Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

An In-Depth Examination of the 2015 C-Class

Aluminum is a long-time sweetheart of the auto industry. It’s been used in the Audi Space Frame for years. Jaguar crafts its vehicles out of the lightweight metal. Even the new Range Rover is made from it. On the domestic front, Ford will make its best-selling F-150 pickup out of aluminum starting with the 2015 […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | February 27, 2014

Crash Turns McLaren SLR into Three-Wheeler

Warning: The footage you are about to see is graphic and depressing. Some lucky soul in downtown Manhattan was lucky enough to be cruising around in a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren…but so unfortunate as to drive it into a curb and rip off one of its wheels. He pushes his bad luck even further by driving […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | February 14, 2014

Mercedes Puts the CLA in Claws: “Cat” Commercial

If your kitty falls asleep on your Mercedes and you don’t want it to wake up and leave paw and claw marks, just use your leaf blower. You’ll be able to gently glide Whiskers McMeowmeow off of your precious three-pointed star. That will be even easier to do if you own a CLA. Mercedes-Benz’s web […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | February 14, 2014

Meet the 2015 S-Class Coupe

The world has been waiting for the 2015 S-Class Coupe for quite a while. And now that it’s finally here, it’s hard to pay attention to it…as a whole. Mercedes-Benz can blame its own active curve tilting function. “The vehicle leans into bends much like a motorcyclist, thereby reducing the lateral acceleration acting on the […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | February 12, 2014

In Case You Didn’t Know: The SLR is for Real

It’s true that you learn something new everyday. I just discovered that I was misinformed about commercials. How silly of me to think that television ads are typically for products that are necessary and/or affordable to the vast majority of consumers. This mid-2000s spot from Mercedes-Benz for the SLR McLaren taught me it’s worth alerting […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | February 11, 2014

MotorTrend Pits the Audi RS 5 Against the C63 AMG 507 Edition

Automotive magazines are like casinos. They’re skilled at making sure they win more often than they lose. Motor Trend recently hedged its bets by testing a 2014 Audi RS 5 against a 2014 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG 507 Edition coupe. Ron Kiino, Jonny Lieberman and Randy Pobst were going to have a great time, no matter […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | February 11, 2014

Road & Track: G63 AMG vs. Range Rover

For as long as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and the Land Rover Range Rover have been staples in the high-end luxury SUV segment, you would think they have a lot in common. True, the G63 AMG and the Range Rover Supercharged in this test are both V8-powered, leather-lined rigs that kick ass off road. After that, […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | February 10, 2014