In Baghdad, a big craze for cars

Business is good for Iraqi car dealers as the well-heeled begin to take advantage of the relative calm in Iraq to indulge in a passion long out of reach — new luxury cars

Business, not bombs, is booming at Baghdad car dealerships, as well-heeled Iraqis are indulging in a passion long out of reach — spiffy, new cars.

BMWs, Nissans, Hyundais and even military-style Hummers are now weaving around the shabby, smoke-belching wrecks and donkey carts that have clogged the streets over two decades of sanctions and war.

That may make Baghdad one of the few cities worldwide where the auto industry is doing relatively well — at least compared to the worst of the war, when sales were stagnant. With its limited banking system, Iraq has largely avoided the global financial meltdown.

And unlike elsewhere in the world, gas prices — about $1.52 a gallon — aren't much of a deterrent to those Iraqis eager and able to catch up with the good life behind the wheel of a new car.

Not so long ago, cruising the capital in a new car was asking for trouble. Carjackers were seemingly everywhere — either envious militiamen or kidnappers on the lookout for victims with enough cash to pay fat ransoms.

'Happiness and comfort'
Those bad days are not entirely over. But with violence ebbing, Iraqis who can afford it are eager to live large and bask in the status that only a nice new car can bring.

The city traffic department refused to say how many new cars were registered over the last year.

But showrooms are popping up in safer neighborhoods around town to meet the demand. They are offering selections from sleek sports cars to four-wheel-drive behemoths, most imported from Amman, Jordan, or Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.