Mercedes-Benz
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Wikipedia-Article "Mercedes-Benz"
- This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. For other uses of the name Mercedes, see Mercedes.
Mercedes-Benz is a German brand of automobiles, buses, coaches and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler company (formerly known as Daimler-Benz), commonly known as Mercedes. Mercedes-Benz is the world's oldest automobile manufacturer. Mercedes' primary competition includes BMW, Cadillac, Jaguar, Audi, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti and Lincoln. The famous three-pointed star was designed by Gottlieb Daimler to show the ability of his motors for land-, air- and sea-usage. The sign first appeared on a Daimler vehicle in 1909. The Benz laurel was added in 1926 to symbolize the union of the two firms. The plain ring seen today was first used in 1937.
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History
The origin of the company dates back to the 1880s, when Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz invented the internal combustion engine-powered automobile independently, in southwestern Germany. Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, who together invented the four-stroke engine, worked together in Cannstatt (a city district of Stuttgart); Benz had his shop in Mannheim near Heidelberg. There is no record of the two inventors ever having met.
In the early 1900s, the Daimler cars built at Untertürkheim (also a city district of Stuttgart) were raced successfully by an Austrian dealer named Emil Jellinek, who entered the cars under the name of his daughter, Mercédès. After suggesting some design modifications, he promised the company a large order on the conditions that he was granted the exclusive Daimler concession for Austria-Hungary, France, Belgium and USA, and that he would sell the new model branded as "Mercedes." The name change was also helpful in preventing legal troubles, as Daimler had sold exclusive rights to the name and technical concepts to companies abroad. As a result, luxury cars known as Daimler were and are built in England. A fire that gutted the old Steinway piano factory in New York that had been converted to produce Mercedes cars cut short the dream of an American-built Mercedes.
The rival companies of Daimler Motorengesellschaft and Benz & Cie. started to cooperate in the 1920s to deal with the economic crisis of those years, and finally merged in 1926 to become the Daimler-Benz AG, which produced Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks. The brand's logo is the three-pointed silver star enclosed in a circle, which symbolizes Daimler's original quest to provide small powerful engines to travel on land, sea and air. While focusing on land vehicles, Mercedes-Benz also built engines to power boats and airplanes (military and civil), and even Zeppelins.
During the Second World War, Mercedes-Benz is known to have exploited more than 30 000 forced workers and prisoners of war, some of whom would eventually strike and be sent to concentration camps. This working force soon became essential to the production capacity of the company since 1941, and was a key to the construction of the Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe and war machine.
Mercedes-Benz vehicles have a focus on high quality and state of the art engineering. As a result they have often been expensive and are made in lower volumes compared to cheaper cars. The company has carefully cultivated an image of superior engineering, quality, and service. The cars are often the vehicle of choice for the rich and famous. Perhaps most famous for limousine models, a number of notable sports cars have also been produced. For example, the early supercharged SSK developed by Porsche, and the Gullwing 300SL in 1954. However, Mercedes-Benz has also produced higher volume, less expensive cars. Interestingly, the prototypes of the Volkswagen were built and tested in Stuttgart, in an cooperation with Porsche. Before that, Mercedes-Benz also had a similar rear-engined, yet rather unsuccessful small car, the 130 H.
Their products have been known for the introduction of advanced technologies to cars—notably fuel injection and anti-lock braking systems, amongst many others. However, it does not always work: recently, an active brake system installed in over 600,000 cars has been recalled to fix potential problems. In addition, the brand's reputation of reliability has been called into question when it was recently ranked rather low in consumer surveys. To address the problem, the brand invested heavily in recent years to stem the problem.
Motorsport
Mercedes-Benz has been successful in motor racing throughout their history. The Mercedes Simplex of the early 1900s was the first purpose built race car, much lower than the usual designs that were similar to horse carriages; it dominated racing for years.
In 1914, just before the beginning of the war, Mercedes won the French Grand Prix, which was a blow to the French at that time. Benz raced an aerodynamically shaped Tropfenwagen in the 1920s. In the 1930s, with their mighty Silver Arrows, they dominated Grand Prix racing in Europe (together with rivals Auto Union), while setting speed records up to 435 km/h (270 mph). The team was guided by the big Rennleiter Alfred Neubauer.
In 1952, Mercedes-Benz returned to racing with their small and underpowered gullwinged 300 SL, which won the 24 hours of Le Mans, the Carrera Panamericana, and other important races of that time. On July 4, 1954, Mercedes-Benz returned to Formula One racing with a one-two win at the French Grand Prix. This was a very important victory, especially as later that day, the German football team won the Soccer world championship. Until the end of the 1955 season, Mercedes dominated Grand Prix and sports car racing before retiring its teams after a terrible 1955 crash at Le Mans, where a Mercedes 300 SLR collided with another car and killed over 80 spectators.
