The World of Mercedes-Benz in 2016
The Top MBWorld Stories of the Year Include WTFs, Road Rage, and Flying Benzes.
Looking back, one might be initially inclined to say that 2016 will be remembered as the year that Mercedes-Benz conquered the world of luxury automobiles.
After all, Mercedes posted the best sales numbers for luxury automobiles in 2016, beating out BMW with nearly 2-million units sold. And there’s all those huge accolades that the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class pulled in, while becoming one of the most talked about luxury sedans of the year.
But after digging a little deeper, it quickly becomes apparent that 2016 was more of a year of “believe it or nots” when it came to the stories that garnered the most attention here at MB World.
First, there was the story of the amazing feat pulled off by one of MB World’s own members, Fairbird, who owns a custom-tuned 2014 E63 S AMG 4-Matic that produces 730-horsepower. Fairbird posted a series of videos of his car beating a fleet of heavyweight foes, including a Lamborghini Murcielago, a Nissan GT-R, and a BMW 335.
Another story that sparked a lot of interest here in 2016 was one highlighting the sound of a 983-horsepower Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe raging down the straightway. Then, there was that report of a 750-horsepower BiTurbo 2015 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG crushing the ¼ mile in 10.6 seconds, while pulling off a trap speed of 133.12 mph.
In the much-weirder lane for 2016 MBWorld news, there was the wild mishap involving a competitive vehicle in Maryland. The incident involved a 23-year-old driver of an Audi Q5 who crashed through a concrete barrier while trying to park in a parking structure. Instead, she sent the vehicle flying four floors down to the ground level. But even more amazing, the woman lived to tell about it.
Oh, and how can we forget that embarrassing moment for one Mercedes driver who decided to hop out of his M-Class to yell at the guy honking behind him, only to learn that when you take your foot off the brake, the idling vehicle will continue rolling. Fortunately, nobody was hurt during the ordeal.
Another MB road-rage incident in 2016, however, turned into an all-out fist fight in the middle of the street. And it probably would have gotten a lot worse had it not been for a couple of construction workers who raced over to break up the fight between the two motorists.
Of course, there was that other road incident that left us all cringing here at MB World, when a semi-truck carrying nine Mercedes SUVs flipped over in Kentucky, with at least one of the vehicles valued at around $70,000. Although we imagine our pain paled in comparison to those Mercedes fans who had been eagerly awaiting delivery of one of the vehicles.
What was your most memorable Mercedes moment in 2016?