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D6 DOES YO UR CAR WAX G IVE YO U BETTER PR O TEC TIO N T H A N YOUR CUT-RATE CAR IN SUR ANCE? THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, September 5, 2001 OAKVILLE B S S S il T m Wayne McGill 234?WreuuftRd. #2 1 . O a k * Bob M cIntosh 616 York St. Oakville D irect: 90 5-827-7191 847-5671 W e lease all m akes and m odels. An Oakville Betti'er Advertising Feature To advertise in this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 The 2002 C-Class Sedans, Value Priced from $37,950' An artist's rendering of the Mercedes Vision SLA concept. Mercedes celebrates a centuiy of luxmy and power By Jim Kenzie SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Roy Thompson Hall. Air Canada Centre. We're familiar with individuals or corporations buying "naming rights" to palaces of entertainment. But naming rights to an entire car line? Emil Jellinek was a Leipzig-born businessman whose financial successes allowed him to move Nice France, playground of the wealthy, in the 1890s. Fascinated by the new-fangled auto mobile, he bought several in succes sion, in each case looking for some thing faster than the last. In 1896 he acquired his first Daimler - a propitious moment in the history of the automobile. This little unit was reliable, but slow - it was all done by about 25 km/h. He wrote to the factory in Cannstatt Germany, offering to buy four new Daimlers, provided they could top 40 km/h. Company founder Gottlieb Daimler and his hugely talented and grossly overlooked chief engineer Wilhelm Maybach were reluctant to put a highhorsepower engine in a chassis not real ly designed to handle that amount of urge. But then, as now, the customer is always right, even when he's wrong. The cars were built, and shipped to Nice. At the time, Baron A rthur de Rothschild (yes, o f the Rothschild Rothschildren...) would entertain the locals daily by storming up La Turbie hill out of Nice in his Daimler-engined Panhard. Jellinek. something of a showboat, decided to upstage him. If Rothschild's Panhard had had headlights. Jellinek's Daimler would have sucked them out. "If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em" was Rothschild's motto he bought Jellinek's Daimler on the spot. Jellinek took one of his three remaining cars back to Daimler's head quarters for some tuning, returned to Nice - and wiped out Rothschild's now old Daimler. The good baron bought the second car too. Rothschild must have been a slow learner, because Jellinek pulled this thick on him no fewer than four times. In March of 1900, Daimler sent Jellinek a huge, powerful car designed to beat all comers at the Nice Automobile Week. Tragically, a factory driver was killed when this monster hit the wall in the first turn. The Daimler company had been already saddened by the death of founder Gottlieb a few days earlier. Jellinek urged them to carry on. con vincing Daimler's successors that an all-new, lighter, lower, longer, more powerful car would be needed to con tinue the company's competition suc cesses. Jellinek said he'd buy 36 such cars, in return for big cash money, plus the distributorship for Daimler automo biles for Austria-Hungary, France, Belgium and America. Oh yes - one other provision. The cars would have to bear the name of his 11 -year old daughter. Thus was bom the Mercedes brand name. Despite several delays, the cars were delivered later that same year - a remarkable accomplishment, given that this was an entirely new design. Following a few teething troubles in some minor races, the cars were ready for the Nice Automobile Week in March 1901. They swept all before them, win ning the distance race, the sprint race, and the hill climb. Jellinek replaced the racing body with an elegant four-seat touring body, and paraded around Nice, proving that a Mercedes was a true dual-purpose car. O f course, if you wanted one, in either configuration, Jellinek would be more than happy to take your money. Did I mention Jellinek was a show boat? He officially changed his name to Jellinek-Mercedes (yes, his daugh ter would have been Mercedes JellinekMercedes). He lived in Villa Mercedes. His yacht was christened MercedesMercedes. The Daimler Corporation had the presence of mind to trademark the name in 1902. I wonder if Jellinek earned royalties... Those Nice racing successes are considered the beginnings of the Mercedes legend, which is why the company is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the brand this year. That first Mercedes looks surpris ingly modem even today. Front-mount ed engine, at a time when many cars had their engine amidships, under the seats. Rear-wheel drive. Gate-type four-speed manual transmission. Pressed steel frame. Even a steering wheel, when most contemporaries still had tillers. (See `Company' page D5) For parents of forwards and defencemen. The 2002 C320 Sport Wagon, Value Priced from 552,850" For parents of goalies. The 2002 M-Class SUV, Value Priced from $ 49,350"' For parents of an entire line of Oakville Hornets. THE C-CLASS SEDANS, SPORT WAGONS and M-CLASS SUV's. European sport handling. Graceful styling. And the same safety innovations found in our flagship cars. It's all standard, from our sporty sedans to the brand new C320 Sport Wagon that can handle up to 1800 litres of gear. So whether you're a hockey parent or an assistant equipment manager, there's a luxurious, exciting and versatile C-Class or M-Class available for you right now. To set up a test drive or to leam more about these vehicles, call US Mercedes-Benz The Future of the A u t o m o b i le or just drop in soon. Meray Motors & Collision Q.E.W & Dorval Drive, Oakville 905*845-6623 www.meraymotors.mercedesbenz.ca E x p e r i e n c e M e r c e d e s - B e n z t h r o u g h The C o l l e c t i o n , a c a t a l o g u e of s i g n a t u r e m e r c h a n d i s e a v a i l a b l e at w w w . m e r c e d e s - b e n z . c a . " *© 2001 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario. A DaimterChrysler Company. *MSRP for 2002 C240 Classic manual (C240 Sport shown). " MSRP for 2002 C320 Sport Wagon (optional sport package shown). " *MSRP for 2002 M-Class SUV. Dealer may sell for less. Photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Emil Jellinek ordered dozens of Mercedes like this 35-hp racer. 200Q Dodge Caravan Finished in Light Cypress, only 10,000 original kms/like brand new. 2 years o f Factory Warranty remaining. Features include power windows, power locks, cruise control, keyless remote, CD stereo, sunscreen glass, and more.Take advantage o f 8.75% Financing!^ 1999 Honda Accord Sedan Finished in Forest Green, lo w kms, w ith 6 m onth 10,000km C.P.0.V Warranty. Features include pow er w indows, pow er locks, cruise control, keyless remote, CD stereo, sunscreen glass, and more. Take advantage o f 8.75% Financing!' 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan SE Finished in Bright Teal, low kms w ith 6 month 10,000km, C.P.0.V Warranty. Features include power windows, power locks, cruise control, cassette stereo, suncreen glass, tilt, and more. Take advantage of 8.75% Financing. SALE 3 PRICE 19,999 (between Kerr & Dorval) SALE 5 PRICE 17,888 Vehicles are plus taxes and license. · · · · SALE PRICE S 13,888 I OflttA/mn E l c h r y s l Vr ^ W yecroft Road,Oakville 905.845.6653 F IV E S T A R H H i iS H tS Oakville's 2000 · 2001 Five Star Certified Dealership Peace of Mind with DoimlerChrysler Canada Ik . bodied warranty Roadside Assistance Quality Reconditioning Nationwide Service