Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. It is currently a division of the parent company, Daimler AG (formerly DaimlerChrysler AG), after previously being owned by Daimler-Benz. Mercedes-Benz has its origins in Karl Benz's creation of the first gasoline-powered automobile in January 1886,[1] and by Gottlieb Daimler and engineer Wilhelm Maybach's conversion of a carriage by the addition of a petrol engine the same year. The Mercedes automobile was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. 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.[1] Mercedes-Benz has introduced many technological and safety innovations that have become common in other vehicles several years later.[citation needed]

Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH is an independent subsidiary based in Stuttgart-Weinigen, founded in 2000. Its business include car accessories, personal accessories, Collection and promotional items, and product design.[2]

Mercedes-Benz AMG became a majority owned division of Mercedes-Benz in 1998.[3] The company was integrated into DaimlerChrysler in 1999[4], and became Mercedes-Benz AMG beginning in 1999-01-01.[5]

Since its inception, Mercedes-Benz had a reputation for its quality and durability. Objective measures looking at passenger vehicles such as J.D. Power surveys demonstrated a downturn in reputation in this criteria in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By mid-2005, Mercedes temporarily returned to the industry average for initial quality, a measure of problems after the first 90 days of ownership, according to J.D. Power.[6] In J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study for the first quarter of 2007, Mercedes showed dramatic improvement by climbing from 25th to 5th place, surpassing quality leader Toyota and earning several awards for its models.[7] For 2008, Mercedes-Benz's initial quality rating improved by yet another mark, now in fourth place.[8] On top of this accolade, it also received the Platinum Plant Quality Award for its Mercedes" Sindelfingen, Germany assembly plant.[8] As of 2009, Consumer Reports of the United States has changed their reliability ratings for several Mercedes-Benz vehicles to "average," and recommending the E-Class and the S-Class.[9]

The two companies which were merged to form the Mercedes-Benz brand in 1926 had both already enjoyed success in the new sport of motor racing throughout their separate histories- both had entries in the very first automobile race Paris to Rouen 1894. This has continued, and 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 300SLR collided with another car and killed more than 80 spectators. 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, DTM, and F-1 sports car racing with Sauber. hestepik

The 1990s saw Mercedes-Benz purchase engine builder Ilmor (now Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines), and campaign IndyCars under the USAC/CART rules, eventually winning the 1994 Indianapolis 500 and 1994 CART IndyCar World Series Championship with Al Unser, Jr. at the wheel. The 90s 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.

Mercedes-Benz is currently active in three forms of motorsport, Formula Three, DTM and Formula One. In Formula One, the company part owns Team McLaren and has supplied the team with engines engineered by Ilmor[10] since 1995. This partnership has brought success, including Drivers Championships for Mika Häkkinen in 1998 and 1999 and for Lewis Hamilton in 2008, as well as a Constructors Championship in 1998. The collaboration with McLaren has been extended into the production of roadgoing cars such as the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

In 1958 Mercedes-Benz entered into a distribution agreement with the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (USA), makers of Studebaker and Packard brand automobiles. Under the deal, Studebaker would allow Mercedes-Benz access to their U.S. dealer network, handle shipments of vehicles to those dealers, and in return receive compensation for each car sold. Studebaker also was permitted to use the German automaker"s name in its advertisements, which stressed Studebaker's quality over quantity.

When Studebaker entered into informal discussions with Franco-American automaker Facel Vega about offering their Facel Vega Excellence model in the United States, Mercedes-Benz objected to the proposal. Studebaker, which needed Mercedes-Benz distribution payments to help stem heavy losses, dropped further action on the plan.

Mercedes-Benz maintained an office within the Studebaker works in South Bend from 1958 to 1963 when Studebaker's U.S. operations ceased. Many U.S Studebaker dealers converted to Mercedes-Benz dealerships at that time. When Studebaker closed its Canadian operation and left the automobile business in 1966, remaining Studebaker dealers had the option to convert their dealerships to Mercedes-Benz dealership agreements.

Besides its native Germany, Mercedes-Benz vehicles are also manufactured or assembled in:

Mercedes-Benz has a full range of passenger, light commercial and heavy commercial equipment. Production is on a global basis. The Smart brand of city cars has also been part of the Mercedes-Benz Group since 1994.