Mercedes entered some big limousines in Rallying in the 1960s and late 1980s. They returned to sports car and touring car racing in the late 1980s. On August 13 – 21, 1983 at the Nardo High Speed Track in southern Italy, the new compact-size W201 190 class, sporting a 16-valve engine built by Cosworth, broke three world records after running almost non-stop (with only a 20-sec pit stop every 2 1/2 hours) in a total of 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds, completing 50,000 km at maximum speed of 247 Km/h. It went on to become the 190E 2.3-16 touring model.
In 1994, a car won the Indianapolis 500 with an engine from Mercedes who, realizing that the loophole in the rules for production-based engines would include any pushrod engine, therefore built a very unusual purpose-built for the race pushrod engine with a significant power advantage, knowing that the loophole would be closed immediately after they took advantage of it and so the engine would in fact be usable for only the single race.
McLaren
In 1993 Mercedes made its return to Formula One as an engine supplier to the debut F1 team Sauber, with a V10 engine manufactured by Ilmor. In 1995, the normally aspirated Mercedes-Ilmor F1-V10 moved to Mclaren replacing Peugeot. Mercedes bought the Ilmor company in 1996 and they have continued to design and build engines for Mclaren. In the opening race of the 1997 Formula One season David Coulthard produced victory for Team McLaren Mercedes, and ushered in a new era of success. It was a landmark result in racing, McLaren’s first victory for three seasons and the first win for Mercedes-Benz since Juan Manuel Fangio’s success at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. Mclaren and Mercedes went on by winning one constructors' championship in 1998 and two drivers' championships in 1998 and 1999. However, recent years have seen a significant decline in Mercedes' F1 success, as they won just four races over three years, while suffering numerous engine failures and retirements. Season 2005 was much more successful for McLaren, winning ten of the nineteen races, but finishing second to Renault in the Constructor's title, and with its driver Kimi Räikkönen finishing second in the Driver's title to Fernando Alonso of Spain. Season 2006 seems to indicate a return to the F1 front for the English-German outfit and their "Silberpfeilen". Mercedes and McLaren have, in 2003, jointly created a supercar. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has a carbon-fiber body with a 5.5l V8 supercharged engine. This is the same block as featured in other Mercedes, such as the SL55 AMG and the CLS 55 AMG, it has however been tweaked to give 454kw and 780nm of torque. The SLR has a maximum speed of over 330km/h and costs approximately EUR$500,000. [1]
2005 season
McLaren Mercedes hoped to improve on a poor 2004 season, which saw McLaren-Mercedes finish a distant fifth in the championship, a staggering 193 points behind world champion Ferrari. 2005 indeed witnessed a dramatic gulf in performance between McLaren and Ferrari, though in McLaren's favor. However McLaren was not able to fully capitalize on this opportunity due to the strength of Renault. Renault dominated the early races but by mid-season commentators named the McLaren McLaren MP4-20 as the fastest car. Nonetheless McLaren suffered from the poor reliability of their otherwise much superior Mercedes engine. Engine failures at two consecutive races saw Kimi Räikkönen penalized 10 places from his qualifying place which handicapped his races. At the Grands Prix of San Marino and Germany, Raikkonen retired while in the lead. In the end, McLaren saw a much stronger second half of the season, and fought for the constructor's title with Renault, only to lose it in the last race. McLaren won ten races (seven for Raikkonen and three for his team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya), to Renault's eight (seven for eventual World Champion Fernando Alonso and one for his team-mate, Giancarlo Fisichella). The difference in points was due to the excellent podium record of the Renaults when McLaren won races, as opposed to the string of retirements for the McLarens when Renault won races.
More recently, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has become available for purchase, the 2005 model coming out with a base price of $452,750.00. The new model will have a top speed of 207 MPH and a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds.
Trivia
Mercedes-Benz claims all of the wood used in its modern automobiles is raised on tree farms. This claim has not been confirmed.
Michael McClure's song "Mercedes-Benz", famously sung a cappella by Janis Joplin, was intended as a gentle satire on materialism, but has been used in the company's advertising.
On a BMW advertisement on German TV the driver of a BMW Z3 convertible raised his eyebrows after the first "buy me a Mercedes-Benz", and threw out the tape after "my friends all drive Porsches".
Mercedes-Benz was the most popular brand name mentioned in Billboard Top 20 songs in 2003.
