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Mercedes-Benz was formed in 1926 by the merger of car manufacturers Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz. In 1901, Gottlieb Daimler built the first vehicle, which is now regarded as the first real ‘motorcar’. He named this car after his daughter Mercedes, and the brand name Daimler was also to be Mercedes. Before 1940, Mercedes-Benz turned out to be the first important car producer that started to produce prefabricated cars. Before 1940, Mercedes-Benz had built medium-sized cars, luxury saloons, sports and racing cars. From 1934, this line, together with Auto Union (now the Audi) dominated the entire Grand Prix racing world. Around that time sports cars of absolute world class were built, such as the SSK, the 500K and the 540K. These imagination-appealing motorcars are at present extremely popular million-guilder collector’s items…
After World War II, in 1945, Mercedes-Benz first took the simple cars into production again, such as the MB 170, as there was great need for means of transport. In the 1950s, Mercedes-Benz got into their stride: many new models came onto the market and all of them were characterized by a strong Mercedes-Benz family charisma. Mercedes-Benz was characterized by an ingenious, solid and reliable technology, a strong brand-name appeal, and restrained class with a sober but yet luxurious German air.
However, their racing past had not been forgotten, and the threat was resumed with the illustrious ‘Silberpfeilen’. From their racing experience they developed the legendary Mercedes 300 SL ‘Gull Wing’ production sports cars which, three years later, also became available as a roadster.
In 1963 Mercedes-Benz introduced a limousine to please the rich and famous: the Mercedes-Benz 600. This limousine was no less than six meters long and equipped with all imaginable luxury.
During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Mercedes-Benz unwaveringly continued to build quality cars and sports cars, and even until this day the company has built cars with the same brand quality as they did in the 1950s.
Mercedes-Benz is a brand with an unruffled history, only slightly thrown off balance by World War II. It inspires great confidence and is at present the greatest corporation in Germany. Recently, Mercedes-Benz merged with the American Chrysler concern to create the world-wide business Daimler-Chrysler. Click here to view a large and detailed selection of classic Mercedes-Benz models in the ClassicarImages archives. |
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