Dr. KARL BENZ and MERCEDES

Karl Benz was born in Karlsruhe on November 25, 1844, the son of an engine driver. His father died just two years after Karl’s birth. Despite her limited financial means, his mother ensured that he received a good education.


Dr. KARL BENZ MUSEUM

Karl Benz attended high school, then studied at the Polytechnic College in Karlsruhe. This was followed by two years of practical study at Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft in Karlsruhe. Karl Benz was given his first paid employment as a technical draughtsman and designer by a manufacturer of weighing machines in Mannheim. On losing this position in 1868 he joined an engineering company which was primarily involved in bridge-building. This employment was followed by a short period in Vienna, likewise with a structural ironworking company.

In 1871 Karl Benz formed his first company together with the mechanical specialist August Ritter. Since Ritter was not a reliable partner, Karl Benz bought him out using the dowry of his bride Bertha Ringer, then managed the company alone.
Bertha Ringer and Karl Benz were married in 1872. Bertha Benz played a decisive role in the later success of the fledgling company. She undertook the world’s first long-distance car journey, and is acknowledged as the first lady motorist in history. Karl and Bertha Benz had five children.

At first business was very poor for Karl Benz. Some of the tools were even pawned in his Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop, later also named a Factory for Metalworking Machinery. In the search for new business Karl Benz intensively devoted himself to two-stroke engines during this time. After two years of development time, the first engine ran satisfactorily in 1879. This engine was built on the two-stroke principle, as a patent for the four-stroke engine had already been granted to Gasmotorenfabrik in Deutz in 1877. Benz was also granted several basic patents for the further development of his two-stroke engine, e.g. for the engine speed regulation system. Ignition was by means of his newly developed battery system.

With new sponsors and partners as well as the support of the banks, the couple converted the business into a joint stock company named Gasmotoren-Fabrik Mannheim in 1882. Karl Benz only held a five-percent share of the company himself, however. When the other partners attempted to influence his designs, Karl Benz left the only recently formed company in 1883.

FIAT’s Evolution

Giovanni Agnelli founded Fiat in 1899 with several investors and led the company until his death in 1945, while Vittorio Valletta administered the day-to-day activities of the company. Its first car the 3 ½ CV (of which only eight copies were built, all bodied by Alessio of Turin) strongly resembled contemporary Benz, and had a 697 cc (42.5 cu in) boxer twin engine. In 1903, Fiat produced its first truck. In 1908, the first Fiat was exported to the US. That same year, the first Fiat aircraft engine was produced. Also around the same time, Fiat taxis became somewhat popular in Europe. By 1910, Fiat was the largest automotive company in Italy — a position it has retained since. That same year, a plant licensed to produce Fiats in Poughkeepsie, NY, made its first car. This was before the introduction of Ford's assembly line in 1913. Owning a Fiat at that time was a sign of distinction. A Fiat sold in the U.S. cost between $3,600 and $8,600, compared to US$825 the Model T in 1908.


Fiat NEW-500

Upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I in 1917, the factory was shut down as U.S. regulations became too burdensome. At the same time, Fiat had to devote all of its factories to supplying the Allies with aircraft, engines, machine guns, trucks, and ambulances. After the war, Fiat introduced its first tractor, the 702. By the early 1920s, Fiat had a market share in Italy of 80%.
In 1921, workers seized Fiat's plants and hoisted the red flag of communism over them. Agnelli responded by quitting the company. However, the Italian Socialist Party and its ally organization, the General Confederation of Labor, in an effort to affect a compromise with the centrist parties ordered the occupation ended. In 1922, Fiat began to build the famous Lingotto car factory — the largest in Europe up to that time — which opened in 1923. It was the first Fiat factory to use assembly lines; by 1925, Fiat controlled 87% of the Italian car market. In 1928, with the 509, Fiat included insurance in the purchase price.
Fiat made military machinery and vehicles during World War II for the Army and Regia Aeronautica and later for the Germans. Fiat made obsolete fighter aircraft like the biplane CR.42, which was one of the most common Italian aircraft, along with Savoia-Marchettis, as well as light tanks (obsolete compared to their German and Soviet counterparts) and armored vehicles. The best Fiat aircraft was the G.55 fighter, which arrived too late and in too limited numbers. In 1945 — the year Mussolini was overthrown — the Italian Committee of National Liberation removed the Agnelli family from leadership roles in Fiat because of its ties to Mussolini's government. These were not returned until 1963, when Giovanni's grandson, Gianni , took over as general manager until 1966, as chairman until 1996.


