Mercedes Benz is a name synonymous with luxury, perfection, and smooth function. The car manufacturers have been in business since the start of the 20th century, and are still going strong. Most people associate Mercedes Benz with an upscale, luxurious automobile, and are unaware of the fact that the company also offers quite a lot of affordable options when it comes to its product range. Here are some more interesting facts about the coveted Mercedes Benz:

• At the moment, the Mercedes Benz is a marque. The term marque refers to anything that has built a name for itself as a luxury brand and is used in terms of cars and other luxury products, and not common household items. The word marque has its roots in the Scandinavian language, and the French word ‘marquer’ means ‘to brand.’

Pexels/Pixabay. Mercedes Benz laid the foundation for car safety.

• The name Mercedes is taken from a woman. The name is still used for women in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries. The name Mercedes came about as a contraction of the name ‘Maria de las Mercedes,’ the Spanish title for the Virgin Mary, literally translating to Mary of the Mercies.
• The first car called the Mercedes was named after the daughter of an Australian diplomat Emil Jellinek. He was also a racing enthusiast and often took part in races with Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. Jellinek, for his contributions to the success of the Mercedes car, was later made a member of the Board of Directors for Daimler’s company.
• Mercedes Benz was the trailblazer for car safety and was the first to use the Pre-Safe system, which was a system designed to avoid collisions. First introduced in 2002, the Pre-Safe system could pick up signs of any upcoming collisions and would take steps to ensure the safety of the car passengers.

ArtisticOperations/Pixabay. The number at the end of the model denotes engine type.

• The numbers and letters in the names of Mercedes Benz models refer to a lot of important information about the car. The number in the car model name refers to the displacement of the combustion engine. Which would be equal to the volume of the cylinders, as measured in liters and multiplied by 100. This is the reason why newer Mercedes Benz models have a greater number as the combustion engines have become more powerful with each new iteration.

Mike's-Photography/Pixabay. The letter at the end of the name of the model denotes its type.

• The letters in the names of Mercedes models also provide significant information for car enthusiasts. The letter C indicates that the car has a cabriolet or a coupe body while the other letters provide information about the internal combustion engine such as the letter D denoteing that the model is equipped with a diesel engine.