Mercedes Benz

Preview December 2008

PREVIEW OF ANNIVERSARIES 2008

December 16, 1883 – 125 years ago: Gottlieb Daimler files patent applications, first for his “gas engine with hot-tube ignition” and a week later for the “regulation of engine speed through exhaust valve control”. The two patents, registered on August 4 and 27, 1884, under references DRP 28022 and DRP 28243, respectively, provide the basis for the world's first high-speed internal combustion engine.


December 9, 1953 – 55 years ago: On the occasion of a Fire Brigades’ Convention, Daimler-Benz presents the TLF 15/36 TA pump water tender, the first Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle to be powered by a diesel engine with exhaust-gas turbocharger. The OM 312 A develops 85 kW (115 hp) – 18 kW (25 hp) more than the naturally-aspirated engine on which it is based. (more about the history of Mercedes-Benz fire fighting vehicles:1,2,3,4,5,6)

December 1968 – 40 years ago: Production of the first Mercedes-Benz O 305 standard regular-service bus gets underway at the Mannheim plant. This ushered in a new era in bus manufacture at Daimler-Benz, with touring coaches and city buses leading separate lives from then on.

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