Lebanon's Love Affair With German Classic Cars

Lebanon is a country of car enthusiasts who love their German classic cars. The cars tell us a lot about the country's life and its history of conflict and crisis. Lebanon's economic woes and systemic corruption are reflected in the streets, with many cars being driven until they die due to a lack of funds. However, a great number of these classics keep Lebanon moving!
00:00 German Classic Cars Lebanon
01:15 King Of Bakhaoun: Taxi DriverMercedes W10
04:30 Lebanon's Culture & Cars
06:07 Lebanon Racing Legend: Nabil 'Billy' Karam
07:19 Beirut Port Explosion
08:10 Most Unique Mercedes W1023
09:10 Classic Car Restoration
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Report: Lennart Behnke
Camera: Moritz von Lüpke
Edit: Carolin Haberland/ Jenny Gärtner
REV - The Global Auto and Mobility Show from Deutsche Welle
#dwrev #classiccars #lebanon

[@walpoleandworcester]

Those old German cars are like tanks in terms of durability! Love the passion the Lebanese people have for their vehicles.

[@erikandrehoglund55]

They are so much better than model todays

[@DWREV]

The passion is the reason we did this film ;-)

[@robertomaksoud3536]

I'm from lebanon, and I own a w110 mercedes from 1963. And I got the car from my grandfather.

[@Dani-ul6rb]

We had 230.4

[@deamon575]

Mercedes LAFF :)

[@mikeelkhoury259]

Bt bi3a ?

[@poseidonuniquepeak]

lol exactly same here

[@hannesohnesorge]

What a great insight into Lebanese popular culture, presented in a really unique way and supported by an amazing choice of characters!! Looking forward to more videos like this coming!!

[@DWREV]

Thanks a lot. Please subscribe our channel

[@mikeelkhoury259]

You're welcome to Lebanon any time

[@neilsolomon9149]

I’m Lebanese. Mercedes dominate that market. 🇱🇧

[@John-Tonic]

What lovely people! Greets from Germany

[@kaminobatto]

Every member of my Lebanese family )with the exception of my father) had either a Mercedes or a BMW. Some of these had their odometers roll twice or more and they still work. It was German engineering at its finest back in those days. Unfortunately, reliability has become an issues to what otherwise used to be known as "several lifetimes driving machines." I have seen the difference first hand through the purchases of people around me, a monthly visit to the mechanic (if not more) is to be expected, which is a shame. I guess building indestructible and timeless machines is bad for business, so making them disposable like everything else these days is the only way to maintain profitability I guess.

[@alles_klar]

People who pay new Mercedes prices want tons of features and showy stuff, then get rid of them when the lease or warranty is over. There's no business case for overengineering new cars.

[@mimoboy5478]

lebanese and proud 😊💜🇱🇧🇩🇪

[@willemn.hengelmolen7085]

Fantastic car Mercedes, I owned once a 280 SEL and a 300 TDI. I even named one of my daughters Mercedes ❤

[@simon8863]

Amazing video!! Beirut is definitely on my travel bucket list ❤❤

[@DWREV]

Thanks. More on our Channel. Subscribe it 😉

[@tonychavez2083]

That museum was very impressive.... It's the same in many small european and middle eastern countries, "Older" Mercedes are king because their long term durability .....

[@samharb2623]

Great video, a true testament of Lebanese perseverance!

[@MrRedcelica]

chaotic yet such an amazing place!!

[@user-sq1tr7nq7u]

Where are you from??

[@MrRedcelica]

@@user-sq1tr7nq7u im an Australian born lebanese!!

[@user-sq1tr7nq7u]

@@MrRedcelica you speak the language to??

[@MrRedcelica]

@@user-sq1tr7nq7u yes and understand but not write!!

[@carvingtheway]

Awesome video,, awesome Lebanon ❤🇱🇧👌🏻🌲🏖️🏕️🏔️🚘🚘🚘🚘

[@asvastika]

German old cars are a legend

[@DWREV]

What do you think about new German Cars? Did they lose quality?

[@mychanejhg]

@@DWREV no but they are super expensive xD

[@NorceCodine]

@@DWREV The problem is that no one knows how to work on these cars anymore, I have two classic Mercedeses, the Mercedes dealer told me that they have no expertise how to service these cars. Mercedes, Volkswagen stopped training mechanics in America decades ago.

[@itsomarz9337]

Lebanonnnn my beloved country ❤ 🇱🇧

[@Karim-ik5ij]

dude's last name is hadad and literally works in a car shop with welding. Hadad means blacksmith

[@HksF16]

common last name in Sham (Levant) region

[@LoverOFhopeANDcompassion]

When I came to USA in 1983 age 13 i was shocked how rare and expensive Mercedes cares were; telling Americans how ubiquitous they are in Lebanon, no one would believe me. 40 years later there is your proof my dear USA

[@user-ou5et3fo3z]

First time riding in a merc was 1981 arrived in Lebanon with mother and siblings during ceasefire period. All taxis were Mercedes.

