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]

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]

What’s the average lifespan of the Maybach brand? Well apparently about 10 years.

If Autoweek is to be believed, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, Mercedes-Benz is going to kill off the uber luxury mark in 2013. Mercedes resurrected the Maybach brand back in 2002 but sales have been disappointing ever since the launch. As a result, Mercedes made the obvious decision.

But if you are indeed in the 1%, then don’t fret because the two models currently sold under Maybach, also known as the 57 and the 62 (the latter is pictured above), will continue on once the next generation S-class arrives. They will officially be named the S600 Pullman and it will be Mercedes’ answer to Bentley and Rolls Royce.

This is also unfortunate for rapper Rick Ross who foolishly decided to name his record label Maybach Music Group due to his love of Maybachs. Not the best idea in hindsight. Oh well.

[Autoweek]

Here we go again.

Remember when GM compared a Chevy Cruze to a previous generation Hyundai Elantra as if it was some sort of accomplishment that their new product was better than someone else’s old product? Remember when Audi did the exact same thing with their new A8 and the aging S-Class? Remember when Hennesey compared their heavily modded CTS-V to a non-modded preivous generation Porsche 911 and a non-modded Nissan GT-R?  Well apparently the apples to oranges comparisons in the auto industry isn’t going to stop any time soon as GM decided to to pit the Cadillac Escalade against… wait for it… the Mercedes-Benz C300.

GM decided to ‘prove a new standard’ by showcasing that their full-size SUV could beat the Benz in a drag race. And that’s it.

Now, again, here’s my problem with these sorts of comparisons. If you’re the type of person who wants or feels as if you need a full-size SUV then the C-class isn’t going to be found anywhere on your shopping list. So what’s the point? And vice versa, it’s not as if any C-class shoppers are going to spring for a full-size SUV just because GM proved it to be  faster in a straight line. By the way, GM conveniently left out the part when both vehicles  approached a bend in the track, didn’t they? I guess they didn’t want anyone to see the C300 absolutely slaughter the Escalade in the handling department.

And on top of it all, GM really didn’t play fair by choosing the 228 horsepower V6 trim level of the C-class against the 403 horsepower V8 of the Escalade. Why not see how the Escalade does against the 457 horsepower C-63 AMG then? Or better yet, to make it even more fair how by pitting it against the Escalades actual competition like, say, the Mercedes-Benz GL?

Honestly these kinds of nonsensical comparisons do nothing more than proof that you, as an auto company, are willing to stoop to new lows just to sell product when really, the product should be selling itself.

Click the video above to see one of the most ridiculous drag races of the year.

[Youtube]

Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone pitted a drag race between a BMW 1-Series M, a Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a Chevy Corvette Z06, a Ferrari 458 Italia, a Nissan GT-R, an Audi R8 GT, a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, a Lexus LFA, a Porsche Cayman R, and a Lotus Evora S? Of course you have. And so apparently has Motor Trend because they actually had the pull to make it happen.

All 11 vehicles are definitely among the best of the best in terms of performance vehicles that are currently made. With that said, they all excel at different things. For instance, there’s no question that the 1-series M is going to lose to the 458 Italia. So, why bother doing it? Because each one of us has a 5 year old boy in us that’s why. Without giving too much away, it’s clear that Motor Trend arranged the obvious front runners to be in the middle of the starting line and then worked backwards. The result is a spectacular flying ‘V’ made up of American, Japanese and European brilliance. The symphonic notes coming from each of the exhausts comes together exquisitely.

Click the above video to see it all unfold.

[Youtube]

Who would’ve thought that when BMW introduced its polarizing X6, it would do so well that BMW’s rivals would be forced to make a competitor?

There are reports that Mercedes-Benz is the latest to jump on board the weird cross-over-SUV-coupe segment that BMW started a while back. To be dubbed the GLS and based on the newly redesigned M-Class (pictured above), the GLS will be a four seater-only with a sloped roofline a la CLS. Mercedes will also likely develop a V8 AMG version to directly combat the X6 M. Details other than that are scarce at the moment.

Mercedes-Benz is the third automaker that has now apparently seen enough X6 sales to realize they need a competitor. Acura’s ZDX, while significantly cheaper than the X6, has not been selling in droves. In fact, Acura has had to incent consumers with as much as $12,000 off before hagling. Audi, on the other hand, is confident it can be the one to slow X6 sales with its upcoming Q6.

It sure is a weird segment to be competing in, but sounds like things will heat up significantly within the next few years. Now all we need is Infiniti and Lexus to take notice, then we’ll really have a ball game going.

[Autocar]

Okay so generally I don’t really become enthralled or jealous of celebrities, but this is something I pretty am jealous of.

Kanye West was invited to attend a charity fundraiser put on by Elton John in Cannes, France this week. And his choice of ride was the Mercedes-McLaren Stirling Moss Edition while wearing a classic black and white tux with sunglasses. I have a serious boyhood dream of wanting to actually be James Bond and there’s no doubt that Kanye is purposely trying to channel Mr. Bond in the photo pictured above. And who could really blame him. I know, I know, Bond usually drives Astons, but work with me here.

