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1886 Mercedes


George Smolinski

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41 minutes ago, CarlLaFong said:

Mercedes came much later. That's a Benz

 

Yes, that is a Benz, one of the many1886 replicas that have been built around the world. I have ridden on one, a strange experience being so exposed, with nothing in front of you, and that single front wheel adopts some strange attitudes over uneven ground.  The belt drive makes the take off very smooth .  I think it should be quieter than that one is.

 

Daimler - whose cars were known as Mercedes from about 1903 - began making cars about the same time. The two companies merged in 1926.

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Quote "There are numerous examples that pre-date the Benz."

Quite true. However, the significance of the Benz (and the Daimler that followed right upon Benz's heals) is that they were the first practical application in an automobile of the Otto four cycle engine design powered by what in effect was gasoline. In effect, they were the true forerunners of the modern automobile.

 

 

 

I have often said that the greatest single generational leap in all of human history, occurred roughly between the mid to late 1890s, and the mid 1920s. NO other thirty years in all of human history changed so much of how humanity lived the world over. While all the technological advances of those years sat upon the shoulders of two hundred years of experimentation, discovery, and invention, those thirty years saw more technological leaps than ever before. The AUTOMOBILE, was both a cause, and an effect, of those advances. As such, the automobile (and arguably either the model T Ford, or a Benz) is the ultimate icon of that era.

 

It needs to be understood, that before 1895, nearly all man made light was by fire. Whether wood, oil, or gas, it was lit, and it burned. Entertainment was live, and personal. For the most part, no recordings, no broadcast, no movies. MOST people lived and worked on or around small farms, and in small communities. By 1925, much of the major civilized world worked in or around cities, in offices, transportation, and factories. Farms were larger and more efficient, feeding many more people, with far less hard work.

 

Technology made all that possible. And without getting too far into politics, new, and better, technologies are where we can find the solutions to our present day problems.

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3 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

I have often said that the greatest single generational leap in all of human history, occurred roughly between the mid to late 1890s, and the mid 1920s. NO other thirty years in all of human history changed so much of how humanity lived the world over. While all the technological advances of those years sat upon the shoulders of two hundred years of experimentation, discovery, and invention, those thirty years saw more technological leaps than ever before. The AUTOMOBILE, was both a cause, and an effect, of those advances. As such, the automobile (and arguably either the model T Ford, or a Benz) is the ultimate icon of that era.

 

It needs to be understood, that before 1895, nearly all man made light was by fire. Whether wood, oil, or gas, it was lit, and it burned. Entertainment was live, and personal. For the most part, no recordings, no broadcast, no movies. MOST people lived and worked on or around small farms, and in small communities. By 1925, much of the major civilized world worked in or around cities, in offices, transportation, and factories. Farms were larger and more efficient, feeding many more people, with far less hard work.

 

Technology made all that possible.

And Thomas Edison played either in whole or in part, just about ALL of them!!

 

Craig

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Most of the Benz Patent Motorwagen replicas were built by John Bentley Works in England for Daimler-Benz's 100th anniversary back in the '90s. They built, I think, 90 of them. Ultimately they were sold to Mercedes dealers through the M-B Classic Center in Germany and have trickled out into private hands over the past 20 years. They're actually running, driving full-scale replicas of the original, although I'd guess that John Bentley's workmanship is far better than the original. I've had two pass through my hands and they really are lovely. I fired one but never did more than putt around the shop in it--it uses what's called "white gas" although I think we ended up using Coleman camp stove fuel. I met John Bentley a few years ago and he said there was a lot of talk of doing another run, but I don't know that anything ever came of it. The replicas pop up pretty regularly and sell for $60-70,000 and I doubt any of them have any run time on them. Even Mercedes sold them as "1:1 models" instead of running, driving cars so there's no title or anything like that. A neat little footnote in automotive history that shows us just how far we've come in a relatively short period of time.

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7 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

I have often said that the greatest single generational leap in all of human history, occurred roughly between the mid to late 1890s, and the mid 1920s. NO other thirty years in all of human history changed so much of how humanity lived the world over. While all the technological advances of those years sat upon the shoulders of two hundred years of experimentation, discovery, and invention, those thirty years saw more technological leaps than ever before. The AUTOMOBILE, was both a cause, and an effect, of those advances. As such, the automobile (and arguably either the model T Ford, or a Benz) is the ultimate icon of that era.

 

I contemplate this on occasion.

I remember in the fifties talking to my grand mother (who was well acquainted with the 90s thru the 20s) about the advancements that she had witnessed. She told me once that if man were supposed to fly God would have given him wings.

I am inclined to think that I have had the fortune (or misfortune) to have witnessed the most significant leaps in the history of man.

Landing on the Moon, Computers, jet plane travel, Cell phones and turnpikes to name a few.

I see our current culture as being quite accelerated compared to a hundred years ago.

I certainly see the point that Wayne makes as the advances of the turn of the century (as we older generation refer to it) were quite significant.

But I see things are happening too fast, when you compare the past century to recorded history we are very accelerated and even though we seem to be comfortable with all that I have a hard time seeing how its such a good thing in the long run.

I don't see the earth expiring in my lifetime, but I worry about the next couple generations.

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8 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

Quote "There are numerous examples that pre-date the Benz."

Quite true. However, the significance of the Benz (and the Daimler that followed right upon Benz's heals) is that they were the first practical application in an automobile of the Otto four cycle engine design powered by what in effect was gasoline. In effect, they were the true forerunners of the modern automobile.


In a way, this is not unlike saying 'they only made twenty '70 'Cudas' [because the particular one in question is a Burnt Orange Hemi with a bench seat (or whatever)].
I see the factual aspect of the above, my issue is Daimler has twisted that -via official declarations- that they "invented the automobile", when there were 4-wheeled, steering-wheeled cars before 1885. That's disingenuous in my book.

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I feel the same way when I see ads for Indian motorcycles. They seem to be pretty good bikes, but when they begin blathering on and on about how "we" were the first American motorcycle manufacturer, or how "we" won at Daytona on such and such years, it's almost like stolen valor. Polaris bought the name, but they didn't buy the history. Funny they never mention Floyd Clymer, Sam Pierce, the Gilroy Indian and other failed attempts to resurrect the brand.

Edited by CarlLaFong (see edit history)
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^ Mercedes did the same thing when they first brought out the Maybach- they purchased the rights to the name, then published the entire original Maybach history on the website when they had nothing to do with it (Maybach was a competitor back in the day IIRC) and there was no connection to the original other than the nameplate. They're pretty good at stealing valor. ;)

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12 hours ago, Dave Fields said:

Not entirely true. In the very early days, Maybach worked for Daimler in the very early years. Yes he went on to build his own automobile, but Wihelm Maybach was there when Gottlieb Daimler built one of the first internal combustion automobiles. Yes, MB bought the rights to the Maybach name in the 1960's.

Maybach the man worked for Daimler, but Maybach the automobile was a competitor. I'd have been fine had Daimler touted the history of Maybach the man's work for their company. But they had nothing to do, as a company, with the vehicles Maybach built from '21-40. Haven't checked back since I saw the website some years ago, but there was a complete vehicle timeline with a very proprietary air to it.

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