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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  Disappointed - 2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Polly Roberts - June 7 - 11:16 pm

  I am very disappointed with this new C- Class and the customer service. This car drives worse than any vehicle I have ever owned. It constantly pulls to the right and the service department only argues over every issue. I got a SRS INOP warning light that said drive to workshop immediately and called the service department and they said no big deal. The next time you bring it in well check it. I had to call roadside service because of a blowout on the right front tire and the lady at the 800 number said the car should not be driven at all with that warning light on and they should have towed the car immediately, which only had 3,000 miles on it. They had to replace the drivers airbag.

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  New 2.5L V6, New 7 speed automatic - 2006 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Jay Ma - June 7 - 9:13 am

  The new engine and transmission is very smooth yet energetic. New granite grey color is pretty. The ride is a bit too sporty to my taste due to the 17 Z rated tires. In C mode, the car starts in 2nd gear and shifts up at low revs. It is very smooth and quiet in this mode. However, it feels like the engine only has 120hp that way. In S mode, it starts in 1st gear, and shifts above 4k. The sound is a bit harsh but you can believe the engine has 201hp. I only have this car for a couple of days. Hope the reliability is good.

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  Meets all expectations - 2001 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
  By bobgill - June 5 - 10:00 am

  This is a compact, powerful package that is both stylish and fast. Ive had to watch my foot on the accelerator to avoid rear-wheel spin. The lines and contours are smooth. Surprisingly decent size trunk.

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  Best Car Ive owned - 1998 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
  By Dennis Fields - June 5 - 10:00 am

  fast and never down in shop

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  Love the SUV - 2002 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By tiger2doll - June 5 - 10:00 am

  Very elegent and powerful SUV. A definite Headturner. Afterall - a Mercedes is a Mercedes. Nothing compares to it. Someone has rightly said - Life is too short and the roads too long to drive anything else except a Mercedes-Benz. Lots of Safety features - comfortable interior seating surfaces. Very nice and thoughtful small features. Love the SUV.

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  Awesome - 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class
  By Amy - June 3 - 1:40 pm

  Excellent vehicle - luxury, sporty and powerful. Very comfortable and drives itself. Sound system is top notch. Navigation system is easy to use - not complicated at all as others have rated. It is a gas guzzler, however it is worth the extra premium gas price because the ride is awesome. Mercedes employees are very helpful and so professional. I love it.

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  In love - 2014 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By Margaret Dietz - June 3 - 5:43 am

  I have loved this car from the minute I got it. Love the handling, safety and sense of protection that I have driving this vehicle. My only, only problem is lack of a remote starter in the cold winter months. I would love to enter a nice, warm cozy car. Perhaps this is an option but since I leased I didnt want to have one installed and fiddle with the electric components of the car.

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  not practical - 2008 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By glue2u - June 2 - 9:07 am

  Little disappointed with the car. I own a 2005 gs300 and that car shifts, rides and seems way better than this 60k e class. I was very disappointed. Burning smell coming from vents, car shifts strange, non-digital dual climate control, cheap interior, dash is not bright, no H.I.D headlights for 60k, Navigation is Not user friendly. Cruise control gets mistaken for turn signal. Too many unnecessary features. Does not ride as good as my 05 lexus.

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  Smokes the competition - 2006 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
  By Kurt Stephon - June 1 - 6:06 pm

  I bought this 06 S-65AMG around 5 months ago. I have to admit I drove everything from the quattroporte to the BMW 760 to the Bentley Continental Flying Spurt and this Benz cleans house. I have around 13k miles already and have taken about 5 road trips to Texas back to St. Louis and this car is the smoothest best handling peppy sports seadan out there. As far as speed I managed to hit 140 MPH and was it ever smooth! Consider the S-class over your average Bimmer!

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  Love our ML - 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By etherboy - June 1 - 2:32 pm

  Bought the ML after testdriving X5, Lexus 470, LR4, and QX56..were actually on way to buy QX when we decided to just look at the ML. Test drove the 350 and took it home to see how it would accommodate our family roadtrip needs..perfect. When we ordered, only the 350 was available but was able to upgrade to the 550 a day later. Its awesome..a real sleeper. Steering not nearly as precise as the X5 but better than the QX. The safety features by far exceed any of the other SUVs we tested. Exterior not very sexy..would prefer a Cayenne or X5 or even the QX but for a family tourer with performance the ML550 is hard to beat! And we get 19.5 mpg average.