Big cars rule Gulf roads amid record oil prices

DUBAI (Reuters) – Luxury sports cars, gas-guzzling SUVs, even tank-like Hummers all jostle for space on Gulf highways, their owners buoyed by record oil prices that have forced some motorists to ditch cars for bicycles in the West.

Not only has government-subsidized gasoline prevented motorists in the Gulf Arab region from feeling the pinch at the pump, but windfall revenues from $140-a-barrel oil have fuelled an economic boom and put deluxe cars in more people’s reach.

“High oil prices are feeding into the economy, so more people have higher incomes, so more people buy luxury cars,” said Julian Millward-Hopkins, Middle East and Levant press manager for German luxury brand Mercedes-Benz.

Reuters