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Maybach could become Mercedes-Benz sub-brand

When you're arriving in a twin-turbocharged, twelve-cylinder Maybach limo, there's no reason you should ever have to be late. Except, maybe, to make a fashionable entrance. But up at the corporate level, the entire Maybach brand is being slowed down as critical decisions about its future are being undertaken.
Last week, we reported that a decision on what path Maybach would take going forward would be due at the start of next month, but the latest reports indicate that the timeframe has been extended as further options are being considered.
The previous options under consideration were twofold: either relaunch the brand with production outsourced to Aston Martin - which suddenly finds itself with excess production capacity - or shut it down completely. And those are still two very real options. Word has it that Aston has put together four concept cars for the Daimler brass to consider, all based on the next-generation S-Class platform (and thankfully not the old one).

Here's what Jay Leno will be working on in 2016

Jay Leno always has a project or five underway in his garage, and since 2015 is practically over, his latest video offers a glimpse at some of the amazing vehicles we might see his team complete in the coming year. Leno's crew certainly has a lot to do next year. Leno's most impressive current undertaking is an effort to modernize a 1914 Detroit Electric with about ten times its original power output. He showed off the vintage EV as just a shell in his last tour of the garage, but his team has now recreated the wood body. They also started the project's bigger challenge of installing a new electric motor and lithium-ion batteries from a Nissan Leaf. If EVs don't interest you, Leno has plenty of other irons in the fire, too. There's a 1971 Porsche 911 that's under restoration to turn it into a solid driver and several motorcycles in various states of repair. Leno even welcomes viewers into his dyno room to check out the work on the Chrysler V8 for his Cunningham. The results of this wrenching and welding on these projects should make for even more compelling videos in 2016.

Paul di Resta returns to DTM with Mercedes

Some drivers manage to make the transition from one form of motor racing into another, and some run into trouble. Take Paul di Resta, for example. The promising young Scottish driver dominated Formula 3 racing in Europe in 2006, then moved over to Germany's hugely competitive DTM touring car series where he finished second in 2008, third in 2009 and first in 2010. But things didn't go as smoothly for Paul - cousin to retired Indy champion Dario Franchitti - when he moved in to Formula One with the Force India team.
In three years on the grid, he failed to score a single podium finish. Little surprise, then, that Force India opted not to renew his contract for this season. Left without a ride, di Resta is now going back to DTM with longtime supporter Mercedes-Benz, testing the new C-Class touring car today in Portugal. It's good news for Mercedes, which is celebrating 120 years in motor racing this season and, with 2005 champion Gary Paffett also on board, can now count two former champions on its DTM roster.
We wouldn't count Paul out of F1 for good, though. When he won the DTM title four years ago, he was also moonlighting as Force India's test driver, and we wouldn't be surprised to see him pull similar double-duty with the Mercedes F1 team (or another Benz-powered outfit) this year before spring-boarding back into grand prix racing in the future. At 27 years old, he may not have been the youngest driver on the grid this year, but he's still got a good few years ahead of him.