Jaguar's Cat-Like Reflexes? No Match For Tech, Says Mercedes

It's nearly Christmas, and apparently automotive advertising departments have been on the brandy mince pies and the mulled wine, because things have started getting a little silly.

Recently, Mercedes released an advert demonstrating its Magic Body Control system, using chickens. British rival Jaguar lampooned this advert by demonstrating that chicken-like body control in relation to an actual jaguar--and the result wasn't great for the chicken. Jaguar's summary? "We prefer cat-like reflexes".

Mercedes has now come back with its own response to Jaguar's ad, touting another of its electronic safety systems, Pre-Safe brake. This stops the car in the event that something--say, a jaguar--steps out into the road in front of you, as it's doing in the advert. The tagline this time? "Because cat-like reflexes aren't fast enough". Mee-OW.

We're now intrigued to see how far the friendly back-and-forth continues--Jaguar playing ever more on its reputation for dynamics and elegance, Mercedes on its Teutonic reputation for safety and technology.