-Dad died of pneumonia when Benz was 2

*Was a railroad engineer.

-Income after death was small--> Benz had to start supporting the family (when old enough).

-Very interested in technology.

-Fixed clocks and watches for extra money.

-Worked as an assistant to a physics teacher in high school.

-Went to school at Karisruche Polytechnic.

-Worked as an engine manufacturer.

-MOTIVE: Worked at an engine plant because he dreamed of creating a horseless carriage.

*“wanted to learn as much as he could about engines” (Gale).

-1871: worked at a wagon and pump company.

-1872: opened his own engine shop and married: Breta Ringer.

-Mercedes-Benz is probably the most well known one.

*Selling a wide variety of cars, luxury cars to wagons (sedans, SUV’s, coupes)

*Top Gear Magazine named S-Class Mercedes-Benz as the “Luxury Car of the Year 2013”.

This is basically trying to say that because he loved what he did he lived a very happy life, if something was bad happened, for instance like the downturn in the economy, Benz made the best of it in some way.

-Benz sold a lot of engines.

-Left a company after 3 months of business because the investors didn’t want him to “spend valuable resources on inventions” (Gale).

-October of 1883, Benz developed a third business: Benz and Company.

*Selling “stationary gas engines” (Gale).

*New investors supported horseless carriage idea.

-1885: showed off first automobile: motorized tricycle that used a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine (considered revolutionary).

*Internal combustion engines: lightweight, compact, “more efficient” way to power a vehicle.

*Engine also made the car cheaper (for families with lower income and for families with bigger incomes) and more appealing because of this.

*Electrical ignition system that used a battery is what started the engine (Gale).

-Showing off horseless carriage in 1855 didn’t go so well.

*Crashed into a brick wall right away.

*Driver claiming he had “forgotten to steer the tricycle” (Gale).

*Somehow he still got good reviews that following summer in Neue Badische Landeszeitung.

-He innovated his current design and added second gear, a bigger engine (3-horsepower engine), and improved brakes and springs.

-Sold first automobile in 1887, after being displayed in the Paris Exhibition earlier that year.

-Munich Imperial Exhibition 1888- “Benz was awarded with a gold medal for his invention” (Gale).

-Business = GREAT! Company gained 50 employees by 1889--> moved to a bigger factory to start the development of the modern day four wheeled automobiles in 1890.

-Benz actually didn’t like the idea of a 4 wheels vehicle (didn’t think physical appearance needed to change).

-Biggest competitor: fellow German engineer- Gottlieb Daimler.

*Had created a much better engine than Benz had, and had it done 5 months before Benz.

*Showed it off on a bicycle (like a modern day motorcycle).

*Successful at the 4 wheel automobile in the French and German markets--> became even bigger competitors.

*Gave it a very French name- Mercedes.

-1926: economy took a turn for the worse after World War I.

*To help both sides they merged into one company, Mercedes-Benz in 1926.  Both profited from this action.

Web. 7 Feb. 2014.

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=WHIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=WHIC%3AUHIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1631000598&source=Bookmark&u=fran83224&jsid=9fc7790b8d9afc39612e4a7c5beb5779

Rae, John Bell. "Chapter 2: The Origins." The American Automobile Industry. Boston, MA: Twayne,

1984. 4+. Print.

"Quotespedia." Quotespedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

<http://quotespedia.net/karl-benz-quotes/>.