[@EYEONEVENTS]

Come to Egypt we have hundreds of thousands of this beautiful vehicle still working in perfect conditions on Egypt asphalt ❤

[@mayamahfouz5356]

Awesome! Thank you for making this video! 😊🇱🇧❤️

[@lil0296]

Amazing video!!!! Love it! Something different and positive about Lebanon for once! Tha k u

[@sakasso]

Yep! Some people are proud in Lebanon to own one of these.

[@888snuffy]

wow ! awesome content. thanks for posting.

[@hishamalameddine8743]

i own a mercedes w210 2001 facelift edition , and i will never sell it soon it will rocket up in price🇱🇧🇱🇧🇱🇧🇱🇧

[@ee-hm1pp]

amazing video. bravo!

[@AndrewKNI]

Fantastic video. Now that's dedication to cars 🙂

[@anisdabbous5581]

I'm Lebanese I have a bmw 1989 modified 😁

[@sudburyathletics]

great video, thank you

[@DWREV]

Thanks, more on our channel 😉

[@littlebird7940]

GREAT VIDEO

[@paulyounes7181]

I liked the filming in cars,was it with a Sony? Beautiful video content ( editing ) Danke Sehr & waiting for new videos that shows positive sides about my country.

[@poseidonuniquepeak]

I'm from Lebanon, and I own a w110 mercedes from 1965 that I inherited from my grandfather.

[@DWREV]

Nice! And it's still rollin' ?

[@yellowfluffy6489]

If there an apocalypse this car still runs

[@yepyepyepyep4602]

more of this please @DW

[@ahmadtoism]

hats off !

[@abelucious]

The financial hard times Lebanon is going through makes even a better place to visit, things are extremely cheap if you have American dollar, you can get a 5 star hotel room across from the Mediterranean for 30 dollars a night.

[@beasty5660]

You can't get a 3star hotel for that price, prices are still the same as before

[@abelucious]

@@beasty5660 don’t reserve online , walk in and get a room , go to places like Tyre or Sidon , nice beaches much cheaper than Beirut

[@driliagor]

To travel to see what exactly? Decrepit buildings and poverty?

[@abelucious]

@@driliagor Mexico and Cuba are 2 of the poorest countries in the world and top 5 for tourism, think .... think.

[@driliagor]

@@abelucious says who?

[@gtalearntodrift]

more documenter like this!!!

[@sarcastix]

what a great video ! thank you for taking your time to capture and share Lebanon's history, which I ( as a Lebanese ) found really interesting ! I would also like to ask you about your stay in Leb ... how was it ? did you like it ?!

[@DWREV]

We think it's safe to say that our reporter enjoyed himself in Lebanon! :-)

[@thelovertunisia]

Old German cars were super robust unlike modern ones.

[@MuhammadNadeem-gn4in]

Waoooo Great

[@awsomemodels]

This is absolutely amazing 🔥🔥, in Iraq we almost have a similar thing but with Toyotas fromt the 80s and 90s.

[@mixi2090]

The parallels between the decay of South Africa and that of Lebanon is shocking.

[@sargoon1017]

Why do you say that? I understand the objective reality that both of these respective countries have seen better days, but the factors and circumstances that created the devastation in Lebanon is not even remotely analogous to the situation in South Africa in my opinion. I don’t see the overlap.

[@mixi2090]

@@sargoon1017 In South Africa its the twins of Corruption and Incompetence with a huge wallop of state sanctioned Nepotism (a.k.a. cadre deployment). Are the reasons any different in Lebanon? If so please illuminate us.

[@sargoon1017]

@@mixi2090 Well beyond the likeness in crippling corruption and incompetent governance, the overall historical circumstances and variables that explain the process of degradation in both countries I feel is completely different. Bitter religious sectarianism and contention have destabilized Lebanon since its founding. The confessional system devised by the French helped favor power and representation in certain groups while marginalizing others. This volatile political climate would lead to the devastating 15 year long Lebanese Civil War (Lebanon would be invaded by both its neighbors). It also doesn’t help that crises and instability surround Lebanon as well; the strife often spills over. Many displaced Palestinians and Syrians fled to Lebanon due to the conflict/instability in their home countries. Roughly half of the total population in Lebanon aren’t even Lebanese which certainly adds pressure to a country that already suffers from a lack of basic infrastructure. The economic crisis from 2019 onward is just the final nail in the coffin. The historical events and circumstances that shaped South Africa’s collapse is completely different. Lebanon never had inordinate political representation and distribution of power for a white minority. It never had any system of racial apartheid that fomented racial animosity between natives to the land and foreigners (in ethnic origin). The transition of power in South Africa to a more representative Black majority government with the ANC is not mirrored any where in Lebanese history. As mentioned previously, when sectarian disputes came to a head, Lebanon was engulfed in civil war which can’t be said for South Africa. Of course both of these countries have terrible corruption and incompetent governments, but I feel this is just a surface level comparison. My point was that the way in which both of these respective countries fell from grace are barely comparable.

