Mercedes-benz - Elegant Driving Machines

By Author: Ivan Cuxeva Jr
Total Articles: 779
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Mercedes-Benz is an automotive group that has come a long way every since their first inventions, in fact, the world's first true automobile was released under the Benz Motorwagen patent in 1886. These original car models looked just like carriages but without horses.

This company wasn't known by the name it is recognized for today, it was originally two different companies: "DMG" and "Benz & Cie." who started to cooperate with each other after World War I because of mutual interests, these two automotive groups finally merged in 1926 under an agreement which required the two companies to work together until the year 2000.

Due to their engine innovations this company also produced engines for airplanes, boats and even Zeppelins. Car models designed from 1900-1957 had a very particular style which identified them, they were portrayed in "Al Capone or mafia" type of movies, they had an extended car hood and very prominent head lights. These particular models are very rare and today they are only found in private collections or museums. Some of the models are:

* The 1906 Mercedes Simplex found in the ...
... Deutsches museum
* The 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK which is found in the Ralph Lauren (fashion designer) car collection.
* Hitler's Personal armored Limousine (1943 model) found in the Canadian War Museum.
* An early attempt to modernize this line of cars was made in 1955 with the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe which is also found in the Ralph Lauren collection.
* And another very popular and stylish model was the 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300Sc Cabriolet.

These unique car models prepared the path to today's Mercedes-Benz Styles, these styles have been classified in several classes such as:

* The A-Class: This is a small compact type of car and is also known as the Baby Benz, it was first introduced to the market in 1997 and redesigned in 2004 (W168-W169)
* The B-Class: This is a compact MPV type of car. MPV is an European classification for multipurpose vehicles also known as 'compact' cars. This car model was introduced to the market in 2005 and is referred to as a "Compact Sports Tourer".
* The C-Class: Unlike the previous classes this is a luxury compact car which was first introduced to the market in 1993 (W202) and quickly gained popularity for its design. One of the most recent designs (2007) is the W204.

Other extremely popular classes are: CL Coupe, CLK Coupe & Cabriolet, E Sedan and Wagon, G SUV, GL SUV, M class SUV which is very popular at the moment, R class also a Sports Tourer, the S class Sedan which is widely accepted for its elegance and luxurious features, SL and SLK Roadster and the top of the line SLR McLaren High performance coupe and Roadster which is classified as a super car and compared to cars such as the Porsche Carrera GT and Ferrari Enzo. Mercedez-Benz started as a leader and to this date remains as one of the top quality car producers in the world.