Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz (German pronunciation: [mɛʁˈtseːdəsˌbɛnts]) is a global automobile manufacturer and a division of the German company Daimler AG. The brand is known for luxury vehicles, buses, coaches, and trucks. The headquarters of Mercedes-Benz are in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The name first appeared in 1926 under Daimler-Benz, but traces its origins to Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft's 1901 Mercedes and to Karl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which is widely regarded as the first gasoline-powered automobile. Mercedes-Benz's slogan is "The best or nothing." Mercedes-Benz is one of the most recognized automotive brands worldwide.

History

Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to Karl Benz's creation of the first petrol-powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, financed by Bertha Benz[2] and patented in January 1886,[3] and Gottlieb Daimler and engineer Wilhelm Maybach's conversion of a stagecoach by the addition of a petrol engine later that year. The Mercedes automobile was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. (Daimler Motors Corporation). Emil Jellinek, an Austrian automobile entrepreneur who worked with DMG created the trademark in 1902, naming the 1901 Mercedes 35 hp after his daughter Mercedes Jellinek. The first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicles were produced in 1926, following the merger of Karl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's companies into the Daimler-Benz company.[3][4] On 28 June 1926, Mercedes Benz was formed with the merger of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler's two companies.

Throughout the 1930s, Mercedes-Benz produced the 770 model, a car that was popular during Germany's Nazi period. Adolf Hitler was known to have driven these cars during his time in power, with bulletproof windshields.[5] Most of the surviving models have been sold at auctions to private buyers. One of them is currently on display at the War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. The pontiff's Popemobile has often been sourced from Mercedes-Benz.[6]In 1944, 46,000 forced laborers were used in Daimler-Benz's factories to bolster Nazi war efforts. The company later paid $12 million in reparations to the laborers' families.[7]Mercedes-Benz has introduced many technological and safety innovations that later became common in other vehicles.[8] Mercedes-Benz is one of the best-known and established automotive brands in the world.

For information relating to the famous three-pointed star, see under the title Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft including the merger into Daimler-Benz.