The Success and occasional failures of Mercedes Benz cars
Posted on August 4, 2008
Filed Under Cars and Trucks |
Over the years Mercedes have certainly had a great deal more successes than failures. Their cars so impressively designed are a shining example of how a quality car should engineered, but has it always been this way? Well certainly it has not always been easy for Mercedes; they have had to face many challenges throughout the years, many of which were completely out of their control. And some perhaps not; for example their more recent problems with build quality, which many believe were completely of Mercedes own making. Confidence in Mercedes dropped in the late 1990’s when it became evident that both mechanical and electronic faults were on the increase. Contract hire and leasing brokers became worried about recommending Mercedes Benz to clients. The M class received the most criticism from motoring journalists.
Various surveys at the time criticised Mercedes build quality; in 2003 The Consumer Association carried out a survey that criticised all the major German manufacturers, saying that they had all deteriorated, but Mercedes which they had previously considered best for reliability, was changed to average.
Some feel that when the BBC’s Top Gear programme gets a bee in its bonnet about a particular manufacturer, that they can go too far in their critisism. When they placed the Mercedes M Class last out of 142 cars surveyed, it did appear to be a little harsh but to be fair it wasn’t that far out of line with what others were saying about the car. In any event Mercedes realised that things had to change and they have indeed changed; Mercedes Benz have made great strides in restoring their good name.
Karl Benz was based in Mannheim when he invented what has become known as the world’s first automobile, it was patented in 1886. Benz called it the Benz Patent Motorwagen. It had three wheels which were hardly wider than those of today’s bicycle wheels, the occupants were completely exposed to the elements and subjected to a very bumpy ride. In those days lights to enable the driver to see and be seen, hadn’t been thought of.
Although Karl Benz and Gottleib Daimler, who was also carrying out similar work to Benz, were only about 100 Kilomteres apart, neither was aware of the other’s work. And at about the same time Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach also invented a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. It was called the Daimler Riding Car and was used for testing their internal combustion engine, that became known as the Grandfather Clock, so called because of it’s upright cylinder. Although the vehicle was called a car it was in fact a motorcycle, the world’s first motorcycle. It had just one cylinder and a top speed of about 13 Kilometres per hour.
During 1886 Daimler and Maybach launched their Motorised Carraige, again they installed their Grandfather clock engine which was referred to as high-speed, the top speed was about 18 kilometres per hour, although compared to walking it was high-speed. It was the world’s first four wheel car; although Karl Benz had patented his car in the same year, his was a three wheel vehicle. During 1889 Daimler exhibited another car that became known as the wire wheel car, at an exhibition in Paris. It certainly attracted a lot of attention, it is said that seeing this vehicle, is what started the French motor industry.
In 1890’s Karl Benz was building two, three and four seater vehicles but now with four wheels. He had developed the steering system so that the two front wheels could turn on a different radius, making the car much more stable.
Benz developed the two seater Velocipide in 1894, it had two seats and was capable of 20 KPH. He sold a large number; some 1200, which in those days was a considerable number. He had less success with his motorized bus; roads were still in poor condition, this combined with the vehicle’s narrow wheels made it quite impractical. It had probably not occurred to anyone at the time, that wider wheels would have made a big difference.
In 1896 Daimler produced a belt driven car, this time with two cylinders but still with a top speed of only about 18 miles per hour. Daimler also produced the world’s first truck, which had a flat bed and was rather strange looking; it had various cabinets for storeage, that looked rather like kitchen cabinets. It was very slow at about 11 kilometres per hour but very popular. German breweries bought them for delivering beer and some were sold in England. In the same year Daimler produced a vehicle for carrying heavy loads, up to 500 kgs.They looked rather like a motorized version of the covered wagon from the Wild West.
The Dos a Dos car was launched by Benz in 1899 had a strange seat configuration; it had four seats two would face the rear of the vehicle and two the front. It was however fast at over 35 Kilometres per hour.
William Maybach took control of the company when Daimler died in 1990. A gentleman by the name of Emil Jellinek encouraged Maybach to make changes. Jelinek was succesful both in motor racing and in business and he felt that Maybach needed to be building cars that were more modern in appearance and faster. He also persuaded Maybach to adopt the name Mercedes, after his daughter.
The early 1990’s saw changes at Daimler; the cars were faster and the designs were more modern. The single seater 40 horsepower Simplex repalced the 35 horsepower Simplex, the new version was fast with a top speed of 80 kph. One of these vehicles is said to be the today’s oldest surviving Mercedes Benz.
Benz launched the double Phaeton in 1905 it was 18 hp, but it was followed by the Double Phaeton two years later that was 75 horsepower. The car which had six cylinders, could achieve speeds of 94 kilometres per hour. Both Benz and Mercedes were starting to have success in motor racing.
