Mercedes cars not only run on the streets but also in the minds of the people. Mercedes has long built a brand which is synonymous with class. Years of tremendous hard work, optimized thinking and innovative creation made it what it is today.
90 years ago, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Dailmer founded the brand “Mercedes Benz” in Stuttgart, Germany. After the first world war, the economy was so badly affected that the idea of merging and building a partnership was considered something that overcome the climates obstacles. DMG and Benz & Cie., the then two biggest automobile manufacturers in the world, successfully merged in May 1924, and in 1926 “Mercedes-Benz” was born.
The Mercedes’ tri-star logo represents the company’s dominance over land, sea and air. According to the company, it represents the automaker’s drive toward universal motorization with its engines dominating the land, sea and air. The Mercedes-Benz emblem is a symbol for the company’s plan for world domination.
Cars that created history
Engines of Mercedes cars are of supreme quality. These top quality engines evolved with the evolution of different cars in every era since its first production. Model K was the first car produced, after the two companies merged. It was incredibly successful and production of Mercedes-Benz cars rose to 7,000 in 1927. Then came the S series with a variety of cars till 1929. In the 30s, the largest and most prestigious car ‘Mercedes-Benz W15’ made its debut, which helped Mercedes-Benz to become one of the leading brands in the automotive industry. The 260 D Model, was the world’s first diesel-run passenger vehicle. By the 40s, the company stopped the production of vehicles due to the Second World War and then resumed activities in 1946 with the 170 V. During the 50s, they topped the sales charts in Germany by introducing some of their best looking cars, like the 190 and 300 SL.
1960s was the decade of muscle cars. In 1967, they introduced Mercedes-AMG as a separate high-performance division of the Mercedes-Benz. The first car introduced by the division was the famous 300SEL 6.3 V8 Saloon, which was given the name ‘Red Sow’. During the 70s they produced some successful cars like SL and SLC 107 series of cars, the G-Class and S-Class series, which are still in production. In the 1980s they came out to be the first car manufacturing brand who took concern about environmental pollution. They introduced the closed-loop three-way catalytic convertor to reduce overall car pollution. In 1987, Mercedes-Benz introduced the 100 D 631 series and a year later the W201 Serie 2 made its debut, which was a compact executive car with a sports sedan body style. In the 90s, the company introduced the G-Class Wagons and SUVs and numerous new models like the E-Class, C-Class, and S-Class series.
A new era in mechanical supercharging technology was introduced in the 2000s. The numerous groundbreaking designs and engineering concepts, such as the BlueTec system was released in 2005 and had the capability of reducing CO2 emissions. Today, Mercedes-Benz along with its AMG high-performance division are one of the best and most popular car manufacturers that build luxury cars, trucks, coaches, and buses. Additionally, the company offers financial services and automobile repairs.
Quality and Innovation
Since its first production they were successful in making quality cars and finding out innovative ways to implement technlogy that came out to be the stepping stones for future generation cars. Some notable works introduced by them are as follows:
- Developed the first road car to have brakes on all the four wheels.
- In 1936, the Mercedes-Benz 260D was the first diesel powered passenger car.
- They were the first to offer direct fuel injection on Mercedes-Benz 300SL.
- In 1951 they were the first to develop the “safety cage”.
- Airbags were first introduced in the European market by them in 1981 with model S-Class.
- Mercedes-Benz was the first to introduce pre-tensioners to seat belts on the 1981 S-Class.
- In September 2003, they introduced the world’s first seven-speed automatic transmision.
- They are the first to develop, test and implement ESP, break assist and other types of safety equipments into passenger cars.
- In 1980s they developed the world’s first robot car along with the team of professor Dickmanns.
Mercedes-Benz’s Arena in sports
Mercedes-Benz is a sports enthusiastic brand. In football, Mercedes-Benz sponsors the German National Football Team. Mercedes-Benz sponsors Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart and provides the naming rights for their stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Arena. They are into racing for a long time. In the 1930s they participated in Grand Prix Motor racing. For the last few years they have dominated the F1 arena using drivers like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Identity and cooperation
Mercedes-Benz’s logo speaks volume about the brand even if the name is not there. Now they are moving ahead with the invention and implementation of new technologies not kown to us yet. They have been a great companion for years. So much of success and fame did’nt make them irresponsible. They have not made a large fuss about the safety innovations, and has even licensed them for use by competitors, in the name of improving automobile and passenger safety. As a result, crumple zones and anti-lock brakes (ABS) are now standard on all modern vehicles.