I’m not much of a car person. I’ve never cared about fancy cars and drove my trusty old four-door sedan even after having two kids. Gasp! (People in Texas thought this was crazy as most people there switch to an SUV as soon as they have one kid.) Living in Dubai though, you can’t help but notice when a car that costs more than $300,000 zips past you, and it happens at least a couple of times a day. Lamborghinis and Ferraris (as well as other exotic cars, of which I don’t know the name) are commonplace, and chances are, the cost well surpasses the $350,000 I mentioned in the title of the post. That is mind-boggling when you stop to think about it. (Just don’t boggle your mind thinking about it while driving here because you definitely need your wits about you to focus on the crazy roads and unpredictable drivers.)
The Lamborghinis and Ferraris are invariably yellow, red or black. There are a few exceptions, but generally, the owners of these cars stick to these three colors. Rolls Royce owners on the other hand… now they know how to jazz it up a bit. Before moving to Dubai, when thinking of a Rolls Royce (wait… let’s be honest, I never really thought of Rolls Royces before moving here) I would imagine a butler standing outside of a black boat-like car in front of a white mansion and sprawling estate. Words that come to mind: Stuffy. Chauffeur. Boring. Never would I have thought of a dainty woman, clickety-clacking on her stilettos, climbing in the driver’s seat. Or of a suave bachelor type, relaxing with his cigarette-holding hand leisurely flopped outside the window. Pepto Bismol Pink? Gumball blue? Reflective disco ball enamel? Not colors I would normally associate with a Rolls Royce. I am intrigued by someone who had hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend and decided to use it to buy a very expensive car that doesn’t even look fun to drive. (Although it does look quite spacious and comfy!) Anyway, so I recently decided to start snapping pictures of them. Once I started looking for them – they were popping up everywhere! I took these with my old phone so excuse the poor quality. I realize this is a bit pointless… but I guess it does speak to the car culture and culture of wealth in Dubai. Happy and safe driving everyone!
Longhorns and Camels 
I’ve never cared about cars either, but I know the people in the Gulf are really into their cars! Fancy schmancy. 🙂
Yep – they certainly are! 🙂
Oh, how the other half lives. Must be odd to have so many luxury cars around that they become commonplace…. I saw in the news here that as Arab prince had imported his car here for the summer and it was one of those Ferrari/Lamborghini type cars (yes, I know nothing about cars…lol) and it was all purple with halogen type lighting underneath..so it glowed… and probably cost more than a normal person’s annual salary….lol…..
It’s one thing to have a crazy glowing super car, and another to have it shipped somewhere for the summer. Sigh. The whole thing is such an unnecessary waste of money, in my opinion! And yes, exactly, it IS odd (and makes me uncomfortable) to think, “oh, it’s just another red Ferrari” The UAE is such a weird place.
Yes, guys (mostly guys) in this area are mad about cars. My favourite one to spot is a Bentley – that’d be my choice were I married to an Arab Prince 😉
Only when I was on my picture taking spree of Rolls Royces did I notice how many Bentleys there are – they are everywhere!
I think I must be too old to be jealous! My wife and I only ever bought one brand-new car – a tiny Triumph Spitfire in 1967 when we were newly married. It cost us 70% of our savings, at the time. Those were the days… This September – a couple of months ago – I remembered the experience in “A young man’s car”, on my blog. These cars in Martha’s pictures actually don’t appeal to me. They’re a bit too show-off-y for me, though naturally I wouldn’t mind being able to afford one.
Yes, they do like to show off over here, in fact, they are masters of it! The post about your cars is great – I still think Malaga is a crazy place to drive (we have family there) and totally agree – having kids definitely changes your perspective of traveling. All of sudden things like safety weigh on you in a way it never did in those pre-kid days. (by the way – you should really consider enabling commenting on your blog and also include a link to subscribe by email 😉 )
Wow. For the price of one car I could pay off my house, send my daughter to college (4 yr private) and a new car. Imagine what that kind of gross sum would purchase in the African desert or Latin American campo?. The car culture of Dubai is really interesting, I just can’t wrap my head around the value system….
Exactly! Thinking about what that kind of money could do in other contexts is frustrating – especially because they usually have multiple cars! By the way – how was Mexico? I hope you post about it!
maybe in addition to having lots of fancy cars, they are also donating a bunch of money too. 🙂
I guess the pictures and the post builds up under the idea already existing that Dubai is the place for expensive cars. In a way quite amazing, although I am much like you; I don’t care much about cars.
Exactly – I have been sitting on this post for a while because it’s a boring cliche – fancy cars in Dubai. But sometimes when I’m in traffic noticing cars, or go to a restaurant where there’s over a million dollars worth of cars in valet in the front, it just blows my mind. Especially when things like the relief effort in the Philippines are constantly in the news. Ugh.
I agree, it’s crazy. If I had that much money, I wouldn’t be spending it on cars (though I suspect that my husband would)..
I have noticed the fancy cars, on our trips. Crazy to spend that much money on something that will rust and get old!