Breaking up is hard to do. Especially when it costs some $34 billion. The German-based parent company of Mercedes-Benz has cut its losses and is moving on with a new name: Daimler AG.
The new nomenclature isn't at all that surprising. It follows suit with its German competitors, BMW AG and Audi AG. Daimler's car division, previously the Mercedes Car Group, will be renamed Mercedes-Benz Cars. It will include the Mercedes, Maybach, and Smart brands.
The origins of the German car company date back to 1885, when Carl Friedrich Benz received a patent for his car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen. Five years later, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach founded Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. In 1926, that company merged with rival Benz & Cie, forming Daimler-Benz AG. Fast-forward to 1998, when Daimler bought Chrysler Corp. for approximately $40 billion, and later sold 80.1 percent of the failing division off to a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, for a mere $6 billion.
Critics of the new name say, given all that history, "Benz" should be included in the name of the parent company. According to a Reuters report, descendants of Benz lobbied at a meeting of more than 6,000 shareholders to keep the founder's name alive. The Benz name in the car division was included, in part, to appease outspoken shareholders and family members.
2008 smart fortwo
(Credit: smart USA)Pricing is out for the new, admittedly odd-looking smart fortwo. The compact vehicle, manufactured by Mercedes, features a 1-liter, 3-cylinder engine that puts out a maximum of 71 horsepower. Cars are expected to ship the first quarter of 2008.
The base model starts at $11,590 and includes a 5-speed transmission that switches from automatic to manual mode with the touch of a button. The "passion coupe," which includes features found in more expensive luxury cars like a panorama roof, alloy wheels, paddle shifters and heated side mirrors, starts at $13,590. The convertible will be $16,590 and up, with an optional premium sound system that includes an in-dash MP3 compatible 6-CD changer. Smart claims its cabriolet will be the lowest priced convertible offered in the U.S.
Smart is hinging much of its sales on fuel efficiency numbers. The fortwos can achieve more than 40 miles per gallon under normal driving conditions.
Smart executives earlier this year hinted at plans to open several smart car dealerships across the country; many will be attached to Mercedes-Benz dealerships, much the way Mini Coopers are sold at dealerships alongside BMWs. The smart dealer network will be officially announced this fall. Smart cars are currently sold in 36 countries, and more than 800,000 smart fortwos have been sold since 1998.
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