Lancia Delta Multijet

Paolo Fresco became chairman of Fiat in 1998 with the hope that the veteran of General Electric would bring more emphasis on shareholder value to Fiat. By the time he took power, Fiat's market share in Italy had fallen to 41% from around 62% in 1984.] However, a Jack Welch-like management style would be much harsher than that used by the Italians (e.g., precarious versus lifetime employment). Instead, Fresco focused on offering more incentives for good performance, including compensation using stock options for top and middle management.
However, his efforts were frustrated by union objections. Unions insisted that pay raises be set by length of tenure, rather than performance. Another conflict was over his preference for informality (the founder, Giovanni Agnelli, used to be a cavalry officer). He often referred to other managers by their first name, although company tradition obliged one to refer to others using their titles (e.g., "Chairman Fresco"). The CEO of the company, Managing Director Paolo Cantarella, ran the day-to-day affairs of the company, while Fresco determined company strategy and especially acted as a negotiator for the company. In fact, many speculated the main reason he was chosen for the job was to sell Fiat Auto (although Fresco fervently denied it). In 1999, Fiat formed CNH Global by merging New Holland NV and Case Corporation.

Mercedes-Benz the Start of Legend

Any attempt to document the towering achievements of past centuries will at some point inevitably have to deal with that piece of technology that changed the world: the motor car. Theirs is a story that has captured the public imagination for over 120 years. The first automobile, the first omnibus, the first heavy-duty truck, the first diesel engine, the first vehicles fitted with ABS and ESP … Mercedes has enjoyed a tradition of writing motorsport history for the past 120 years. Mercedes has been the world’s most innovative automotive brand for more than 100 years. When Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) delivered its first Mercedes on December 22, 1900, this was the start of a development which led to the formation of DaimlerChrysler AG towards the end of the 20th century.


1886 Benz Patent Motor Car

Today Mercedes-Benz is regarded as the world’s most successful automotive brand. Its level of technical perfection, quality standards, innovative strength and numerous automotive legends such as the 300 SL Gullwing are unrivalled. The Mercedes star became the most famous automotive symbol of all, and is one of the world’s best-known trademarks.
The name Mercedes stands for one of the world’s most innovative motor manufacturers. No other technological leader has had a greater influence over the development of the automobile. The company’s success is directly linked to Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. The two men lived completely different lives, but they invented one and the same thing: the automobile.
Gottlieb Daimler was born in Schorndorf on March 17, 1834. In addition to the Latin School he attended technical drawing classes on Sundays.


1896 Motorized Daimler Taxi

In 1848 Gottlieb Daimler began an apprenticeship as a gunmaker in Schorndorf, presumably with Master Wilke. In 1852 he completed this with his journeyman’s project, a double-barreled pistol. After a stay in France, where he gained practical experience in mechanical engineering, Daimler attended the Polytechnic College in Stuttgart from 1857 to 1859. After various technical activities in France and England, he took a position as a technical draughtsman in Geislingen. At the end of 1863 he became the workshop inspector at the engineering factory of Bruderhaus Reutlingen, a Christian institution founded to give homes and work to the socially disadvantaged, where he also made the acquaintance of Wilhelm Maybach in 1865.
On November 9, 1867 he married Emma Kurtz of Maulbronn. In 1869 he left Reutlingen and became head foreman at Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft in Karlsruhe. Three years later he moved to Otto und Langen as Technical Manager of Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz, where he became familiar with Otto’s four-stroke principle. Following differences of opinion with the management, he left this employment in mid-1882.