[@e30325ikiller]

quality

[@charlestimmis273]

Lebanon and Mercedes have a very long love story.......

[@dougbelanger3479]

Like the black Buick Park Avenue at 6;58. When was this filmed?

[@DWREV]

Hi it was filmed in February

[@MerlinOpeth]

Love dw ive been watching for years. The engine in my 1980 Datsun is a copy nissan did of a mercedes engine. L18 1.8l gasoline four cylinder 8 valve.

[@zouzou1115]

I'm lebanese. I love bmw ❤❤ Bmw power ❤❤❤

[@tissapathiratna7761]

One thing is sure, Today's German cars wil Not go the distance. Lucky to get 100,000 without problems. Shade.

[@ravipeiris4388]

Interesting how far German cars have fallen in reliability while increasing in rapid short term depreciation 🎉.

[@Rimrock300]

The Germans can make more reliable cars if they want. They more or less have adapted to customers that first of all want fancy looking cars with a lot of functions, rather than longivity. 'why should we put the extra effort and cost into make a part to last 15 years, when our new-car customer will pass on the car after 5 years for a newer model anyway? Okay, we could make that plastic cover last 15 years, but would our customer wish to pay the extra cost? No.' People who want longivity and lower cost of operation before fancyness go for a simpler Japanese car.

[@jlahoud94]

🇱🇧❤

[@othmanealaoui2805]

The middle Eastern version of Albania

[@robertomaksoud3536]

Can I know the name of the shop of Michael hadad

[@afonsobernardino3541]

What's the name of the song that starts at 11:12 ? Thank you

[@highwayrider9165]

German cars and amazing and powerful... No doubt

[@konsen6149]

Not the modern Mercedes , no longer built durable , robust, reliable and strong like before . furthermore expensive to maintain with huge usage of electronic parts . You know the life span of electronic parts would not last at all. Wonder how long modern

[@InVinoVeritas89]

We hv 6 Golf vw 1 is Golf 1 Mk1 5 Golf Mk2 we love old german cars ♡ in Lebanon

[@TheSuperbg101]

Zbele

[@InVinoVeritas89]

@@TheSuperbg101 be3na wa7de menun ba3da original la wa7ad nemsewe ba3ata 3a Österreich bi 13k euros teb2a ellun hek lal nemsewie wel olman ya mhazzab enta

[@TheSuperbg101]

@@InVinoVeritas89 allah yzeed el 2aghbiya

[@touringthecitywalking9209]

That old man reminds me of Mr. Magoo, an animated cartoon character created in the 1940s. I used to watch this cartoon series back in the 1970s when I was a kid lol! Mr. Magoo is a nasty, stubborn old man whose personality was based loosely upon that of W. C. Fields. However, the humor in the cartoon episodes was primarily derived from situations involving Mr. Magoo's extreme myopia.

[@DWREV]

We didn't realise it before, but you're one hundred percent correct! All he's missing is McBarker!

[@ucf_zn]

Thats true, most abundant n iconic car in Lb is 230 لف, n for youth bmw e 30 ,is best choice

[@sunitization]

At first I thought old dude broke the shifter 😂

[@thisisnotmyrealname3964]

Sad that today cars barely last up to 200k km

[@netchi0174]

Just my opinion but old luxury car > brand new basic car

[@eizibarzely8174]

How much those cars cost in Lebanon ? You pay for them in dollars or Lebanon lira?

[@Moni760]

You can pay for them in $ or the equivalent thereof in Lira. As for the cost that varies across the board. You can always find different dealers/people selling the same car for utterly different prices. Not to mention prices are always subject to bargaining.

[@IceMan-il7dx]

Cool 😎 How boring is my country of Korean & Japanese SUV's....😪😪😪

[@Sara-iy3oz]

Same in Syria. German cars are number 1 there. We never bought anything else. Of course this is obviously about people who can afford it obviously, like any other country.