Since 1948, Mercedes-Benz has built the Unimog, or "Universal Motor Gerät", a 4WD truck. It features extreme offroad capability due to offset axles and elastic frame, drive shafts for numerous additional machines, hydraulic and pneumatic connections etc. Despite its high price, the Unimog is popular as allround work horse, as snow plow, expedition vehicle in desert, jungle and mountains, and it has won the truck class at high speed desert races like Paris-Dakar.
The first factory to be built outside of Germany after WW2 was in Argentina. It originally built a massive number of Trucks. Some of which were slightly modified (by Mercedes Benz) to Truck-Busses, popularly named Colectivo (in Buenos Aires).
The "New Russians" cliche includes driving Mercedes S 600, see Russian jokes: New Russians.
Nomenclature
Please note that in 1994 (starting for the 1994 models), the traditional nomenclature of Mercedes vehicles had been changed. Since nearly the start of the company, it was the relative engine displacement that made up the first three numbers (1992 500E for example) and the last letter(s) that represented the chassis. In 1994, that was reversed in order so the it became the E500.
Significant models produced
- 1938: W195 Speed Record-breaker
- 1954: 300SL "Gullwing"
- 1959: "Fintail" Models
- 1960: 220SE Cabriolet
- 1963: 600 "Grand Mercedes"
- 1966: 300SEL 6.3
- 1969: C111 experimental vehicle
- 1972: Mercedes-Benz W107 350SL
- 1974: 450SEL 6.9
- 1974: 240D
- 1975: 280
- 1976: 300D
- 1983: 190E 2.3-16
Buses
See more at Mercedes-Benz buses
MB also produces buses, mainly for Europe and Asia.
The first factory to be built outside of Germany after WW2 was in Argentina. It originally built Truck-Busses, named Colectivo in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1950-1987). But now builds modern-style busses.
Vans
MB produce a range of vans.
The Current Range consists of
- Mercedes-Benz Vito - Light Van based on the Viano MPV with loaded weight of approx 1 tonne
- Mercedes-Benz Sprinter - Mid sized van with loaded weights of 2 to 6 tonne
- Mercedes-Benz Vario - Heavy van with similar load to a light truck (7.5 tonne)
Trucks
MB produce a range of trucks
The Current Range consists of
- Mercedes-Benz Atego - Light truck from 7 to 16t
- Mercedes-Benz Axor - Mid Sized truck from 18 to 26t in rigid and articulated
- Mercedes-Benz Actros - Heavy duty rigid and premium articulated - 18 to 150t
- Mercedes-Benz Econic - Low floor version of the Axor for refuse and specialist applications
References
- Mercedes-Benz U.S.A. Mercedes-Benz. Retrieved December 21, 2003 from [2]
See also
- List of Mercedes-Benz engines
- Mercedes-Benz VIN codes
- Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, the company's Vance, Alabama factory
- Mercedes-Benz World, under construction at Brooklands, UK.
- Active Body Control Mercades-Benz fully active suspension system
- Mercedes 35hp was the original model (year 1900) that originated the brand's name.
External links
- BMW vs Mercedes Forum
- Mercedes-Benz Global Home
- International
- Daimler Chrysler web site
- AMG Website
- Mercedes-Benz World, under construction at Brooklands, UK
- Mclaren Website
- Grand Prix History, Die Silberpfeile
- 1955 Le Mans Disaster
- Mercedes-Benz Performance Products
- 87+ Spectators Killed In 1955 Le Mans Crash
- History of Car Logos
- Songs that mention Mercedes in their lyrics (Google Answers)
- Mercedes Clubs Worldwide (Google)
- “The Porter”: web site special of the film presents by Mercedes-Benz
| <--earlier | Mercedes-Benz road car timeline, 1980s-present edit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Class | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||
| superminis | A | W168 | W169 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| compact | C | W201 (190) | W202 | W203 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| mid-size | E | W123 | W124 | W210 | W211 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CLS | W219 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| full-size | S | W126 | W140 | W220 | W221 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Limo | W240 Maybach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| roadsters | SLK | R170 | R171 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SL | R107 | R129 | R230 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| coupés | CLK | W208 | W209 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CL | W126 | W140 | C215 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| supercars | SLR | C199 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SUVs | G | W460/W461 | W463 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| crossover SUVs | MLK | MLK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M | W163 | W164 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GL | GL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MPVs | B | W245 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| R | W251 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mercedes Car Group: Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) | Maybach | Mercedes-Benz | smart |
| Chrysler Group: Chrysler Corporation | Dodge | Jeep | Plymouth (discontinued in 2001) | Eagle (discontinued in 1998) |
| Commercial Vehicle Brands: Freightliner | Mercedes-Benz | Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation | Setra | Sterling Trucks | Western Star |
| Participations in: EADS (30.17%) | Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (85%) | Freightliner | McLaren Group (40%) |