It was unorthodox for a major company to call a press conference on a Friday, an off-day traditionally in Saudi Arabia. But all 45 reporters who attended the 1:30 P.M. press conference were impressed by the fact-filled two-hour presentation Abdul Latif Jameel Co. (ALJ) gave on one of the finest jewels in the Saudi Arabian automobile market, its Land Cruiser SUV. Swamped by rumors of cruise-control accidents, ALJ got a bill of good health from top ranking government agencies in the departments of Traffic Safety, Road Patrols, Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) and the Ministry of Trade as well as ALJ's own nine-man road safety investigation team. Dr. Saad Attiya Al-Ghamdi, Senior Deputy for the President of ALJ; Ibrahim M. Badwood, ALJ official spokesman, and Senior Engineer Othman Alurabi fielded a barrage of questions and put all concerns about Land Cruiser road safety to rest. Regarding the infamous Hafr Al-Batin cruise-control malfunction and the action taken by a road security patrol to fire at the back windshield to stop the vehicle, the committee reached the decision that the vehicle's cruise-related systems were functioning properly including the speed-control systems as digitally registered in the memory of the standard-installed Smart Box (a Land Cruiser on-board electronic data gathering and storing device similar to the Black Box in airplanes). The Hafr Al-Batin Land Cruiser was exposed to more than 75 rounds of grueling simulation experiments during which the vehicle was driven at differing speeds and the speed-control system was subjected to rigorous tests of frequent and multiple switch off-and-on, and in all scenarios the system operated safely. The Hafr Al-Batin Land Cruiser underwent further tests as requested by SASO and was subjected to further simulation-experimental tests where the gear was placed in different options (D, N); the speed-controls were frequently turned on and off; the hand brake was intentionally put under pressure; the speed-control switch was turned on and off and the gas pedal was pushed in and out frequently, over a stretch of 150 km and at six varying speed levels, and in all cases all systems registered no malfunctions. During the Q&As, Dr. Al-Ghamdi declined to give ALJ's version of the reasons for the rumors. “I'm more concerned now that ALJ customers are well-informed. We trust owners will acquaint themselves with the owner's manual of their vehicle where plenty of valuable information is reported which ensures pleasurable and safe driving and service.” Responding to the Saudi Gazette question about ALJ assessment of these rumors, Dr. Al-Ghamdi metaphorically said: “The trees with the most fruit get the most stones.” And as to the Saudi Gazette question about probable legal action, he emphatically said: “Naturally, we retain all rights to pursue legal action. We have all the necessary documents.” __
