Back in the day - in Kuwait 1975

[ceebuddy]

Found this in an old LIFE magazine:

"Kuwait is a hustling little sheikhdom at the head of the Persian Gulf. Its desert flats provided barely enough parking space (below) for the thousands of expensive American automobiles it was able to import last year, thanks to $9.3 billion in sales from its almost bottomless reserves of petroleum. Under the guidance of their amiable, horse-loving Emir, Sheikh Sabah (right), the Kuwaitis built three rather undistinguished new towns in the desert in the vain hope of persuading the nomadic Bedouin to settle down. They showed more imag-ination in their foreign investments. While other Arab countries invested conservatively in bank certificates and government bonds, the Kuwaitis boldly bought a 14 percent share of the German company that makes the Mercedes-Benz. In the U.S. they were even more venturesome, investing in a cattle feedlot in Idaho, an island resort development near Charleston, S.C. and a $100-million office-hotel-shopping complex in Atlanta, which is said to be the largest project of its kind under construction in the United States."

 

[commando1]

So that's where all the dry and solid Formals are.

 

[1978 NYB]

Nope, I was there in 1990 and 1991.

Didn't see a single Formal.

 

[Ironwolf]

Nope, I was there in 1990 and 1991.

Didn't see a single Formal.



[/QUOTE


But how far down did you excavate ????

 

[78Brougham]

Nope, I was there in 1990 and 1991.

Didn't see a single Formal.

Those retards probably treated those cars like they were 1970's Honda CVCC's! Look how that guy has that spoiled brat walking on the hood! He needs ***** slapped! More money than brains!

 

[barnfind]

and its a sunroof car as well

 

[413]

How scarce is that sunroof car?

They seem like Druggies, drive it till something goes wrong and then leave it for dead. Go buy another new one. $9B in 1975? Money to burn!

They should never have been so rich from selling oil. Glad the largest producer of oil is US. Should have been that way for the last 40 years. And just keep it here, forget exporting it.

 

[1978 NYB]

Pretty deep.....

 

[Knebel]

meh. the US probably bombed those cars to bits... along with the women and children in it.

 

[78Brougham]

Ummmm we're talking Kuwait here.. women aren't allowed to drive.

 

[1978 NYB]

Ummmm we're talking Kuwait here.. women aren't allowed to drive.

They do make the BMO (Black Moving Object) women with their head to toe black burka sit at attention in the backseat with the car turned off and the windows rolled up in 120° heat.

 

[polara71]

and its a sunroof car as well

Sunroof or gun turret ?

 

[crv]

Kuwait car museum:

 

[ceebuddy]

Ummmm we're talking Kuwait here.. women aren't allowed to drive.

For whatever it's worth: This applies to Saudi Arabia until recently, while women seem to have been allowed to drive cars in Kuwait for a long time now.

 

[78Brougham]

1979

 

[70bigblockdodge]

How can we get women to not drive cars here?

Ahhh nevermind, need half the men off the road also, the half that have already lost their license from stupidity.

 

[commando1]

How can we get women to not drive cars here?

OK?

 

[1978 NYB]

View attachment 272179
OK?

The hardcore ones even have gloves and veils over their eyes!

 

[commando1]

For what it's worth, in the picture above, three out of those seven in Burkas are Isis soldiers masquerading their way out of Syria...

 

[patrick66]

My first trip to the Great Litterbox was in 1983. Back then, in Riyadh, you'd see huge numbers of red Chevy Suburbans and C2500 pickups, along with Toyota Crowns and Buick LeSabres. No Fords at all, as they were actually forbidden in SA. You'd see a handful of Dodge pickups and the occasional Chrysler New Yorker. In the '90s, the Dodge truck population increased a bunch, with many being surplus W150 and W250 Power Wagons sold as surplus to the locals. There was a Dodge dealership near the airbase that had a Shelby Charger in the showroom for about eight years. That dealer was closed; but for whatever reason, the car remained, dirty and forgotten. One day, the Charger was gone.

Kuwait was interesting. There is a '70 Challenger R/T 440 Six-Pac car that an American employee with ARAMCO imported in the early '80s. It was a Sassy Grass Green car that also had a 4-speed. When the Iraqis invaded in 1990, supposedly this was one of many cars that Saddam confiscated and had hauled to Baghdad to add to he and his sons' impressive collection of legitimately-acquired cars, and stolen cars from the Kuwaitis. Whether this car escaped destruction, or was repatriated to Kuwait, is unknown.

Dubai is insane! They have a beautiful highway system there, but people drive like complete morons. Exotic cars abound there! It's not unusual to see a Ferrari or a Lambo abandoned by the roadside. Lots of American classics there, to, surprisingly enough. The Kuwaitis and the people of Dubai actually appreciate nice cars, where the Saudis really couldn't care a lick. There are ex-pats from the US and the UK especially, that will import a big Cadillac ragtop, a vintage Roller, or an American musclecar for their enjoyment while employed there. Dubai is THE four-wheeler capital of the ME, without a doubt. You'll find some of the most amazing desert runners there, that are modified and built there. Very cool.