The origins of this brand name:
At the beginning there were two men: Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz who worked separately for the automobile industry at the end of the 19th century.
One day, another man, Emil Jellinek, an Austro-Hungarian businessman, contacted Mr Daimler and ordered a car because he was keen on races and speed. He wanted it to be named Mercedes like his daughter. This car model had such a success that Mr Daimler decided to choose this name Mercedes as their new brand name in 1902.
Daimler and Benz were rivals at the beginning. They created and manufactured different models of cars, boats and other vehicles. Both companies merged in 1926 to become more competitive on the automobile market and became known as Mercedes-Benz.
The origin of this symbol
After the merger of their companies in 1926, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz tried to create a very well designed logo for their vehicles.
As you can see, there is a three pointed star that is supposed to represent their original intent to make vehicles for land, water and sky.
There is a family legend around the Mercedes star. It is said that Gottlieb Daimler would have sent to his wife a postcard with a star shining above their family house. This was to symbolize the success of his company around the world in the future. This idea was chosen in 1909: one point for ground vehicles, another one for boats and the last one for planes and zeppelins to show Daimler's domination in every field.
It was easier for Karl Benz: it was first a wheel and then a laurel wreath.
They decided to merge both logos with the star in the middle, the laurel wreath around the circle, Mercedes at the top and Benz at the bottom.
