Benz for sale
The story of Karl Friedrich Benz and his automobile goes back to the late 1800s --- it is one of the oldest and most important stories in automobile industry.Karl Benz owned a factory in the 1870s in Mannheim, Germany that was financed by his wife Bertha and focused on developing and making engines. He received a patent for a two-stroke gas engine in 1879. He also patented other car-related inventions, including the speed regulation system, the spark plug, the carburetor, the clutch, the gear shift and the water radiator.
After some financial problems with the early factory, Benz went on to form Benz & Cie with a bicycle shop in Mannheim and began producing gas engines. Success there led him to work on a design for a horseless carriage. In 1885, Benz finished his invention and called it the Benz Patent Motorwagen. It had three wire wheels and a four-stroke engine, and was actually less a horseless carriage than a vehicle that generated its own power. It was seen as the first automobile, and on January 29, 1886 the Motorwagen received a patent.
After several redesigns, Benz started selling the Motorwagen to the public in 1888, marking the first time an automobile was sold commercially. At the time, the only place to buy gas was through pharmacies, where it was sold as a cleaner. This discouraged sales, along with the fact that the cars had no gears and had trouble climbing or descending hills.
It was Bertha Benz, Karl's wife, who came to the rescue. Mrs. Benz, supposedly without the knowledge of her husband, set out in a Motorwagen with a couple of their sons. She rode 65 miles to visit her mother and had to stop at pharmacies to get gas and had various other mechanical problems she had to fix along the way, including hiring a shoemaker to fit leather on the brake blocks for added cushioning. Her trip was a success in that it brought publicity to the automobile and helped market it as a convenient way to get around.
In 1893, Benz produced an automobile that was intended to be more affordable for the average person. The two-passenger Victoria had a 3 hp engine and a pivotal front axle to make steering easier. It had a top speed of 11 mph and had a great year, selling 85 units.
In 1894, a Benz Velo took part in what is considered the first-ever automobile race, the 31-mile Paris to Rouen Rally. The Velo - short for Velocipede - was considered the first production automobile. It was lightweight and reached top speeds of between 12 mph and 25 mph. The Velo did not place in the Paris to Rouen; Peugeots and Panhards were the top winners.
Other important early milestones for Benz & Cie and for Karl Benz in particular included the design of the first truck in history in 1895 and the patent for the first flat engine in 1896.
Competition from other auto manufacturers intensified right at the turn of the century, particularly from the German company Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG), which was starting to develop what would later become the speedy Mercedes-35 hp. Benz's response was the 37 mph Parsifil, unveiled in 1903. Benz had been the top automaker in the world at the turn of the century, and held this position for several years despite heavy competition, selling 3,480 automobiles in 1903.
Through the next two decades, Benz and his family continued developing faster and better automobiles. In 1909, Benz & Cie built the Blitzen Benz, shaped like a bird beak, which set a speed record of 141.94 miles per hour. A later racecar, built in 1923, was the aerodynamic Tropfenwagen, which raced in the 1923 European Grand Prix at Monza. In 1906, Benz formed the private company C. Benz Sons, which made automobiles that became popular as taxis in London. Benz withdrew from that company in 1912, leaving all assets to his sons.
Through World War I and beyond, Germany entered a period of economic crisis, forcing most German automakers, including Benz and DMG, into hardship. The two companies signed an agreement in 1924 and eventually merged in 1926, becoming the Daimler-Benz Company. Its automobiles were named Mercedes-Benz and a new legend was born. Karl Benz remained on the board of directors at Daimler Benz for the rest of his life.
Benz died in 1929. His wife Bertha Benz lived on until 1944.
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