Mercedes-Benz is a well known car brand
from Germany that features luxury vehicles, busses, trucks, and
coaches. Mercedes-Benz has a long interesting history that begins
with Benz & Cie and Diamler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG). The car
traces its roots back to the 1901 Mercedes and the 1886 Benz Patent
Motorwagen.
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| Benz Patent Motorwagen (1886-1888) |
In 1883, Karl Benz founded Benz &
Cie, which designed the Benz Patent Motorwagen in 1886. The vehicle
was difficult to control and actually crashed into a wall during a
demonstration! The Motorwagen was first sold in 1888, which makes it
the first automobile available for purchase by the public.
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| Bertha Benz |
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| Karl Benz |
The original version had no gears and
couldn't climb hills alone. Benz's wife, Bertha, sought to fix these problems,
and without telling her husband, took her two sons on a 66 mile road
trip, known as the first ever long distance car trip. Along the way
she fueled up, repaired technical and mechanical problems, and
actually invented brake lining (she had a shoemaker nail leather on
the brake blocks). She had left in the morning and they arrived that
night. She stated that she wanted to demonstrate the automobile's
travel ability and generate publicity. Today, the day is celebrated
in Germany with an antique auto rally.
In 1893, Benz introduced the Victoria,
a car suitable for mass production. The first truck in history came
in 1895. In 1899, Benz was the largest automobile company in the
world and remained so into the 1900s.
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| 1895 Truck |
Elsewhere in Germany, in 1890, Gottlieb
Daimler and Wilhelm Maybeck founded the Diamler-Motoren-Gesellschaft
(DMG) as an engine business. Soon after opening, they became a public
corporation due to low sales and profit. The founders often advocated
for a concentration in car manufacturing, but the board brushed them
aside. They left the business for a short time due to this.
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| Gottlieb Daimler |
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| Wilhelm Maybeck |
DMG did make their first car in 1892
and was followed by two more models in the coming years. Diamler andMaybeck returned to the company in 1896 when the company started
running into financial problem.
To be continued....
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| 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550 Sedan - For Sale in Pensacola |
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Sources: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz; MyAutoWorld, http://myautoworld.com/mercedes/history/company/people-daimler/people-daimler.html; English History Fiction Authors, http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2012/07/mrs-benzs-wild-ride.html; Logo Design Love, http://www.logodesignlove.com/mercedes-benz-logo-evolution; Diamler, http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1322446-1-1323352-1-0-0-1322455-0-0-135-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
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