Rapper M.I.A Explores Arabian Drifting In New Music Video

It’s no secret that Arabians are big fans of drifting their cars. Whether or not they do it because they love it or just because they are intensely bored is another story. But regardless, there’s no doubt that the sport of drifting has inflicted most of the middle east as of late.

One person to hop on board the drifting infatuation, unsurprisingly, is British rapper M.I.A. In her new music video for ‘Bad Girls’, M.I.A explores the side of her that the title suggests as a couple of older BMW 3-series’, an Alfa Romeo 156 and a Mercedes-Benz E-Class show off their drifting skills (known as hagwalah). The rapper even gets into the thick of things herself as she can be seen rapping on the windshield of a 3-series while it’s only on two wheels.

Whatever your thoughts about drifting hagwalah, this video is worth checking out for the cars alone. Let’s just hope that there were no accidents when filming like there usually is.

[Youtube]

Mercedes-Benz C-Class & E-Class Coupes to Get AWD

When Mercedes first announced that they were going to re-introduce the C-class coupe to our market, I was pretty excited. Then when details came out, I was left fairly underwhelmed. Why? Well there were three main things that stuck out for me:

1) The coupe was not going to get a manual transmission option. While I understand that automatics outsell manuals, Mercedes’ rivals, namely BMW, Audi and Infiniti, all offer manual transmission options in their small coupes. So there is at least some justification for a manual.

2) While there’s nothing inherently wrong with the C-class coupe’s design, it’s not really all that unique from the sedan. It seems all the designers did was remove the rear doors and lowered the roofline. Again, Mercedes’ rivals have made an effort to distinguish their coupes from their sedan siblings in terms of design.

3) There was no AWD option. BMW, Audi and Infiniti all have AWD as optional on their coupes.

Well, since the higher ups at Mercedes consistently read my blog and take my critcisms as sound advice (at least I like to tell myself that), they went ahead and addressed issue number three. Next year AWD will be optional on both the C-class and E-Class coupes. However, this option will be limited with models equipped with the 3.5 litre V6 which makes a healthy 302 horsepower and 273 pound feet of torque. If you wish to go with the more tame C300, it’s rear wheel drive only for you. Which, let’s face it, can be a good thing most of the time.

Now, all Mercedes needs to do is, at the very least, address issue number one and they will have a credible contender in a very tough segment.

Would you equip your C-class coupe with AWD or leave it to the rear wheels to do all the work?

[Car and Driver]

Mercedes-Benz to Produce First Ever Diesel Hybrid

A lot of people tend to wonder why no one has thought of combining a diesel with hybrid technology, as oppposed to a regular gasoline combustion engine, since diesels are inherantly efficient to begin with. Seemingly combining two forms of efficient technology would be the ultimate in both efficiency and power as diesels tend to have high torque ranges.

Well, someone has thought of it before. Mainly mostly every car manufacturer. The problem with a diesel hybrid set up is that diesels are bigger and heavier than traditional gas engine. Therefore, there generally isn’t enough room in the engine bay for both the diesel and electric motor. On top of that, the set up would be quite costly. Both hybrids and diesels tend to be more expensive than gas engine vehicles, so having a vehicle with both likely would likely produce some sticker shock.

But, that of course doesn’t stop manufacturers from trying. Kia has recently been flirting with the idea of a diesel-hybrid, and Mercedes-Benz has just announced a production diesel hybrid version of their E-Class sedan.

Details after the jump.

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World Car of the Year 2010: Top Ten Entries Revealed

What is the best car in the world? It’s all relative and subjective and thus, impossible to determine. But that doesn’t stop automotive journalists from trying.

52 automotive journalists representing each continent in the world (except Antarctica – Penguins can’t legally drive yet) have gotten together and submitted their top ten choices for World Car of the Year in two categories: Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year. There will then be three finalists chosen for both categories.

Find out what car made the top ten and what our pics are for the finalists after the jump!

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