[@kyks6771]

🆒

[@UkAla-dz9dz]

What is the name of the opening arabic music at 1:12

[@DWREV]

That's "Dalouna" by Haitham Al Hamwi 👍

[@UkAla-dz9dz]

@@DWREV Could you please give me a youtube link to it? Tried searching and cant find it

[@DWREV]

@@UkAla-dz9dz Sure thing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emfNd4SNaa6Kn68

[@ivanarnaudov2281]

I think Lebanon are taking the 1st place from Albania

[@backup9388]

even in Jordan people still used the an old Mercedes

[@sqaudronsquadron3808]

those cars are $$$$$,,,,,

[@eyalschnider]

official car of civil wars in lebanon...in the 70 and 80 thats the only thing that was working in the big cheos there.

[@bu_is]

regarded as dubai in 60s and early 70s (pre 1975) thanks to its banking and retail sectors. a real safe heaven for smurfs

[@ihabjibril5695]

First Mercedes Benz dealership in the Middle East was in the early 1930’s in Haifa Palestine named gargor till now he’s the same dealership in Jordan Lebanon Syria Palestine the in Israel follow the euro zone

[@user-vf1tf4hb9b]

Дочки нет но она есть во внуке. Меня попросили

[@iPodedition23]

I wish i could visit Lebanon as a jew living in Israel. It looks so beautiful and culturally very unique

[@user-urbossmoe]

no . Thank you, stay in your country 🤚🏻 Lebanon and the Lebanese do not want you

[@888snuffy]

@@user-urbossmoe says who?

[@888snuffy]

one day soon you will be welcome. I say this as an optimistic lebanese.

[@MerlinOpeth]

Why is the gas that colour lol?

[@lukascorpio2565]

Old Mercedes old Renaulta Honda and toyotas are stronger then time

[@hughbatchelor8599]

I reckon Mauritania is more densely populated with old Mercs. Check it out....

[@DWREV]

Thanks for the tip!

[@itsomarz9337]

No it’s not 😂

[@ThatMemoryIsAlive]

When the rich guy's bit started, it felt like the report lost its sympathy and genuine passion. A rich showing off his car collection isn't anything new to us. The cab driver knows his car so much better than the rich dude. Plus his car has character, a story, it has witnessed many many stories, and this cab driver has heard so many stories ... And I wrote all of that just fishing for likes

[@DWREV]

We appreciate the honest feedback and for watching!

[@ThatMemoryIsAlive]

@@DWREV Thank you

[@element1935]

u just hate sucessful people

[@Tambolkyuriiii]

While majority of the countries drives Toyota

[@ibnuabdulaziz_abdullah8129]

Old mercedes old renault honda and toyotaa are strobgee then time

[@eagleone-ff9lz]

for engine gas reliability , honda still more reliable than mercedes . but for body,prestigious , horse power, and safety, Mercedes-Benz win. but you need buy 3 honda for 1 mercedes.

[@charlestimmis273]

Maybe... but no where near prestige or class like the old Mercedes...

[@SRR855]

I'm a Hakim and I'm angry

[@hishamhaydar]

Ask them (us) About Audi 😂😂😂

[@momak6977]

Bruxelles 🇧🇪 is better then Beiroet

[@techtronics591]

lebanon would have been rich if they had loved the toyotas

[@Roni_98]

Albania has a better classic scene

[@DWREV]

Have you watched our story on Mercedes in Albania? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJeYnWWNnMmao9U

[@hagbard72]

11:00 Did he say cars will always increase in value???? What planet is he on? Oh wait, Lebanon.

[@Rimrock300]

He is obviously talking about 'special cars', collectors cars

[@g3abesh]

كل شيئ متعفن مهترئ قديم في هذا البلد السيارات البيوت النفايات تملى الشوارع عمله وطنيه بالحضيض شيى مخزي

[@littlebird7940]

رغم كل شي حكيتو مفي احلى من هل بلد 🥰

[@g3abesh]

@@littlebird7940 مهو خلص تعودتو على القرف

[@littlebird7940]

@@g3abesh صح تعودنا عالطبيعة والفصول و روح الحياة اللي ممنلاقيها باي مكان بالعالم و مزبوط في جزء كبير مزعج بالحياة ببلدنا و متل مقلت مقرف بسبب السياسيين بس بضل هوا لبنان برد الروووح دعيلنا تنفرج بضل متنشر طاقة سلبية تحياتي😊

[@RayanRayan-bk3ht]

ليش مبعو* يعني مفهمت؟

[@zouzou1115]

And you too😂

[@vwgti3414]

Hypocrits...

[@OS-hx4jk]

They've clearly not heard of this company called Toyota.

[@charlestimmis273]

They did.. I have both.. honestly Toyota are very reliable. but nothing beats the old Mercedes prestige....