It all started on: the 17th of March 1834 when Gottlieb Daimler was born and the 25th of November 1844, the day of birth of Karl Benz. The company they established was the start of a great adventure of men and cars.
On the 29th of January 1886, Karl Benz obtained German Emperor patent for a vehicle driven by a petrol engine, which fuel forms by gasification. This fuel was called ligroin and was available in every chemist’s. The appearance of Benz’s vehicle called „Pattent-Motorwagen” on the 5th September that year was had a wide publicity. Its price of 3 thousand marks was deterring for customers. Berta, wife of Benz, was the first person who tested this car on a long distance. She traveled to visit her grandmother (180 km away) and her husband did not even know about this.
    Daimler Gottlieb, one of the most experienced employees of Nikolaus Agust Otto company, decided to quit that job in 1882 when he had been irritated and bored with it. He took his shares and the friend from studies – Wilhelm Maybach.
In 1883, together with Maybach, he constructed the first high-speed petrol engine. In 1885, they build a motorcycle and in 1887, they constructed four-wheel car with a petrol engine. In December 1883, Benz established Benz & Co. company seated in Mannheim. In 1890,  Daimler, Max Duttenhofer and Wilhelm Lorenz established Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft.
Both companies were looking for a characteristic trademark in order to make their products known and recognizable. First, they used their surnames „Benz” and “Daimler” as trademarks, which guaranteed origin and quality of vehicles and engines.  However, „Benz & Co.” Brand was almost not change with the exception that in 1903, a gear wheel had been replaced with laurels surrounding Benz inscription. But at the turne of the century, products of  Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft got a brand new name – Mercedes…
    With no doubt, Emil Jellinek was the driving force of the first work of Wilhelm Maybach. He was born in Leipzig, lived in Vienna, made a fortune as a merchant in North Africa and was chosen to be Imperial Consul General of Austro-Hungary in Nice. He believed that a new car should be bright, fast and beautiful. He presented his believes to Daimler. His reply was immediate: „Sports and leisure car with a 35 horsepower”. This idea was suitable to Jellink. A powerful Phaeton 5,9 liter engine weighed only 350 kg. The cooler, a tangle of 9 thousand of small pipes, was placed opposite the front axle. Fuel was delivered by pulverizing carburetor. The car had a 4-gear-box. On the 25th of March 1901, snow-white car of Maybach took part in Nice-Salon-Nice race. It was the time of great change: the vehicle reached the speed of 51 km/h which was unreachable for rivals. Two days later, a driver named Werner, drove one kilometer of Englishmen Promenade with the speed of 86,1 km/h. „We entered the era of Mercedes”, said Paul Meyan, chief secretary of French Automobile Club. Mercedes was the name of 11-year-old daughter of Jellink. She gained immortality thanks to her father who named his car that way. Mercedes is a Spanish female name which means “grace”. „Mercedes” was a patent protected and recognized brand since September 190.    What was missing, was a characteristic sign. It was then, when Paul and Adolf, Gottlieb Daimler sons, recalled that their father used to use a star as a symbol. At that time, Gottlieb Daimler had been dead for two years and the company was run by his son Paul and W. Maybach.   It was said, that Daimler claimed that a start would arise above his plant which would bring luck and blessing. In June of 1909, there were registered two trade marks – tri-armed start and four-armed star. Both marks were protected but only the three-arm one was used. Since 1910, this remarkable sign could be seen on the front of car, on a cooler. Trade mark was registered in the August of 1923: Three-arm star in a circle, which symbolizes human’s power over air, water and land. That is whole history of the brand!
    Before that time, DMG could not keep pace with rivals, for example with Benz. Daimler cars seemed to be old and unattractive. At the moment of Daimler’s death, Wilhelm Maybach was 54 years old and was full of ideas. It took him 10 month to build the car that was meant to become a milestone for the company. In 1903, they produced 232 pieces of improved Simplex model, 698 in the next year and 863 two years later! Despite that success, board of company directors was disintegrated. Maybach’s leaving made internal conflicts worse. Meanwhile, Benz was gaining high position…
    However, it was all changed after 1914. Luxurious cars were not so popular any more and the army needed middle-size vehicles. Benz company made an immediate response – between 1914 and 1918, they produced 3777 cars and 6150 trucks and buses – all for the needs of war. Time after the war brought its own problems. Inflation. Germany became the country of poor millionaires.
On the 26th of June 1926, two weakened companies merged: Daimler and Benz. The rest of the history is known to everyone: the company started to be a synonym of the best quality, beauty and modernity.
Interesting fact:
    Adolf Hitler was a great admirer of the Mercedes brand. The vehicle with the star emblem became an official car of national administration. On the 20th of April 1939, the 50th birthday of Hitler, the company presented him with Groβer Mercedes type 770. The body was made of 18mm bullet-proof steel, windows were 40mm wide, firm tires and a spare wheels at both sides, which could serves as an additional protection.