The following passenger vehicles were in production in 2009:

Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class

Mercedes-Benz has also produced a sports car with McLaren Cars, an extension of the collaboration by which Mercedes engines are used by the Team McLaren-Mercedes Formula One racing team, which is part owned by Mercedes. The 2003 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has a carbon fiber body with a 5.4l V8 supercharged engine. This is the same block as featured in SL55 AMG and the CLS55 AMG, though modified to give 460 kW (630 PS; 620 hp) and 780 N*·m (575 ft*·lb) of torque. The SLR has a maximum speed of 337 kilometres per hour (209 mph) and costs approximately US$500,000. Due to European pedestrian-protection regulations, McLaren has decided to cease production of the SLR in 2009.[24]

The most recent new joint-venture model, expected to reach production, is the mid-engine P8 sports car. Based around a unique carbon fiber monocoque, manufactured by McLaren, the P8 was originally predicted to receive the new naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 from Mercedes-AMG, but insiders[citation needed] now say that the engine will be modified for the car and will probably be twin- turbocharged to produce in excess of 600 bhp (450 kW). The car is still in development, but likely to reach production to go on sale in early 2008, and have a price tag less than that of the SLR.

In the United States, the iconic German brand changed their marketing strategy in 2009 to reflect the changed economic environment, stressing new safety technologies over luxury. Mercedes' VP of US marketing, Steve Cannon, told Automotive News, "You have to give people the justification that says, 'Yes, a Mercedes-Benz is relevant to me -- it can save my life.'"

Mercedes has showed in 2009 the Vision S500 PHEV gasoline concept vehicle with a 19 miles (31 km) all-electric range and CO2 emissions of 74 grams/km in the New European Driving Cycle.[25]

At the 2007 Frankfurt motor show, Mercedes-Benz also showed seven hybrid models, including the F700 concept car which combined hybrid drive with the innovative DiesOtto engine.[26][27] In 2009, the S400 hybrid sedan is scheduled to go on sale.[28]

On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz says it will have a demonstration fleet of practical, if small, electric vehicles on the road in two to three years, from 2008.[29]

Mercedes-Benz S 400 BlueHYBRID[30] will be launched in calendar 2009 and will be the first production automotive hybrid in the world to use a lithium ion battery.[31][32]

Mercedes-Benz BlueZERO cars were introduced in the 2009 North American International Auto Show.[33][34]

Mercedes-Benz also produces buses, mainly for Europe and Asia.

The first factory to be built outside Germany after WWII was in Argentina. It originally built trucks, many of which were modified independently to buses, popularly named Colectivo. Today it builds buses, trucks and the Sprinter Van.

Mercedes-Benz produces a range of vans. The current (January 2009) range consists of:

Previous models include:

Mercedes-Benz is one of the world's largest manufacturer of trucks.[citation needed]

The current (January 2009) range consists of:

Old Mercedes-Benz L-series truck

Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH introduced 3 new bicycles in 2005, named Automatic Bike from upwards of USD$699, Fitness Bike from upwards of USD$999, Mountain Bike from upwards of USD$1399 (Prices recorded from immediate release date).[35] The bikes are sold in Australia,[36] Germany, and Russia.[37]

List of bicycles:

Several companies have become car tuners (or modifiers) of Mercedes Benz, in order to increase performance and/or luxury to a given model.

AMG is Mercedes-Benz's in-house performance-tuning division, specializing in high-performance versions of most Mercedes-Benz cars. AMG engines are all hand-built [38] and each completed engine receives a tag with the signature of the engineer who built it. AMG has been wholly owned by Mercedes-Benz since 1999.[39] On the 2009 IAA in Frankfurt, Germany, Mercedes officially introduced the SLS-AMG, a revival of the 300SL Gullwing, and the first car to be developed by AMG.

There are numerous independent tuners:

Numerous technological innovations have been introduced on Mercedes-Benz automobiles throughout the many years of their production, including:

Half a century of vehicle safety innovation helped win Mercedes- Benz the Safety Award at the 2007 What Car? Awards [41]

In the 1980s Mercedes built the world's first robot car, together with the team of Professor Ernst Dickmanns at Bundeswehr Universität München. Partially encouraged by Dickmanns' success, in 1987 the European Union's EUREKA programme initiated the Prometheus Project on autonomous vehicles, funded to the tune of nearly 800 million Euros. A culmination point was achieved in 1995, when Dickmanns*´ re-engineered autonomous S-Class Mercedes took a long trip from Munich in Bavaria to Copenhagen in Denmark and back. On highways the robot achieved speeds exceeding 175 kilometres per hour (roughly 110 miles per hour; permissible in some areas of the German Autobahn). The car's abilities has heavily influenced robot car research and funding decisions worldwide.

In the United States due to an inability to meet federal fuel economy regulations, Mercedes-Benz was fined a record US$30.66 million.[47] Certain Mercedes-Benz cars sold in the United States also face an additional gas guzzler tax.