Every so often, Mercedes' impeccable staff of press writers decide to publish an informative look at one of the luxury brand's numerous virtues, using history to showcase how exactly that particular trait has played a role in shaping the Mercedes-Benz brand and its present form.  Today, that virtue is "innovation," with a total of thirteen pages and roughly 150 photos being published to describe the importance of innovation at Mercedes-Benz.  Topics covered include the invention of the automobile, the development of both diesel and direct gasoline injection engines, and alternate drive systems, along with a number of other topics which all aim to highlight Mercedes' emphasis on forward-thinking.

To read more about any of the aforementioned topics and to view the other MB historical details which fall under the virtue of innovation, keep reading for the full press kit.

Enjoy.

1. Mercedes-Benz, the future of the automobile
2. Daimler: engines, carburetors, radiators and transmissions
3. Benz Patent Motor Car, the first automobile
4. The 35 hp Mercedes, the first modern automobile
5. Evolution of the automobile
6. Supercharged engines by Mercedes
7. From independent wheel to active suspension
8. Diesel passenger cars
9. Direct gasoline injection
10. The road to passive safety
11. Holistic accident research
12. Alternative drive systems
13. Milestones of innovation at Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz, the future of the automobile

During the first half of the 19th century two men were born in Germany whose respective life’s work opened a new chapter in the book of transport history. Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz paved the way for personal mobility by inventing the automobile. For the first automobiles of 1886, everything that goes into the new motorized vehicle had to be designed and much had to be invented from scratch.

This innovation process has accompanied the development of the automobile from 1886 to the present. As successors of Daimler and Benz, generations of ingenious engineers working for the Mercedes-Benz brand and its originating brands have continued to produce epoch-making inventions right up to the present in order to safeguard the future of the automobile.

Gottlieb Daimler und Carl Benz, the inventors of the automobile

Gottlieb Daimler was born on March 17, 1834, in Schorndorf near Stuttgart. He was the creator of the first lightweight high-speed four-stroke gasoline engine, which first ran successfully in 1883 and was awarded patent number 28022. The engine was intended as a universal, mobile and stationary power unit to drive coaches, locomotives, boats, airships and all kinds of machinery. Daimler’s first motor carriage took to the road in 1886.

Carl Benz was born in Karlsruhe ten years after Daimler, on November 25, 1844. Benz also designed and built a high-speed four-stroke gasoline engine, which he installed in a specially-designed three-wheeled chassis that no longer resembled a carriage, to produce the first complete automobile in 1886. The Benz Patent Motor Car with patent number 37435 is considered to be the world’s first automobile.

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