Hanoi – The Mercedes Fascination Motorshow this year’ edition, from 9 – 12 June, 2011 at Giang Vo Exhibition Center in Hanoi, definitely states the vision of Mercedes-Benz to celebrate the glorious 125 year anniversary and continue to lead the world of luxury automobile in all areas. Also, everything the company putting together is depicting the brand’s powerful performance and high agility while especially show-casing the new idea of “Chic meet Sleek” first-time in Vietnam to debut the all-new unconventional modish C-class 2012 series.

Dr. Udo Loersch – General Director of MB Vietnam said: “As we celebrates 125th birthday of automobile all over the world, in the Mercedes Fascination 2011, we want to showcase to public here our decades of success from the beginning when Karl Benz invented the world’s first automobile in 1886 to today’s most latest marvelous model – the new C-class 2012”.

It was on 29 January 1886 that the brand founder Karl Benz filed an application in Berlin for a patent on his three-wheeled motor car, called Benz Patent Motor Car. Ever since, that day has been considered the official birthday of the motor car, which in 2011, celebrates its 125th anniversary. At the same time as Benz, Gottlieb Daimler was developing the first four-wheeled motor car. In this way, working independently of each other, the founding fathers of today's Daimler AG and its globally successful Mercedes-Benz core brand laid the foundation stone for all present-day passenger cars, commercial vehicles.

The invention in the 1880s of the high-speed engine and the automobile enabled Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz – independently of one another – to lay the foundations for the motorization of road transport. With the help of financial backers and partners, they both invested their private developments in their own enterprises – in Mannheim, Benz founded the firm Benz & Cie. in October 1883, and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) was formed in November 1890.

In order to gain publicity and a certain distinction for their products, both companies sought a suitable trademark. To begin with, the inventors used their own names – “Benz” and “Daimler” – which vouched for the origin and quality of the engines and vehicles. The trademark of the Mannheim-based company Benz & Cie. remained unchanged, except that in 1909, the cog wheel symbol which had been used since 1903 was replaced with a laurel wreath surrounding the name Benz. But the turn of the century brought a completely new brand name for products from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) in Cannstatt: “Mercedes”

DMG now had a successful brand name, but still lacked a characteristic trademark. Then Daimler’s two sons remembered that their father, who had died in March 1900 shortly before his 66th birthday, had once used a star as a symbol.

Gottlieb Daimler had been technical director of the Deutz gas engine factory from 1872 until 1881. At the beginning of his employment there, he had marked a star above his own house on a picture postcard of Cologne and Deutz, and had written to his wife that this star would one day shine over his own factory to symbolize prosperity.

The DMG board immediately accepted the proposal and in June 1909, both a three-pointed and a four-pointed star were registered as trademarks. Although both designs were legally protected, only the three-pointed star was used. From 1910 onward, a three-dimensional star adorned the radiator at the front of the car.

The three-pointed star was supposed to symbolize Daimler’s ambition of universal motorization – “on land, on water and in the air”. Over the years, various small additions were made. In 1916, the tips were surrounded by a circle, in which four small stars and the word Mercedes were integrated, or alternatively the names of the DMG plants at Untertürkheim or Berlin-Marienfelde.

In November 1921, DMG applied for legal protection of utility patents for new variations on their trademark and lodged with the patent office a three-dimensional three-pointed star enclosed in a circle – which included the design intended for use on the radiator grille. It became a registered trademark in August 1923.

Mercédès – a Spanish girl’s name meaning ‘grace’ – was the name of the daughter born in 1889 to the Austrian businessman, Emil Jellinek. A progressive thinker with an interest in sport, Jellinek turned his enthusiasm to the dawning age of the automobile. As early as 1897, he made the journey to Cannstatt to visit the Daimler factory and ordered his first Daimler car – a belt-driven vehicle with a six-hp two-cylinder engine.

Jellinek demanded ever faster and more powerful vehicles from DMG. From 1899, he entered these in race meetings – first and foremost of which was the Nice Week – where he would race under his pseudonym Mercédès - the name of his daughter, ten years old at the time, and a name that was well known in motoring circles. In the early days, the name referred to the team and driver – not to an automotive brand. At the beginning of April 1900, Jellinek made an agreement with DMG concerning sales of cars and engines and the decision was taken to use the Jellinek’s pseudonym as a product name.