During the First World War both Benz and Daimler’s production were converted into producing materials for the war effort. The German economy suffered badly at the end of the war, there was a shortage of fuel and a heavy luxury tax had been placed on car production, inflation was starting to get out of control. The cost of a car became so high it was out of most people’s reach. A far cry from today where a luxury Mercedes can be found on contract hire from around 300 per month.
It is said that in 1924 Daimler made an approach to Benz and proposed a merger but it did not go ahead. However during 1924 economic conditions were taking their toll on both companies and a merger agreement was signed by the parties and was finalized in 1926.
When car production started again, the Mercedes two seater sports car was launched. It had a supercharged engine and a top speed of over 108 kilometres per hour. During 1927 Mercedes Benz started production of the Model S touring car, the S stood for sport. The vehicle had six cylinder and an amazing speed of over 160 kilometres per hour. 1928 saw the introduction of the SSK Sports two seater, it was designed for hill climbing races and was even faster at over 190 kilometres per hour.
The next really spectacular car produced by Mercedes Benz was the Mercedes-Benz 500K, in 1934. The Special Roadster was the most popular version with long sleek lines, it would still be considered by most today, as a beautiful car. It had eight cylinders and a top speed of 160 Kilometres per hour. It was really very expensive at 28,000 Marks and only for the seriously rich.
The 540K was introduced out as the successor to the 500. It looked very similar but was faster at around 170 kph. Mercedes also launched the Mercedes Benz 770 a luxurious limousine in which many of Germany’s top industrialists would be chauffeured. The numbers of each model that were produced was low in those days; only around 120 of this model were manufactured and even in the case of the 540K, less than 120 were made.
Mercedes were accused of using forced labour and prisoners of war, for their manufacturing, during the Second World War. They had become part of the German war effort but of course it wasn’t a matter of choice; the British motor manufacturers were also part of the British War effort. The allied bombers, just as the German bombers targeted factories in Britain, heavily targeted the Mercedes manufacturing plants. At the end of the war, things looked very bleak for Mercedes; their factories lay in ruins, the machinery was damaged or destroyed and there was an extreme shortage of raw materials. Nevertheless in 1948 production was re started. 1951 saw the introduction of the 300 saloon, over 4500 were sold. The Mercedes Benz 300S convertible also went into production.
The outstanding Gull-Wing two-seater hardtop was launched during the 1950s, so called because when the two doors were open, they opened upwards; it looked like a gull in flight. There had been nothing like it before and the motoring press loved it. It was sold very successfully in America but at around $10,000 it was extremely expensive. However had someone bought one and held onto it, they would have made a lot of money; in 2006 a 1955 model was sold for the equivalent of $716,000 usd in an auction in Australia. In 1957 Mercedes brought out the 300 SL. This time an open sports car, it was extremely fast at nearly 250 kph. This model sold very well in America.
As long ago as the 1960s Mercedes were carrying out quite sophisticated vehicle testing, sophisticated that is, for those times. It is hard to imagine in today’s world of high technology that the system they used for transmitting data from the test vehicle to another vehicle that gathered the information was a long cable, running between the two cars. Clearly it was important for both vehicles to drive at the same speed.
In 1963 Mercedes introduced the 230 SL a sports car with a crumple free zone, the worlds first. It was surprisingly slow compared some of Mercedes earlier sports cars. This didn’t stop it being an enormous success; Mercedes sold almost 20,000 of the 230 SL, a far cry from the days when they were selling only a handful of each model. More safety innovations followed; in 1978 ABS was introduced by Mercedes Benz and then the airbag in 1981. Mercedes should be proud of their record in safety and the lives that they have inevitably saved over the years.
1982 saw the launch of the hugely popular 190E, of which over 600,000 were sold. Mercedes enjoyed great success during the 1980’s and 90’s. Daimler Chrysler was created in 1998, when The Chrysler Corporation merged with Mercedes Benz. This proved to be pretty much a disaster for both companies. In 2007 Chrysler sold 80.1% to Cerberus Capital Management. Chrysler had invested $36 billion in Mercedes, their sale of 80.1% of the company, returned them just $7.4 billion.
This has allowed Mercedes Benz to get back on track and concentrate on their build quality. Now after their recent of ups and downs, they have restored their good name and reputation. Contract hire companies are no longer nervous about recommending the marque and the prestige that has always been associated with Mercedes Benz remains intact.
Should you have any queries or questions with regard to Licence checking, Fleet Management, Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Lease Purchase or vehicle Hire Purchase, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536. www.bowaterprice.com.
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