Under the lights: Walking around the 10th Dhaka Motor Show

This weekend saw the 10^th motor show held in Bangladesh. All petrol-heads were excited at the prospect of it being infinitely better than the last few years, but a new venue and a slight increase in the quality of the arrangements were all the incoming crowd got over past years.  

This year, as usual, it has been divided into three categories: Hall A with mostly brand new cars, Hall B with the bike show, and last but not the least, modified cars and utility vehicles located at Hall C. The main attraction of Hall A were two new Mercedes, a CLA and an S Class, a bodykitted Toyota Land Cruiser with huge chrome wheels and the latest, fully JDM Toyota Crown at the Rancon Imports stand. Ever popular, Navana's stall contained the new Yaris, Camry Hybrid and Corolla.  Towards the exit, there was a selection of Chinese cars being showcased.

Ford made a big splash with the all new Ford Escape at the AG Automobiles booth. THe new 1.6 Ecoboost engine provides plenty fo horsepower wiht minimal fuel consumption. Ford also displayed the Ranger p[ickup which has been quite a big hit over the last year. And they've placed quite a few conspicuous hints at the new Mustang coming to town. They've told us it is about to hit our shores some time this year. We're expecting the 2.3 Ecoboost version. Many diehard fans will complain that a Mustang needs to be a V8. But the turbo four-banger with 300+bhp is nothing to be sneezed at. Meanwhile Suzuki had the usual budget to mid-range deals on display.

A cool selection of replica Chinese bikes and cars were also showcased in Hall B along with the parts display stalls. The Daily Star Shift's stall is and will be located in Hall C, so drop by and check out the merchandise and collect your free Shift sticker.

Hall C was the most interesting of them all. If you walk straight ahead you'd hear loud music playing, alognside a selection of cool cars displayed at the Revolution stall. There was a supercharged Rocket Bunny wide-bodykitted Toyota GT86, a Honda S2000 and an orange Toyota Supra displayed, although the Revolution crew rotate the cars each day, having had an Audi TT and Honda Integra Type R the day before. On the other side, BDRC's stall consisted of a bodykitted Mitsubishi Lancer EX, a Toyota MR2, a Mazda MX5 and a Lancer front half cut on which a DJ was playing music. A selection of cool wheels were also displayed all around the Revolution stall, courtesy of WheelsMax.

 

While the halls were a little boring for anyone with boiling young blood, the parking lot had a lot to offer in terms of excitement. We spotted a great many Project Cars previously featured on Shift, and an eclectic mix of old heavyweights, new champions, and terribly over-done trash cars provided entertainment for the younger people bored with the new cars on display.

 

 

The Rallycross comes next. Held right beside the Motorshow grounds, you'll find a feature on it first here on Shift. Stay tuned.