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A
BRIEF HISTORY
Gottlieb
Daimler and Carl Benz were born only 60 miles apart in southern
Germany. Daimler was born March 17, 1834. A decade later, on
November 25, Carl Benz was born.
Although they grew up with little in common, both boys were
fascinated by machines from an early age. Because their approach to
building cars was quite different, it is doubtful, though, that they
met or even knew what the other was doing.
In 1886, Carl Benz built a motorized tricycle. His first
four-wheeler, the Victoria, was built in 1893. The first production
car was the 1894 Benz Velo which participated in the first recorded
car race, the Paris-Rouen race. In 1895, Benz built his first truck.
In 1886, Gottlieb Daimler literally built a horseless carriage. In
1888 Daimler made a business deal with William Steinway (of piano
fame) to produce Daimler's products in the US. From 1904 until a
fire in 1907, Steinway produced Mercedes passenger cars, Daimler's
light trucks, and his engines on Long Island.
Ironically, history says Daimler, generally considered to be the
father of modern automobiles never liked to drive, if, indeed he
ever learned to drive. On March 6, 1990, Daimler died, leaving
control of his company to his chief engineer Wilhelm Mayback.
By November 22 of that year, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschat had
produced a special car for Emil Jellinek. Jellinek named the car
after his ten-year-old daughter Mercedes. Lighter and smaller, the
new Mercedes had 35 hp and a top speed of 55 mph!
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Aware of
the promotional potential of racing, both Daimler and Benz entered
many of them. However, up until 1908, Daimler had overshadowed Benz
in racing endeavours. At the 1908 French Grand Prix, Benz took
second and third place behind Lautenschlager driving a Mercedes.
From that point on, both Benz and Daimler did well in racing.
At the beginning of the first world war, both factories were
converted into production sites for war materials, although both
resumed producing cars after the war.
Social unrest and a falling economy characterized post-war Germany.
Little or no fuel for cars and a 15% luxury tax made automobile
production increasingly disastrous. This market sent Benz and Cie.
seeking a strong partner. The only one the board considered worthy
of Benz and Cie was DMG.
Thus, in 1919, Karl Jahn, a Benz board member since 1910, approached
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschat about a possible merger. The merger
attempt looked promising, then was abandoned in December of 1919.
The German economy continued to worse and a new Benz automobile
eventually cost 25 million marks.
Although nearly 15 million cars were registered in the world in
1923, over 80% of them were registered in the US and over 1/2 were
Fords. Benz and Cie. built 1,382 cars in 1923 while DMG only built
1,020. German auto makers were at a low point although racing
success for the companies continued.
In 1924, from sheer economic necessity, Benz and DMG signed an
"Agreement of Mutual Interest." Although both companies retained
their identities, the agreement was valid until the year 2000. The
two companies merged with relative ease on June 28, 1926.
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