1911 Mercedes 40 HP

Despite a growing preference for shaft-driven cars, this Mercedes with its 22/40 hp, 4-cylinder, 5.6-liter engine and a large seven-passenger touring body was perfectly suited to its chain drive transmission, which delivered power directly to the rear wheels via two sturdy chains. Its high ground clearance also made the car more reliable on longer journeys and rutted roads.

Gottlieb Daimler was the first man to harness, wîth any degree of success, a combustion engine into a road vehicle. Daimler's first four-wheeled motor driven carriage was built in 1866, and by 1890, demands for Daimler's engine made expansion necessary. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, or Daimler Motor Company was formed.

Wealthy banker Emil Jellinek of Vienna was so impressed wîth the success of Daimler-built engines in the Paris-Rouen race (1894) that he purchased a controlling interest in Daimler. In 1900, Daimler created a 4-cylinder car named Mercedes, after the daughter of Emil Jellinek. For nearly five years, Jellinek held exclusive rights to the bulk of Mercedes production and carefully limited the sale of the cars to individuals of known influence. The combination of exclusivity and quality firmly established the reputation of the Mercedes automobile as synonymous wîth elegance and performance.