Mercedes Benz is a true automobile pioneer. As a company Mercedes Benz is renowned for not only producing quality cars but is also responsible for developing innovative technologies that are now commonplace on most of the world’s luxury cars. Technologies such as ABS, Traction Control and Airbags in European cars were all Mercedes Benz innovations.
Since the beginning, Mercedes Benz vehicles have become synonymous with reliability and durability. This was typified in 2005 when Mercedes Benz broke three world endurance records. The cars used were standard production cars and broke the time taken to travel 100,000 miles (with an average speed of 140mph) but also the records for the time taken to travel 100,000 km and 50,000 miles.
Mercedes Benz also has a strong motorsport heritage. From the very first automobile race in 1894 to the 2008 F1 Drivers Championship (driven by Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren Mercedes), Mercedes has always strived for excellence. The McLaren team has been using Mercedes engines since 1995, and enjoyed success not only in 2008 but with Mika Häkkinen winning the Drivers Championships in 1998 and 1999 also. Since 1996 Mercedes Benz cars have been used as track safety cars in Formula 1.
Safety has always been paramount to Mercedes Benz, so much so that many of its innovations have been released to rival manufacturers just to improve passenger safety. In fact, in 1951 Mercedes invented the “safety cell” which incorporated front and rear crumple zones thus protecting the passenger cabin from the force of the impact. This safety feature is now found on most cars and trucks.