On this day in November 22, 1900, the first Mercedes model hit the road.
The test drive of the first car produced under the Mercedes name took place in Cannstatt, Germany.
The vehicle was manufactured by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) and it was custom-built for its purchaser, Emil Jellinek, a successful businessman known for his enthusiasm for fast and stylish automobiles.
Jallinek was resident in both Baden near Vienna and Nice,and acquired his first Daimler car in 1897. Mercedes was his second car from DMG.
He named the newly developed model ‘Mercedes’ after his daughter, who was 10 years old at the time.
But Jellinek had already entered a Daimler car in the Nice Week in March 1899, under his pseudonym ‘Mercedes’. The name that is today world famous was on everyone’s lips in automobile circles at that time, although only as a pseudonym for Jellinek—that’s to say as a driver or team name.
The name was later used as a product or brand designation for the first time in April 1900 for the new engine, and then a few months later for the new car, according to Mercedes-Benz Corporate Archive. SOURCE: Kasatintin.com
