Abid Khazandar Al-Riyadh Gazal is the Saudi car which has no parallel in the world. It is the car that accompanied much ado that soon turned into a bubble. It made us the laughing stock in the world, especially as it was launched during the presence of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. It was announced that the car would be manufactured in the Kingdom and that there were enthusiastic investors who expressed readiness to invest in its production. Three years and seven months had passed since this spectacular achievement was announced but still there was no car. This was exactly like making a mountain out of a molehill. The dean of the college of engineering at King Saud University justified this farce by saying that the car was just an academic research to find out the abilities of the students and staff to enter into the car industry. He said the academic work was positive and successful. He said many important car components were manufactured using fiber. The dean, however, did not say if the components were new and not ready-made. The fiber, as we all know, is not something new in the car industry. Did the dean add anything new to the car industry so that we could agree with him that the academic work was positive and successful? We are waiting for an answer to this question. In the absence of a clear answer, I will insist that the entire matter was a farce and a waste of time and money for both the students and staff. The publicity that accompanied the manufacturing of this car was a complete fiasco. However, the car could market itself if it was able to compete with imported cars and if it was manufactured after a thorough feasibility study. Only then would the investors rush to invest in this car.
