Overview & Reviews

"Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?" That's the opening line of "Mercedes-Benz," a song most famously recorded by singer Janis Joplin in the early 1970s. The tune gently poked fun at materialism and our desire for the finer things in life. It's fitting that the renowned German marque figures prominently in the lyric. Mercedes-Benz has long been known for crafting vehicles that emphasize luxury and refinement. For many, its vehicles are sleek symbols of status, success and good taste.

In January of 1886, Karl Benz unveiled the world's first automobile, a three-wheeled vehicle dubbed the Benz Patent Motor Car. A few months later, Gottlieb Daimler and his chief engineer Wilhelm Maybach rolled out a four-wheeled vehicle powered by his Daimler engine. The first Mercedes was crafted in 1901, shortly after Daimler's death. Built by Maybach, the car was commissioned by Emil Jellinek, one of Daimler's primary distributors, and was ultimately named after Jellinek's daughter, Mercedes.

In 1926, the companies founded by Daimler and Benz merged to form Daimler-Benz AG, and the Mercedes-Benz brand was born. The company's insignia was a three-pointed star wreathed in a laurel; the star was dreamed up by Daimler years earlier, and its three points signified the fact that his engines were used in vehicles that traveled land, air and sea.

Right from the start, the Mercedes-Benz name was synonymous with automotive excellence. One of the automaker's earliest vehicles, the 1931 Mercedes-Benz 170, distinguished itself as the world's first production car to offer a technology that was nothing short of extraordinary for the day: four-wheel independent suspension. The '30s and '40s saw Mercedes establishing itself as the brand of choice for car buyers seeking the ultimate in luxury, thanks to coveted cruisers like the 380 and 540K.

The 1950s witnessed the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing," a sports car that has been described as being the world's first supercar. With its dramatic styling and race-bred technology, the 300 SL reigns today as a classic coveted by collectors worldwide. The decade also saw Daimler-Benz making strides in the area of safety technology. The company's Mercedes-Benz 220 sedans were the first vehicles to incorporate its patented "crumple zone" body design, created to absorb impact in the event of a crash.

In 1963, the company cemented its reputation as the home of automotive luxury with the launch of the Mercedes-Benz 600. The elegant, luxurious sedan was also available as a limousine and featured an ahead-of-its-time air suspension system and a V8 engine that boasted 300 horsepower. The decade also saw the launch of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3. This full-size sedan went from zero to 60 in under seven seconds, distinguishing itself as the quickest luxury car is its day.

The 1970s saw the birth of the brand's storied S-Class line of vehicles, opulent sedans and coupes that coddled passengers with powerful engines and a long list of luxury features. The decade also saw Mercedes continuing on the cutting edge of safety technology, by being the first to offer antilock brakes in its vehicles.

Daimler-Benz's safety advancements continued in the 1980s. Its cars were the first to offer airbags and traction control. The manufacturer also raised the bar in terms of ride comfort and handling when it introduced multilink rear suspension. The technology debuted on the compact Mercedes-Benz 190 E, and it remains a vital component of the company's chassis engineering to this day.

Mercedes-Benz vehicles got an extra dose of power and performance in the 1990s, thanks to the manufacturer's partnership with AMG, a performance and tuning shop that was eventually purchased by the company to help produce ultra-high-performance versions of some of its vehicles. The first AMG model offered in the U.S. was the sporty C36 AMG in 1995; since then, Mercedes has gone on to offer an AMG-tuned version of almost all of its vehicles.

The company's current lineup is the most comprehensive in its history. With a variety of sedans, coupes, SUVs and roadsters filling Mercedes showrooms, it seems like the only thing missing is a pickup truck. Surely, the fact that Janis Joplin's song holds as much relevance today as it did four decades ago is a strong indicator that the brand's premier status is still very much intact.

User Reviews:

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  Chryslerization of Mercedes-Benz - 2003 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By Chryslerized-Benz - February 5 - 10:00 am

  Year 2003. Death of a classic brand. The tradgedy finally happened. The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class has gone to cheap, gimmicky Americanized, low-class trash. From the fake chrome plastic knobs that clutter the entire dashboard and console, to the Chrysler "star" patterned wheels. Ever since the merger, we have sat and worried and wondered when the famous, world class brand would begin to show the signs of being diluted and infected. The wait is over. My next car will come from BMW and I pray to the car-maker gods to please allow this one remaining quality brand to remain independent and uninfected.

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  Steering Wheel locked - 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Harry - February 3 - 2:16 pm

  This model will give you sudden steering wheel lock without notices nor alerts. Easy cost you $1,600 to prepare only at dealership.

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  Expensive Junk! - 2000 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By Erica - January 31 - 2:23 am

  This car costs way too much for all the problems I have had! In less than 2 years - moonroof broke, catalytic converter cracked, spark plugs damaged, new tires, new brakes, shifter bushing, cracking noise when braking/accelerating (bushing of some sort), harmonic balancer replaced, leak in transmission, CD changer broke, and the list goes on! Im trading this car in for a reliable Honda! I would not recommend it to anyone!

