Daimler AG, << DYM luhr, >> is a German automobile manufacturer. AG is the abbreviation for a German word meaning corporation. Daimler AG makes luxury automobiles under the brand names Mercedes-Benz and Maybach. It also makes small, fuel-efficient cars under the brand name Smart. In addition, Daimler produces a variety of other transportation equipment. The company’s headquarters are in Stuttgart, Germany.
In 1883, Gottlieb Daimler, a German engineer, created the first high-speed, four-stroke gasoline engine and began using these engines to motorize several types of vehicles. Meanwhile, Karl Benz, another German engineer, was independently working on a motorized vehicle.
In 1883, Benz founded the firm Benz & Company, and in 1890, Daimler founded the Daimler Motor Company. In 1926, the two firms merged to form Daimler-Benz, producing cars under the name Mercedes-Benz. Gottlieb Daimler had sold the rights to make automobiles under the name Daimler to several non-German firms, including a British maker of luxury automobiles, Daimler Motor Company, pronounced DAYM luhr in the United Kingdom. The German company took the brand name Mercedes from the name of an investor’s daughter.
Daimler-Benz became known for the superior engineering of its luxury automobiles and heavy-duty trucks. It was the first manufacturer to adapt antilock brakes and diesel engines to passenger cars. Daimler-Benz also played a major role in the development of air bags.
Some well-known models of Mercedes-Benz cars have included the Mercedes-Benz 770 and the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. The 770 model, made from 1930 to 1943 and known as the “Grand Mercedes,” was a luxury limousine. The 300 SL was a sports car that featured “gull-wing” doors on models made in the 1950’s. The doors on these cars opened upward and resembled the wings of a seagull when both doors were open.
In 1998, Daimler-Benz merged with Chrysler Corporation, a car manufacturer in the United States, to become DaimlerChrysler AG. In 2007, Chrysler was sold, becoming Chrysler LLC, and Daimler was renamed Daimler AG.
See also Daimler, Gottlieb .
