah yeah with the automated manual. I don't i won't call it ah automatic. Yeah, automated manual, yeah. But but yeah, but that's I think that's when, you know again, the regulators, again,
00:55:50
Speaker
you know You're starting to see V6s now. And you know but even F1 went into V6s. And and you know think of the sound and difference. you know i was i was I was in the Ass Marina when when that transition happened. And they went from a beautiful V8 to V6. And I heard them both live. And it was the first year in my life where I was in a garage, and I did not need earplugs.
00:56:10
Speaker
OK, maybe I'm partially deaf. But like when the V8s were there, you had to, you know before they started the engine, someone put their hand up. And everyone reached out for their earplugs. because it was so loud and yeah no i the whole shop would shake. What was what did they have in 2004 in F1? V10s.
00:56:24
Speaker
So i saw i saw the first, I was at the first Bahrain Grand Prix and I remember i was not ready. Yeah, like I had to go buy like, I was with my, a really close friend of mine's family had taken me because ah like I bought tickets, but like i had I couldn't go alone. I was very young at the time. So they're like, hey, we're all going as a family. You can come with us. So like, you know, thank you Simpson family. Um, But that was my first like real experience of Formula One. And I went and I caught the V10 era. You know, it was it was amazing. and but it was just They had to buy me earplugs because you know I'd come with like like a couple hundred reals with me. And I was just like, i you know i what am I going to do? though But yeah, um it's cool. But I think what I was saying about the the market having spoken is that that the latest version of the Ferrari 458, I think it's called, i can't remember what it's called. I'm not going to try to.
00:57:12
Speaker
But it's a hybrid, right? Or no, it's a hybrid vehicle. I think it's called the F8 now, if not mistaken. But you're right, I can't keep up. Yeah, I can't remember it. So they went 458, 488. I think then they launched the F8.
00:57:24
Speaker
Yeah, I can't remember what they did with the natives. But yeah, they got to this the current version. And it's supposedly amazing. Like the reviews like rave about it. But there's no resale for it. Nobody wants them. The queues that you... Those lines, multi-year lines that you to have for Ferraris, like, they're having trouble selling them now. Like, and this is an issue because it's... Ferrari is now ah public company. They're not private anymore. So, like, on the other so like's There's even more pressure for it to work. And they've arguably... So they, you know... And I think...
00:57:55
Speaker
the The Gordon Murray car was a proof of concept in many ways for the market. is that like you know This is V12, naturally aspirated, manual transmission is still something people want and will pay premium for. so And I think that's that's the issue is that the cars are you know as as the cars have become more electric and hybrid, and you know they're they're they're losing this character that they once had 10, 20 years ago.
00:58:20
Speaker
right The cars were, you know, so a supercar was a proper supercar. You know, when it when it drove by, you felt it, you sat in it, it was uncomfortable. Now they've got all these bells and nannies and, you know, they're they're aimed at you driving it every day, which is, and i don't know. So it's, ah I don't want to speak too much about other brands, but yeah, it's, ah I think character, you know, yeah maintaining character was is ah is a is a problem nowadays, I feel, especially in the high end. I hated that word for a while, character. It always felt like something the journalists made up. yeah but but you know like when once you've owned a few cars that
00:58:58
Speaker
that have had that or been around them you're just like okay I understand it's a real thing. But um I think we're coming up on time. As you know. it been an hour already? Yeah. That's fine, That's fine, man. They talk cars, man. Yeah. They can go all day. This is literally why we started the podcast. It wasn't because we wanted to get famous or anything. I keep telling people, are you going to monetize it? I'm like, we spend money on this, guys. But we're losing money. But it's just because we want to have these conversations. I'm spending money to talk. Yeah. It's like therapy. True. Apology to every... No, that's not a fair comparison.
00:59:36
Speaker
but is the weird are so inappropriate drop it out yeah But is there... it out. Yeah. is there anything you want to leave the audience with? Anything we haven't touched on that you want to you want to bring up?
00:59:49
Speaker
ah No, not really. I mean... I think we need to gather up and you know keep that car, keep the manual going for sure. That's one. Save the manuals, yeah. Yeah, we have save the manuals. I think this is a responsibility we all have to keep driving manuals, to keep you know going for the manual driving license. Because now it's not, you know and ah during our time was mandatory. You could not get a license, I don't know about you, but like i could not I did not have an option to have an automatic license.
01:00:17
Speaker
It was manual only, and I loved that, and I went for it. Actually, this was in Sharjah. So in Sharjah, it was manual only. I think if I went to Dubai, I could have gotten automatic, and many people were doing that. But I'm like, no, I'm sticking with Sharjah. I'm going get my manual. And i think that ah I think we need to do that. I think we need to more more people need to really go out of their way, learn how to drive a manual, so that when you go to Europe, at least, you can you can drive, because there's still a lot of manuals in Europe when you when you get there.
01:00:41
Speaker
So, yeah, save the manuals, keep the ah keep the culture going. And let's see. Yeah, it's going to be an interesting couple of years ahead with how the industry is headed.
01:00:52
Speaker
Well, Samer, thank you so much for your part for the industry, for taking the time to come down to talk to us and sharing what I think is really like how you got into the industry. Like I feel, you know, we've talked about a lot of things. It's been a wide range of conversation, but I think it's a really inspiring story that I think a lot of us car enthusiasts like either wish this is the way in, but it just shows it. So I think it should show hope to like a generation, perhaps that hopefully I don't know how young our listeners are, how old they'll probably while retirees are like, oh, save the manual. Save the manual, yeah. But yeah.
01:01:28
Speaker
No, I mean, look, it's it's the automotive industry is very easy to get into. It's not it's not like a blocked industry. You just have to you know find a way in. you know I have a lot of friends that tell me, I wish I could get in. I wish you know i love the i love the industry. I love the cars. i want to be around cars. And I think it's you know there's a lot of angles you can approach them, whether it's sales, marketing, product, technical, marketing.
01:01:48
Speaker
So lots angles. So I think, you know, if you really want to do it, keep at it, you know. Cool. Keep at it. All right. That's it. Gulf Spec Podcast, where wherever good podcasts are found, because I can't remember our handles or anything right now. Don't send us any email. We still haven't checked it. um Awesome.