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  Waste your $100K on something else - 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
  By DRJ - January 26 - 11:33 am

  This is a beautiful car to look at and thats about it. I sold a 911 and bought a new 05 SL500 six months ago. I have owned many cars and the SL ranks amongst the least fun to drive. It is also not a well-built vehicle. All the stuff you read about Mercedes Benz being unreliable is true. The roof has been rattling since day one and the dealer has not been able to fix it yet. The engine sounds like a diesel under 40 mph, apparently they all sound like this. The 7-speed transmission is not very smooth and affects the cars performance. The A/C blows cold air all the time. Radio and other instrument controls are poorly designed and hard to figure out. It only has 10 FM presets.

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  What a disappointment!!! - 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE Class
  By Mr. Salvatore - January 16 - 7:58 pm

  For $136K with tax and license I expected something better. Opinions vary on looks, but I think it is a great, impressive looking car. It is fast, quiet, and feels very solid and comfortable on the road. The airmatic suspension is wonderful in leveling out the ride even in turns. The upgraded B&O stereo is amazing. Its failings are many. I cannot get the seat comfortable. The problem for me is where my legs leave the front edge of the seat. There is no thigh support extension on the AMG GLE 63 Coupe. I have the multicontour seats. You can adjust the side bolsters and front edge. Like blowing up air bags. The side bolsters will hold you nice and firm. The front edge of the seat with the air cushion is just plain uncomfortable. Like sleeping on a blowup air mattress. It is hard at any inflation level. Really, really annoying to me. The navigation system is totally worthless. I dont even want to detail all the problems with it. From laboriously putting in an address to a voice control that functions only with exact addresses, if it understands you at all, and I mean exact. If you manage to get your destination in, navigation can be a problem as well as it tells me to turn when I am in the middle of making the turn, not beforehand. Thankfully Android Auto with Google navigation functions great on the car, but then you have to plug your phone in and out everytime you come and go. An annoyance. I am thinking of getting a cell phone just to leave hooked up to the car. All the safety electronic stuff is worthless. The Active Blind Spot Assist and the Lane Keeping Assist work only at certain speeds and with specific road conditions and markings. So it is totally unreliable. The Stop and Go cruise control is also problematic and not the convenience it is advertised to be. Even the Eco engine feature only works under certain conditions. If too many electronics are on, it wont work as to not drain the battery. Too many electronics as in AC, stereo, and ventilated seats!!! So this car excels as a Sport SUV car, but really, really fails as a luxury coupe. I would not buy another one, and I find the seat so uncomfortable, I am considering taking the loss and trading it in for some other car.

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  A big dissapointment - 2004 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Carol Braester - December 15 - 10:00 am

  My car is C240 Elegantmodel 2001. The troubles I had with this car were: After one year I had to change the original battery. After driving 30,000 km only, had to change the very expensive controlers M 209 545 07 01 and M 203 820 15 85. After a total of 40,000 km I had to change again very expensive parts: the pedal complet sensor M 203 300 01 04 and the oxigen sensor M 001 540 46 17. DaimlerChrysler AG70546 Stuttgart (Möhringen)Germany, the manufacturer, avoided replying to my complains and directed me to the dealer.

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  Bad dealership bad car - 2008 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By klm001 - November 12 - 2:58 am

  This is the bottom line worst car I have ever purchased and the dealership is even worse than the car. I purchased an ML350, 5 days after I purchased the car it had to go in for service and in less than 20 months the car has been in 21 times! Everything from the rear hatch not working (constant problem), sunroof, cam shafts leaking, oil leaking, random lights not working, battery going dead for no reason and stranding me, and the last one was the a/c going out completely. Of course out of 21 times in the dealership my service advisor who is the only decent part of this experience does not know what to do except to schedule me for service for next month in advance because she knows soon so

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  Worst Car EVER - 2001 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By bellecarlove - November 8 - 11:40 am

  I bought this car with only one previous owner with only 57k miles cash for 7k. Worst mistake ever. As soon as I got the car things started breaking down, transmission, electrical etc. If you are looking for a luxury vehicle STAY AWAY!

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  Will not buy another one - 1998 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By Will not buy another - November 5 - 2:00 am

  This car is always in the shop (windows, transmission, electrical, fuel pump, etc)

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  Very disappointed in Mercedes - 2005 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By DLB19 - October 11 - 10:00 am

  I have to echo many of the complaints already on this site. Weve owned ours for 1.5yrs., during which time weve spent slightly over 10k in repairs. If fact, its in the garage now. Repairs include; new transmission, brakes, wiring, and various other items. Short list of quality issues; wind noise above 50 mph is intolerable, brakes make all kinds of noise at low speed, head liner likes to fall off, paint on side molding also likes to fall off, and a never ending list of repairs, which are all very expensive.