There is no logo more iconic than the Mercedes-Benz star! It is one of the most recognized brand symbols in the world! The three pointed star represents the drive toward universal motorization with its engines dominating the land, sea, and air. Over the years the logo has incorporated other elements like the laurel wreath for racing heritage, new colors for print and digital publishing and just recently, the Social Distance Star. This star was designed by a fan - @Marcel_lo_loca on Instagram! If you take a look back through the years there have been huge variations. I picked up the red pin above at the Delivery Center in Sindelfingen many years ago and it one of my favorites. While we are all keeping our distance, this might be an excellent time to learn more about the history of the star and of the brand. The Mercedes-Benz Museum has a full digital tour available that will take you through all of the floors as well as the special exhibits that you cannot currently see at the museum in Stuttgart. (They are closed to visitors during Spring 2020.) I have visited several times over the years and ranked it #1 on my Car Museums of Europe Tour! The museum is best enjoyed by taking an elevator to the top and the spiraling down from the first vehicle to the future of the automobile! The race car section is one of my favorites. Here is the link to the Mercedes-Benz Museum website so you can take your tour and decide for yourself! I certainly miss travelling and look forward to getting back to the museum soon! Every time I have visited there have been new exhibits to explore. Maybe with a little peace and quiet there will be a major revamp while we are all kept away.

Mercedes-Benz Production Facilities For US Cars Bremen, Germany

• C-Class sedan, estate, coupe, cabriolet
• E-Class coupe, Cabriolet
• GLC and GLC coupe
• SL and SLC
• Also future electric vehicles

Sindelfingen, Germany

• S-Class and S-Class coupe
• Mercedes-Maybach vehicles
• CLS
• E-Class sedan
• AMG GT
• Future electric cars

Rastatt, Germany

• GLA
• B-Class
• A-Class

Kecskemet, Hungary

• B-Class
• CLA, CLA shooting brake

Uusikaupunki, Finland

• GLC
• A-Class

Tuscaloosa

• GLE and GLE coupe
• GLS
• C-Class

Graz, Austria (Magna Steyr)

• G-Class produced by Magna Steyr GmbH

East London, South Africa

• C-Class

Parts Manufacturing Plants Stuttgart

• Produces engines, axles, transmissions for MB production
• Also the location of Daimler worldwide headquarters

Hamburg, Germany

• Produces axles and other components, steering columns

Berlin

• Production of engines and Remanufactured engines

VPC

• 3 VPC centers in North America
• Baltimore, MD (12-16 days from Germany)
• Brunswick, GA (16-18 days from Germany)
• Long Beach, CA (28-31 days from Germany)

In short, Mercedes-Benz vehicles are produced at many locations around the world. Factories are often added to serve the needs or a particular model or market. The Tuscaloosa factory is the second largest exporter of vehicles from the US! MBUSA is also bringing Sprinter production to South Carolina. In the past we have reassembled the Sprinters in the US but not manufactured them here. The new factory will allow for a much faster delivery timeline of our vans. Production itself in a marvel! I have been to several Mercedes-Benz factories and it is amazing to see both the robot assembly lines and the ones still done by people. I have seen a giant robot arm swing a dashboard through a door opening with just 2mm to spare. They said it couldn't be done by human hands!  I have seen an AMG engine builder hand assemble a V8 piece by piece in a quiet factory in Affalterbach. The logistics of building these German engineered cars around the world and shipping to the dealerships by ship, train and transporter is mind boggling!  

