It’s a well-known fact that the Mercedes name was chosen by Karl Benz because it was his daughter’s name.
But what if we told you that isn’t true?
Contrary to popular belief, the Mercedes name actually doesn’t come from the Benz family.
The Mercedes-Benz name actually has a long history behind it, which not many owners actually know about!
Before the three-pointed star: introducing our cast
Karl Benz
1886 was a bit of a landmark year – The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was first published, Coca-Cola hit store shelves, and the world’s very first automobile took to the roads.
Its creator? A certain Karl Benz.
With a single seat, three wheels and a maximum speed of about 16 km/h, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen was the world’s first purposely-designed car.
While quaint to us, back then we’re sure it would have been out of this world – a carriage? That moves without the need for a horse? Groundbreaking!
And of course, we can’t talk about Benz without acknowledging his wife, Bertha, who funded the entire venture and who was a skilled driver and mechanic in her own right.
While only 25 of these (give or take) were made over its seven-year production run, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen would make history by not only being the first car, but also making the world’s first long-distance road trip which featured a number of other world-firsts:
- Refuelling stop
- Brakes replacement
- Female driver and mechanic (Bertha Benz)
Gottlieb Daimler
Karl and Bertha Benz weren’t the only ones working on turning cars into reality – at the same time, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach were also doing their own tinkering.
With a focus on engines in particular, the two men created Daimler (DMG for short) and began independently designing and manufacturing their own automobiles.
This is where the “Mercedes” half of the name comes from.
We can thank wealthy businessman and racing enthusiast Emil Jellinek, one of DMG’s most prominent customers, for the name Mercedes.
And it wasn’t just the car that received the name – he gave the nickname to everything, from his daughter, to his mansion, to his favourite racers.
If you’re wondering how one customer was able to suggest a name, you’ve got to remember that back then, cars were still made to-order (a tradition Mercedes-Benz maintains to this day). This meant that particularly wealthy customers had a lot of sway over the final product.
This particular car (the Mercedes 35hp) pioneered many features we now consider standard:
- A lower centre-of-gravity
- All-metal construction
- A front-mounted engine
It might sound pretty basic to us nowadays.
But consider that the majority of transport were rickety carriages (as in horse carriages) with engines hastily fitted and you can see why this new design was so revolutionary!
The birth of Mercedes-Benz
For the next several decades, both the Daimler and Benz companies would independently produce cars, trucks, and other vehicles for the German market, growing and introducing new product lines.
That is, until the 1930s hit.
You don’t need us to tell you that the Great Depression was a bit of a rough time. We’re sure you remember learning about the economic hardship back in history class, and how it hit Germany especially hard.
Faced with a struggling economy and hyperinflation, the two competitors were forced to merge if they wanted to survive.
And merge they did, forming the Daimler-Benz company.
One of the conditions of the merger? That the Mercedes name (which had come to be associated with Daimler’s high performance engines and cutting-edge engineering) be kept for all future cars.
Hence, the creation of a new name (which we all know and love): Mercedes-Benz.
A luxury vehicle deserves luxury service
Call a Mercedes-Benz mechanic in Melbourne – call Ammstar Exclusive!
While the technology, engines, and styles may have changed since 1886, one thing that hasn’t is the Mercedes-Benz reputation – in particular, its reputation as one of the most innovative and technologically advanced brands out there.
The thing is, these types of exclusive features require exclusive service – not all mechanics will deal with these types of things on a daily basis, after all.
Sick of over-inflated prices at your dealership? Luckily, there’s an alternative.
Ammstar’s Mercedes-Benz mechanics in Melbourne provide an affordable alternative to dealership service. Combining expert knowledge with lower overheads compared to a dealership, we’re able to provide quality service at a great price.
Whether you need a routine maintenance or a more in-depth service, get in touch with our team of specialist mechanics today.
Call our team in Fairfield on (03) 9499 9585, or call (03) 9555 5580 to touch base with our Moorabbin workshop.
Alternatively, you can make an online booking by clicking here.
