Mercedes-Old
German company
Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to Karl Benz's creation of the first petrol-powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, financed by Bertha Benz and patented in January 1886, and Gottlieb Daimler and engineer Wilhelm Maybach's conversion of a stagecoach by the addition of a petrol engine later that year. The Mercedes automobile was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. (Daimler Motors Corporation). Emil Jellinek, an Austrian automobile entrepreneur who worked with DMG created the trademark in 1902, naming the 1901 Mercedes 35hp after his daughter Mercedes Jellinek. The first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicles were produced in 1926, following the merger of Karl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's companies into the Daimler-Benz company. On 28 June, 1926, Mercedes Benz was formed with the merger of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler's two companies. Throughout the 1930s, Mercedes-Benz produced the 770 model, a car that was popular during Germany's Nazi period. Adolf Hitler was known to have driven these cars during his time in power, with bulletproof windshields. Most of the surviving models have been sold at auctions to private buyers. One of them is currently on display at the War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. The pontiff's Pope mobile has often been sourced from Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz has introduced many technological and safety innovations that later became common in other vehicles. Mercedes-Benz is one of the best-known and established automotive brands in the world.
For information relating to the famous three-pointed star, see under - including the merger into Daimler-Benz.
Mercedes-Benz has developed multi concept cars with alternative propulsion, such as hybrid-electric, fully electric, and fuel-cell powertrains. At the 2007 Frankfurt motor show, Mercedes-Benz showed seven hybrid models, including the F700 concept car, powered by a hybrid-electric drivetrain featuring the DiesOtto engine. In 2009, Mercedes-Benz displayed three BlueZERO concepts at the North American International Auto Show. Each car features a different powertrain - battery-electric, fuel-cell electric, and gasoline-electric hybrid.In the same year, Mercedes also showed the Vision S500 PHEV concept with a 19 miles (31 km) all-electric range and CO2 emissions of 74 grams/km in the New European Driving Cycle.
Since 2002, Mercedes-Benz has developed the F-Cell fuel cell vehicle. The current version, based on the B-Class, has a 250-mile range and is available for lease, with volume production scheduled to begin in 2014. Mercedes has also announced the SLS AMG E-Cell, a fully electric version of the SLS sports car, with deliveries expected in 2013. TheMercedes-Benz S400 BlueHYBRID was launched in 2009, and is the first production automotive hybrid in the world to use a lithium-ion battery. In mid-2010, production commenced on the Vito E-Cell all-electric van. Mercedes expects 100 vehicles to be produced by the end of 2010 and a further 2000 by the end of 2011.
In 2008, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would have a demonstration fleet of small electric cars in two to three years. Mercedes-Benz and Smart are preparing for the widespread uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK by beginning the installation of recharging points across their dealer networks. So far 20 Elektrobay recharging units, produced in the UK by Brighton-based Elektromotive, have been installed at seven locations as part of a pilot project, and further expansion of the initiative is planned later in 2010.
United States, Mercedes-Benz was assessed a record US$30.66 million fine for their decision to not meet the federal corporate average fuel economy standard in 2009.Certain Mercedes-Benz cars, including the S550 and all AMG models sold in the United States, also face an additional gas guzzler tax. However, newer AMG models fitted with the M157 engine will not be subject to the gas-guzzler tax, due to improved fuel economy, and newer models powered by the M276 and M278 engines will have better fuel economy. In 2008, Mercedes also had the worst CO2 average of all major European manufacturers, ranking 14th out of 14 manufacturers.Mercedes was also the worst manufacturer in 2007 and 2006 in terms of average CO2 levels, with 181 g and 188 g of CO2 emitted per km, respectively.
The two companies which were merged to form the Mercedes-Benz brand in 1926 had both already enjoyed success in the new sport ofmotor racing throughout their separate histories. A single Benz competed in the world's first motor race, the 1894 Paris–Rouen, where Emile Roger finished 14th in 10 hours 1 minute. Throughout its long history, the company has been involved in a range of motorsport activities, including sports car racing and rallying. On several occasions Mercedes-Benz has withdrawn completely from motorsport for a significant period, notably in the late 1930s, and after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, where a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR rammed another car , took off into the stands, and killed more than 80 spectators. Stirling Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson made history by winning the 1955 Mille Miglia road race in Italy during a record-breaking drive with an average speed of almost 98 mph in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR.
Although there was some activity in the intervening years, it was not until 1987 that Mercedes-Benz returned to front line competition, returning to Le Mans, builder Ilmor (now Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines), and campaign IndyCars under the USAC/CARTrules, eventually winning the 1994 Indianapolis 500 and 1994 CART IndyCar World Series Championship with Al Unser, Jr. at the wheel. The 1990s also saw the return of Mercedes-Benz to GT racing, and the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, both of which took the company to new heights by dominating the FIA's GT1 class.
