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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  Newmans 2004 E 500 4 Matic - 2004 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By paulnewman - July 11 - 2:00 am

  The car is great in every detail.

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  Low Price High Ecomony Benz - 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By ChazD - July 11 - 2:00 am

  When selecting a car by price, around 25000, nothing beats a new Mercedes, hands down. You get all the toys, quality, and 40000 maintence free miles along with 26-32 mpg. The car has so many gadgets that it takes 3 hours to read the owners manual and it is packed with precision engineered components. The tap shifter and Supercharger combine to thrill the driver from 0-60. The car wants to go,go,go, and at higher speeds is very stable. Go look at everything in the price range and then drive the Benz. From the 2 moon roofs to the ESP to the unbelievable acceleration, the car is plush.

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  S500 - 2000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
  By g - July 8 - 5:13 am

  Awseome Car, pleasure to look at and drive every day.

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  2012 E3504Matic - 2012 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By elta00 - July 7 - 6:19 pm

  I have my MB since Dec 2011, so far is ok, somebody ask me if my MB was diesel??? I noticed that the engine is a bit noisy (tapping) I went to dealer and they said that is ok...At the beginning got confused a couple times with the turn signals I was turning the cruise control On. Star push button is only offer at #2 package, wife has a real cheap car that it has a push button I did trade my 2009 BMW 335i convertible for this one and the Tech package on the BMW give more gadgets for the money

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  Wow. What a great Car - 2008 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By AZ owners - July 7 - 2:30 am

  We just bought our 08 E 350 and I must say that it is a great car. We looked at the Lexus GS, and BMW 5 series before making our decision. We did a 2 yr lease and when I looked at the Lexus the residual value was 51% and the E class had a 68% value. What a great deal. We love the car, it drives amazing and looks so sleek.

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  Truly Outstanding! - 2004 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
  By Cubby - July 6 - 10:00 am

  What an elegant yet sporty vehicle! It drives like a dream and is such a head- turner. I think the appearance package is a must as is the burl walnut steering wheel. The wheel coordinates nicely with the walnut interior. Its a fantastic lovely convertible; much nicer than all of the others out there!! I rarely drive anywhere without someone commenting on its loveliness!

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  Overpriced poor body design - 2004 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
  By djjs31 - July 6 - 10:00 am

  This car is at least 20K over priced and the body style looks like a mercury topaz.

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  GREAT CAR - 2002 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By jon6558 - July 6 - 10:00 am

  This is a great car, I have had BMW, VW, Acura and the feel of this car is 2nd to none. It just feels good to drive it. I have only 1 complaint: The brakes on this car are out of control squeaky. Its unreal... I blame this problem more on the local Mercedes dealer than anyone else. They have refused several times to address this issue under warranty. They just say it has 25k on it, it needs new brakes. It clearly does not need brakes, they are 80% still. So like with any other car, you vehicle is only as good as the local dealer (Kansas City).

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  Very finicky car - 2009 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By victor - July 6 - 7:00 am

  Like many German cars, this has its quirks. The navigation is tough to get used to, but thats not whats most curious about this car: at elevation about 10,000 feet, the nav shuts off! It displays a warning and becomes inoperable. Mercedes says it affects so few people that they wont fix it. So if you drive in the mountains a lot (we live in Colorado) and want to use this car in high elevations, keep this in mind. As importantly, keep in mind that Mercedes refuses to spend the time reprogramming the nav systems. Maybe they outsourced that part to Japan...

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  One Beautiful Car - 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
  By Lou Algieri - July 4 - 9:56 pm

  Mercedes designed the CLS for buyers that wanted something more sporty than an E-Class but couldnt afford AMG series cars. Well, it seemed like they designed it just for me because as soon as I saw it, I wanted one. The car has style, plenty of horsepower and handles better than the E500. I was concerned about the low roofline thinking it would hinder visibility, but that has not been the case. The high performance tires are a little noisy, but not distracting. The jury is still out on the "reliability" category because the car is new. And finally, the CLS has decent cup holders in the front!