Mercedes Cheats the Piech Reaper

Ever wondered what Ferdinand Piech, one of the marking figures of Volkswagen and Porsche, has in common with rival company Mercedes Benz? Well, nothing actually, apart from, perhaps, a big grudge.

In a commercial posted by Mercedes Benz on its official Youtube channel on May 27, the company takes on Ferdinand Piech in the most impolite manner. The winner of the Car Executive of the Century (1999) is portrayed by Mercedes Benz as (hold on) the Grim Reaper (with the required scythe and all), as tries to slam a poor Mercedes Benz driver right into a roadblock of cranes, logs and debris.

Unknown to the Grim Reaper, the E-Klasse advertised in the commercial has a neat little feature called BAS + brake assistant. Thanks to it, the distracted driver, manages to escape in one piece without lifting a finger.

"In traffic precarious situations can come unexpectedly: before you know it there is an uninvited passenger. But with the brake assistant BAS + in the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class you can even trick the reaper," Mercedes says.

Of course, you might wonder why Mercedes would take on Piech and not, say, a BMW executive. After all, it's not like Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz drive around in the same market segment. Well, the overconfident Piech (a confidence built last year more than ever, when VW managed to overturn a takeover attempt by Porsche) said, at one point, his company will not only take on Toyota for the number one spot, but also Mercedes Benz.