The first Mercedes-Benz range, presented at the 1926 Berlin Motor Show (October) and at the 1927 International Motor Show for Special Vehicles in Cologne (May) included three basic models with the payloads of 1.5, 2.5 and 5 tons. Each model was available with a standard and a low-frame chassis. Low chassis made sense especially that time to make easier loading and unloading of the vehicle. Also the low chassis has been used to build the buses. The models with the standard chassis were L1, L2 and L5 (L stood for Lastwagen, German word for a truck, and the digit stood for the rated payload in tons). The models with the low chassis were N1, N2 and NJ5/N5 (N stood for Niederwagen, German word means a low car). The trucks were equipped with the 4 cylinders petrol engines (M14, M2 and M5), developing 45HP, 55HP and 70 HP. Mercedes-Benz L1 and L2 were the new models, but Mercedes-Benz L5 truck was basically a continuation of famous Benz 5CN truck, which was developed before the merge of Benz & Cie and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft companies.
In 1927 Mercedes-Benz presented its first diesel engine (OM5), which immediately became a sensation. It was the world's first six-cylinder diesel engine, installed on the commercial vehicle. Also from 1927 Mercedes-Benz offered the more powerful 6 cylinders petrol engines (M16, M26 and M36) developing 50HP, 70HP and 100 HP. Four cylinders engines were discontinued only one year later. Therefore, in 1927-1928 most of the trucks from the series L1,L2,L5 were available with 4 or 6 cylinders engines. To distinguish that, 6 cylinders versions of the trucks were referred sometimes as, for example, L1/6 or N2/6.
In 1927-1928 Mercedes-Benz also expanded the range of the truck models, adding the small model L3/4 with the payload of 750 kg (3/4 ton), which was developed from the passenger car Typ 200 Nürnberg, and a heavy three axis model N56 with the payload 7-9 tons. The payloads of L1 and L2 models was increased with the new 6 cylinder engines from 1.5 to 1.75 tons (model L1/N1) and from 2.5 to 3.0-4.0 tons (model L2/N2). To fill the newly formed gap between L1 and L2 models, Mercedes-Benz offered new 2.5 tons model L45/N46 and (a bit later) 2.75/3.0 tons model L57/N58.
Resulting diversity of the trucks made an impressive lineup of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles, but also required a new, better system for their designations. In fact, by the year of 1930, only the model L5 still referred to its payload (5 tons). L1 model's payload has been gradually increased up to 2 tons, L2 model's payload - up to 4 tons, and L45/N46 and L57/N58 model names were not saying about their payload at all from the beginning, but were rather the company's internal model designations. So in October 1930 a new system for the commercial vehicle designation has been introduced. Basically, instead of the one digit, standing for the rated payload in tons, a four digits number, standing for the rated payload in kg, has now been used. This number followed the same letter L for the trucks (as before), or the letters Lo (LO) for the low chassis, or the letter O for the buses (O stood for the German word Omnibus, what is translated as a bus). According to that, the model L1 was renamed to L2000, model L45 was renamed to L2500, model L57 was renamed to L3000, model L2 was renamed to L4000, model L5 was renamed to L5000 and the model N56 was renamed to L8500. This nomenclature has been used for more than 20 years, until 1954.
Some models in the 1950s also had lower-case letters (b, c, and d) to indicate specific trim levels. For other models, the numeric part of the designation does not match the engine displacement. This was done to show the model's position in the model range independent of displacement or in the price matrix. For these vehicles, the actual displacement in liters is suffixed to the model designation. An exception was the 190-class with the numeric designation of "190" as to denote its entry level in the model along with the displacement label on the right side of the boot (190E 2.3 for 2.3-litre 4-cylinder petrol motor, 190D 2.5 for 2.5-litre 5-cylinder diesel motor, and so forth). Some older models (such as the SS and SSK) did not have a number as part of the designation at all.
For the 1994 model year, Mercedes-Benz revised the naming system. Models were divided into "classes" denoted by an arrangement of up to three letters (see "Current model range" above), followed by a three-digit (or two-digit for AMG models, with the number approximately equal to the displacement in litres multiplied by 10) number related to the engine displacement as before. Variants of the same model such as an estate version or a vehicle with a diesel engine are no longer given a separate letter. The SLR, SLS and GT supercars do not carry a numerical designation.
Today, many numerical designations no longer reflect the engine's actual displacement but more of the relative performance and marketing position. Despite its engine displacement in two litres, the powerplant in the A45 AMG produces 355 brake horsepower so the designation is higher as to indicate the greater performance. Another example is the E250 CGI having greater performance than the E200 CGI due to the different engine tuning even though both have 1.8-litre engines. From the marketing perspective, E200 seems more "upscale" than E180. Recent AMG models use the "63" designation (in honor of the 1960s 6.3-litre M100 engine) despite being equipped with either a 6.2-litre (M156) or 5.5-litre (M157) engine.
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