2018 is going to be a busy year for Mercedes-Benz! We have new models, new colors, new styling, and new engines! Just this week I have seen some new things arrive! Parking the GLC300 coupe next to the GLE43 coupe has really shown me the family resemblance! Just walking by them on the lot it is not immediately obvious which one is which. The GLC coupe has not been out for long and we are getting a lot of calls about it. This one happens to be Diamond White with the Espresso Brown interior and looks just great! This transporter full of cars from Brunswick arrived with our first 2018 GLA45 AMG and the first Canyon Beige GLA250. Both are certainly striking in their own way! The GLA45 features the aero kit which looks awesome and a new Panamericana inspired lower fascia. Love those wheels! This Mercedes-AMG C43 looks awesome in Cardinal Red Metallic and sounds as good as it looks! I can immediately tell it is a C43 rather than a C63 because of the grey brake calipers. As the models expand it is important that I can identify them from a quick glance! I hate to have to walk behind the car to figure it out! This 2018 Mercedes-AMG GTS arrived today! It is the first of the GTs to arrive with the new Panamericana grille. This vertically slatted grill was inspired by an historic race car and looks incredibly modern. It will be on all of the GT models this year - GT, GTS, GTC and GTR. Most people are currently associating it with the 'Beast of the Green Hell" GTR and are surprised to see it on the other models. Those are just the new things from this week! Stay tuned! I have a couple of special designo Edition SLs here, a GT roadster on the way and a redesigned S-Class just a few months away! So exciting!

Join us on October 8 and 9 for the 2016 Atlanta Concours d’Elegance at Chateau Elan Winery and Resort. An exciting event. A beautiful venue. Sure to become one of Atlanta’s premier Fall events, don’t miss this rare multi-million dollar collection of vintage classic automobiles displayed on the fairways of Chateau Elan. Hours: Saturday   9:am – 3:pm Sunday      9:am – 4:pm Visit the website and purchase tickets here! I'll be there all day Sunday. Say hello!

From the author of similar books about The Ritz-Carlton, Zappos and Starbucks comes a new case study of how MBUSA has shifted focus from just "The Best or Nothing" in engineering to also "Driven to Delight" for the customer experience.

Someone called me "a company girl" the other day so obviously I have already read the excerpt and pre-ordered on Amazon.

It is a fascinating look behind the scenes at processes and decisions that directly impact how I do my job. I thought you might find it interesting too!

Thank you to everyone who attended our amazing 40th Anniversary Party this weekend! Special thanks to Ben Wayne for making a great video tour for us to share!

I am very excited to see the new Museum Monday videos from Mercedes-Benz. Having visited the museum twice I recognize all of the displays and can't wait to hear some behind-the-scenes info! Nice to meet you Uke!

On this day in 1900, the first "Mercedes" was delivered to Emil Jellinek. He had commissioned 36 vehicles from a fledgling German automaker and one of his stipulations was that the car be named for his daughter, Mercedes! You can read the whole story on History.com.

On a related note, on this day in 19-something, I was born! We've been linked since the beginning - Mercedes & Me!

If you have not seen any photos from the Mille Miglia that took place earlier this month you really must have a look! Stunning cars and stunning scenery!

From the Mercedes-Benz Facebook Page:

Why race in the Mille Miglia Historica? For one thing, because of our record-breaking win at the original race back in 1955; for another, just look at these photos! A rolling display of some of history’s greatest Mercedes-Benz vehicles, stunning scenery and a helping of la dolce vita: that’s what keeps us coming back for more. Here’s just a small sample of the 1000-mile route.

I am a huge fan of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. I visited in 2008 and I always tell people the 6 hours I spent there were not nearly enough! The automotive history is impressive and the vehicles themselves are works of art! It looks like Autoweek had a good time too!

If you take European Delivery of your new Mercedes-Benz we'll buy the tickets!

"The history lesson was welcome and we would have enjoyed the well-planned displays even if the placards didn't make space for English translations."

"Galleries devoted to “voyagers” (buses, touring vehicles and wagons) “carriers” (buses and auto haulers) and “helpers” (fire, police and service vehicles) grabbed our attention as firmly as the Gullwings did, though we never want to see a Unimog as spic-and-span clean as the ones displayed at the museum are ever again."

"We struggled to put a dollar value on the Silver Arrows before us -- $150 million? $250 million? Priceless? -- before resigning ourselves to simply enjoying the banked display setup."

Read the full account at Autoweek online.