Anyway, the car itself, as you probably are aware, is extremely rare. It was the last car built by the Mercedes-McLaren partnership back in 2009. Only 75 examples were ever made  The Stirling Moss was actually Korean designed and inspired by 300 SLR speedster. It was powered by a supercharged V8 and was rated at 640 horsepower with a top speed of 350 km/h. It took only 3.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h from not and it had incredible handling capabilities.

It’s not clear whether Mr. Bond West is just lucky enough to know a Stirling Moss owner who let him borrow it, or if Kanye owns the vehicle himself. The latter is entirely possible since the Stirling Moss was only sold to SLR owners and Kanye West is indeed an SLR owner. His vehicle collection includes said SLR, an Aston Martin DB9, a Range Rover SuperSport and a Porsche Panamera. Oh wait, the Panamera was totaled in Hawaii a while back. Still, not a bad lineup to have in your garage.

Hit the jump to see more pics of the amazing Stirling Moss.

[The Daily Mail]

If you haven’t heard, Audi is taken a bit of heat for not being able to build and supply vehicles to meet demand. Basically customers are asked to wait anywhere from six to eight months if they choose to order rather than buy an Audi off the lot. With that said, Audi is fully aware of the problem and has even gone to some pretty generous lengths to keep customers satisfied and from canceling orders.

However, Audi being Audi, they couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to use their slight misfortune to playfully jab the competition. In a new commercial we see an owner of a BMW 3-series spot a truck full of brand spanking new Audis. Seemingly, said owner has already ordered an Audi and was patiently waiting for it arrive for months until he saw the truck and decided to take things into his own hands.

In addition, Audi then ends the commercial stating that more and more BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus drivers are jumping to Audi than ever before.

This commercial is just the latest in a long lasting friendly feud between Audi and BMW, and to a lesser extent Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. Click here to check it out.

What do you think of Audi’s commercial?

[You Tube]

Forbes, the people obsessed with making top 10 lists about, well everything, has just released its list of the worst vehicles on the road. How do you make such a list without accusations of being biased or opinionated? Well with the way Forbes did it, they essentially compiled six studies done by Consumer Reports on the most reliable, best and worst safety, best and worst fuel efficiency, best and worst value, and highest cost of ownership. They then compiled a top 10 list made up of seven American makes, two European makes and one Japanese make.

The Cadillac Escalade embarrassingly took the top score for least value, highest cost of ownership and worst safety scores. I’ll throw in that the Escalade is probably the easiest to steal for good measure.

The Chrysler Town & Country took worst reliability and faired pretty badly for cost of ownership. The Jeep Wrangler and Liberty scored for poor reliability and fuel economy while the Dodge Nitro and Dakota shared in those honours failures as well.

Along with the Escalade, GM took some hits with the Aveo, Colorado and Tahoe Hybrid making the list. All got marks for worst reliability, high cost of ownership and worst safety results.

The two Euros to make the list were both from Mercedes-Benz. The S-class made the list for high cost of ownership and low fuel efficiency scores while the Smart Fortwo was dinged for poor reliability and value.

The lone Japanese vehicle on the list was the Nissan Titan for poor fuel efficiency, reliability and cost of ownership.

With the exception of the three imports which are low volume sellers, people still seem to not get that the above mentioned domestics don’t excel in much. Yet they still sell in large numbers. Are there just that many stupid people out there? But before anyone starts on an anti-domestic vehicle tirade, it should be noted that not a single vehicle from Ford made the list.

[Forbes]

Mmm, gotta love those big German performance sedans!

At the New York Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz decided to let the 2012 AMG version of the E-Class out of the bag. The new E63 AMG will now get a more economical 5.5 litre V8 capable of making 518 horsepower. That number goes up to an exceptional 550 horsepower if you check off the AMG sport package on the options list. Which you really should, because if you do, your E63 AMG will be able to get from 0-100 in an impressive 4.3 seconds. The E63 AMG with out the AMG sport package still manages an impressive 4.4 seconds. A seven speed automatic is standard and was developed by AMG themselves. The Speedshit MCT transmission allows for very quick, smooth shifts.

But if you’re the type that feels quite guilty as you keep opening your wallet to feed your AMG, don’t worry because this new version is supposedly 22% more efficient. And if you’re the type that feels quite guilty knowing you’re probably killing Mother Nature every time you drive your AMG, the E63 AMG helps her out with spray guided direct injection, stop/start technology and eco friendly power steering which basically only draws power (and thus fuel ) when the steering wheel is being turned. It’s no Prius, but it’s good to know Mercedes thinks of little things like these.

Speaking of the steering wheel, it is an all new sport steering wheel with alluminum paddle shifters. Alcantra can be found of the wheel if you opt for the AMG sport package.

