The trend of driving Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and large super performance cars, a phenomenon that has plagued Europe for the past year, seems to finally have reached the streets of Cairo. On a small street in Zamalek, the driver of a Hummer, under heavy complaints from his date, is desperately trying to park the vehicle at a restaurant parking spot big enough to fit a medium-sized Fiat. A further illustration of Egypt s contradictions and extremes can be witnessed a few miles away in Mohandisseen where a BMW SUV is honking angrily at the local bread delivery donkey cart stalling it. Khush ya hamar! ( get out of my way, you donkey! ), the upset driver yells at the duo. Just like the inhabitants of European cities asked themselves a year or so ago, Cairenes now also seem to wonder the reason behind driving a Hummer or other large SUVs in a city with narrow streets and continuous heavy traffic. Ahmed El Gharib, General Manager for MTI Automotive Division and importer of Landrover and other luxury cars in Egypt partly attributes the increase in SUV driving to the growing gap between the country s elite and less privileged populations. The wealth in Egypt s business community is increasing rapidly. The rich are getting richer and can thus afford more luxury items such as these cars, while the poor seem to be facing increased socio-economic obstacles, El Gharib told The Daily Star Egypt. Also, El- Gharib believes that Landrover sales are flourishing since most of his customers are tax exempt. Most of my clients are expatriates, hold two passports, or work in the diplomatic service, which frees them from taxes. And believe me, that tax cut makes a huge difference, El Gharib stresses. 2006 has indeed been prosperous for Landrover Egypt with an 82 percent increase in sales over the previous year. And El Gharib is confident that Landrover will continue its crusade in Egypt next year. At the moment, we are forecasting a sales increase of yet another 30 percent in 2007 compared to this record year , he emphasizes. On a side street by the American University in Cairo, a young man sporting the latest Puma sneakers, Rock and Republic jeans, and Rayban aviator sunglasses is parking his black SUV. It s a good car and it s trendy to drive SUVs nowadays. All my friends drive big cars, he tells me when I ask him why he drives such a large vehicle in Cairo. According to El Gharib, Egypt is on a new path where foreign trends and fashion are becoming increasingly important. People in Egypt are getting enhanced exposure to the outside world through new means of communication. Everyone is watching foreign films on satellite TV and our cafes are filled with young people surfing the Internet . The foreign trends, especially the European, are contagious and they are making their way to Egypt these days as well. At the moment, it is very trendy to drive big cars in Egypt and more people are jumping on the trend, El Gharib says. SUVs and super performance vehicles also seem popular with families and adventurers. Karim Nadda, family man and wild animal hunter, is a big fan of SUVs and owns, two Landrover. I have both the new Landrover LR3, also known as the Discovery in Europe, and the Defender model for off-road use. I have a big family of five and needed a safe and spacious car so I went with the LR3, Nadda told The Daily Star Egypt. Furthermore, being a skilled hunter made Nadda consider buying the Landrover Defender for his numerous hunting trips. I hunt a lot of wild animals and birds, so I bought a car that I could drive in the desert and other tough terrains for those occasions. The Defender is perfect for that, he said. An SUV or a 4x4 seems to be a great choice for large families and those spending considerate amounts of time in rural areas. But the average Cairene trying to get as fast as possible from Mohandissen to Garden City (without scratching the car, screaming at fellow drivers, and finding a parking spot in less than five minutes), might be better off with a Citroen or Toyota.
