The invention in the 1880s of the high-speed engine and the automobile enabled Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, independently of one another, to lay the foundations for the motorization of road transport. With the help of financial backers and partners, they both invested their private developments in their own enterprises.
Benz & Cie
in Mannheim, Benz founded the firm Benz & Cie. in October 1883. On January 29 1886, Carl Benz filed an application in Berlin for a patent on his three-wheeled motor car, the world’s first automobile.
On April 3 1885, Gottlieb Daimler was granted a German patent for his 1-cylinder water-cooled engine design. Daimler’s invention was the breakthrough that other engine builders had been waiting for. Previously no one had been able to efficiently solve the problem posed by the tremendous heat produced by internal combustion engines. In Daimler’s engine, cool water circulated around the engine block, preventing the engine from overheating. Today’s engines still employ Daimler’s basic idea. Before the water-cooled engine, cars were practical impossibilities, as the parts on which the engine was mounted could not sustain the heat generated by the engine itself. Daimler built himself his first whole automobile in the fall of 1896, and in doing so, took the first step in his self-named company’s storied car-building history.
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) was formed in November 1890. In February 1900, The First modern passenger car, the Mercedes 35 hp, was presented. In 1902 all passenger cars from the Daimler company were called Mercedes; the trademark was officially protected on 23 June 1902.
The Mercedes was introduced by Gottlieb Daimler at the five-day “Week of Nice” in Nice, France, March 25 1901. The car, driven by Willhelm Werner, dominated the events at the competition.
Mercedes cars were conceived at the same venue in Nice two years earlier. After seeing a Daimler car win a race there, businessman Emile Jellinek approached Gottlieb Daimler with an offer. Jellinek suggested that if Daimler could produce a new car model with an even bigger engine then he would buy 30 of them. Jellinek also requested that the cars be named after his daughter, Mercedes. Daimler died before the Mercedes was released, but the car carried his name to the heights of the automotive industry.
In order to gain publicity and a certain distinction for their products, both companies sought a suitable trademark. To begin with, the inventors used their own names – “Benz” and “Daimler” – which vouched for the origin and quality of the engines and vehicles.
The trademark of the Mannheim-based company Benz & Cie. remained unchanged, except that in 1909, the cog wheel symbol which had been used since 1903 was replaced with a laurel wreath surrounding the name Benz. But the turn of the century brought a completely new brand name for products from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) in Cannstatt: “Mercedes”.
also see: Daimler and Benz Patents