So, do you think this is enough to lure  loyalists from the newly redesigned BMW M5? Which would you rather? Sound off in the comments section.

[Mercedes-Benz]

Well that’s pretty embarrassing.

The folks over at Mercedes-Benz were pretty excited to officially reveal the Concept A (also known as the A-Class concept) to the media at the Shanghai Auto Show yesterday. The only problem was, the Concept A got a serious case of stage fright as it refused to start right before it was due to roll out on stage.

After a few seconds of awkwardness, it became painfully clear to the Mercedes-Benz execs that the only way to get it onto the stage was for them to push. And boy, did that ever make for a hilarious picture.

Four executives in designer suits forced to do manual labour for the first time in probably decades? Priceless.

Not having your concept completely ready for a big reveal and perpetuating stereotypes surrounding quality issues of your brand? Fail. It happens, I suppose.

Stay tooned for more details on the Concept A!

[CDNlive]

Last month Mercedes-Benz officially released images of the new C-class coupe and, personally, I was left feeling fairly underwhelmed. While the design is not offensive, it does seem lazy – as if Mercedes-Benz just  took a C-class sedan, removed the rear doors and lowered the roof line. On top of that, no manual transmission or all-wheel drive options makes it non-competitive with the BMW 3-series and Audi A5 in my opinion.

But now Mercedes-Benz has released images of the C-Class Coupe AMG, which definitely seems like its saving grace. There’s really no surprises here too (it’s exactly the same as the sedan) but my goodness does it ever look good.

The C63 AMG coupe will get the famous 6.2 litre V8 making 451 horsepower (which gets bumped to 481 horses if you check off the AMG Development package) mated to a seven-speed automatic MCT Speedshift transmission.

Other improvements include a stiffer suspension, a wider track, sharpened steering and an upgraded tire and wheel package.

Pricing shouldn’t be too far off from its sedan counterpart’s price point of $63,900.

[Mercedes-Benz]

Despite the fact that it’s now a six year old design, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is still outselling its rivals in Canada – at least according to February 2011 sales.

Audi is probably none too pleased that its recent jab at the S-Class is apparently not working to boost the newly redesigned A8′s sales.

Meanwhile, BMW doesn’t have a whole lot to be upset about as the 7-series was the second best selling full-sized luxury car last month in Canada and was the best selling unit in its class in the United States last month.

Hyundai’s venture into this very competitive market also turned out to be decent, but decent is relative. They only sold eight Equus sedans, but that’s double of what they sold the month before.

Here are the number of units sold in Canada in February 2011:

Mercedes-Benz S-Class (includes CL sales): 38

BMW 7-series: 21

Audi A8: 13

Jaguar XJ: 11

Lexus LS: 10

Hyundai Equus: 8

[Auto News Data Center]

Have you ever seen a Mercedes-Benz GLK and thought to yourself, “I wonder if there’s a way to make it look ugly?”

Well RENNtech apparently has thought the same thing, so much so, that they actually decided to go ahead and do it. And boy, did they ever succeed.

They incorporated a body wrap that looks like carbon fiber, but isn’t. Then they took that standard GLK 350 and made it into a hybrid. Why, no one knows.

The concept called the GLK 350 Hybrid Pikes Peak Rally Car was actually debuted in 2008 at the SEMA auto show. But RENNtech has revisited the concept three years later to take it on a tour of America.

So if you’re down south and are trying to find ways to make yourself vomit, be sure to look for the RENNtech GLK on its tour.

[RENNtech]

After a leaked image and a small cameo in a super bow commercial, Mercedes-Benz has finally decided to give its new C-Class coupe an official reveal.

The C-Class coupe will come in two flavours: C250 and C350. The former will get a 1.8 litre turbocharged four cylinder engine that’s good enough for 201 horsepower and is the same engine found in the new SLK 250. The C350, on the other hand, gets a much more desirable 3.5 litre V6 that makes 304 horses. An AMG version is expected well down the road.

And here is why I don’t like this car:

Firstly, it’s going to be 7-speed automatic only. How can a car company build a coupe wherein the only reason why coupes exist is to exude sportiness and performance, yet doesn’t offer a manual transmission.

Secondly, the C-Class coupe is rear wheel drive only. Mercedes-Benz makes quite a decent all-wheel drive system and in fact 80% of Mercedes’ are purchased with 4Motion.

Thirdly, while it’s an attractive design, it seems half-assed. All Mercedes did was take two doors off the sedan and lowered the roof line. There’s nothing else that really sets it apart from the sedan.

If you look at BMW’s 3-series coupe, Audi’s A5 and Infiniti’s G37 coupe all can be had with manual transmissions, all can be had with all-wheel drive and all have unique design elements from their sedan counterparts. They didn’t just take the rear doors off, there was actual thought put into the design process.

It was a good try Mercedes, but I think you missed the mark with this one.

[Mercedes-Benz]