DriveArabia.com introduces video

"We wanted to show people what we actually do with the cars to lend our reviews more credibility, though our videos will feature only the most fun bits," said Editor-in-Chief Mashfique H. Chowdhury. "We believe we are first to introduce such tightly-edited action video clips in this regional segment."

The video clips available on the DriveArabia.com website utilise Yahoo's JumpCut internet video technology, and require only a Flash plug-in to run. A solitary video clip had already been online since October of last year to gauge interest, but without any sort of promotion. The video clip still managed to garner a good number of views simply through word of mouth. The video offerings have now been expanded to two releases, each only 2 minutes long, with more to follow in the coming months. All videos feature largely amateur camerawork, a non-existent budget and a thumping soundtrack in the background.

The videos show only a section of brief extreme driving trials that some test cars endure, enough to get accurate data about a vehicle's character, but hardly done long enough to damage or wear out a car. "We do our drives in isolated or closed areas, with no other people around, so as to conduct our runs in a safe environment," commented Diago Martins, Head of PR & Marketing. "While some may consider these videos as promoting rash driving, they are no more influential on the general public than traditional motorsports or typical action movies."

DriveArabia.com continues to experience unprecedented growth, tripling visitor numbers since last summer. The growth in traffic is being attributed mostly to word-of-mouth and search engines, with most new visitors coming from the Emirates and surrounding countries.