Benz vs. BMW: A Century of Out-Inventing Each Other
A timeline of automotive ingenuity.
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In March, BMW marked its centennial—and a century of technological rivalry with Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz. In newspaper ads, Benz, which can lay claim to having invented the car in 1886, congratu-mocked its Bavarian archenemy: “Thanks for 100 years of competition. The 30 years before that were a little dull.” That’s like M-B doing doughnuts on BMW’s driveway. Here, a timeline of the two companies trading pole position for automotive supremacy.
1886: Karl Benz creates the Patent-Motorwagen, widely accepted to be the first automobile.