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If the Germans decide to use the Name Daimler AG it is not at all clear how the British historic use of the name Daimler will be affected. The history, (edited mainly from Wikipedia, Mercedes literature and elsewhere) is interesting.
Since 1896, Daimler has been the motor car marque of the British Daimler Motor Company, based in Coventry. The company was a subsidiary of BSA from 1910 up until 1960, when it became part of Jaguar and the brand was used for their luxury models. It is now a subsidiary of the Premier Automotive Group, making it part of Ford.
Sadly, today, there is only one model, the Daimler Super Eight.
How is it that the name Daimler is used by both British and German companies? In fact, the history of both companies can be traced back to the German engineer Gottlieb Daimler, who patented an engine design in the late 19th century. He built, with Wilhelm Maybach, the first motorcycle in 1885 and built the first 4-wheeled car in 1889. This was the origin of the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft ("Daimler Motors Company") which built cars from the 1890s onwards and sold licenses of its designs and patents to others.
The licence granted to the British Daimler Motor Company included the right to use the Daimler name in Great Britain. Gottlieb Daimler died in 1900, having sold licences to use the Daimler name in a number of countries.
AND THEN CAME MERCEDES. Emil Jellinek had legal problems selling German Daimlers in France and put it to Daimler Germany that he would put in a large order if they would make a car to order for him bearing his daughter's name, which was ‘Mercedes’. These cars proved enormously popular. Daimler Germany now realised the problem of having sold licences to use the Daimler name, and to avoid any further confusion and licensing troubles, the name Mercedes was adopted for all the cars built by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft itself, in 1902, while the name Daimler was last used for a German built car in 1908.
In 1924, the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft merged with Karl Benz's Benz & Cie. to form the Daimler-Benz car company which built Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks and agreed to remain together until 2000. In 1998 Daimler-Benz took over the Chrysler Corporation to form DaimlerChrysler.
History of the British Company
The UK patent rights to the Gottlieb Daimler's engine were purchased in 1893 by Frederick Simms, who formed a new company, the "Daimler Motor Syndicate". In 1896 Simms and Harry Lawson moved into car production in the city of Coventry as the "Daimler Motor Company".
Known as Britain's oldest marque, Daimler became the official transportation of Royalty in 1898, after the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, was given a ride in a Daimler by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. Scott-Montagu, as a Member of Parliament, also drove a Daimler into the yard of the British Parliament, the first motorized vehicle to be driven there. Every British monarch from Edward VII to the current Queen have been driven in Daimler limousines although, in 1950, after a transmission failure on the King's car, Rolls-Royce was commissioned as the Royal Primary Carriage, Daimler being reduced to 'second fiddle'.
Since 1907, the fluted radiator grille has been the Daimler marque's distinguishing feature..
From 1910 it was part of Birmingham's BSA group of companies, producing military vehicles as well as cars.
In addition to cars, Daimler produced engines for the very first tanks ever built in 1914 ("Little Willie" and "Big Willie"), a scout army vehicle, engines used in aeroplanes, ambulances, trucks, and double-decker buses. In late 1920s, it, together with Associated Equipment Company, formed the Associated Daimler Company to build commercial vehicles.
In 1930 Daimler, through BSA, took over Lanchester Motor Company, which had the distinction of having been the maker of Britain's first production car. My grandfather owned a Lanchester in the 1950’s and I remember riding in it as a child. Marvellous car.
During World War II, Daimler production was geared to military vehicles. After that war, Daimler produced the Ferret armoured car, a military reconnaissance vehicle, which has been used by over 36 countries.
Daimler struggled after the War, producing too many models with short runs and limited production, and frequently selling too few of each model, while Jaguar seemed to know what the public wanted and expanded rapidly.
Jaguar and British Leyland
In 1960, the Daimler name was acquired by Jaguar and in 1966 Jaguar merged with the British Motor Corporation, the masters of badge-engineering, to form British Motor Holdings (BMH). Not surprisingly, except for the Daimler DS420 Limousine introduced in 1968 and withdrawn from production in 1992, subsequent vehicles were badge-engineered Jaguars, given a more luxurious finish. For example the Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas was a Jaguar XJ-12 with the Daimler badge and fluted grille and boot handle the only outward differences from the Jaguar.
During that period, Daimler became the second-largest (after Leyland) double-decker bus manufacturer in Britain, with the "Fleetline" model. At the same time, Daimler made trucks and motorhomes.
BMH merged with the Leyland Motor Corporation to give the British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968. Production of Daimler buses in Coventry ceased in 1973. The Daimler marque stayed within BLMC and its subsequent forms until 1982, at which point Jaguar (and Daimler) went their own way and the Austin Rover Group went the other.
In 1989 the Ford Motor Company took over Jaguar and with it the right to use the Daimler name. In 1992, Daimler stopped production of the DS420 Limousine, the only model that was not just a re-badged Jaguar. In 1996 Jaguar Cars produced a "Daimler Century" model to celebrate 100 years of motoring.
The name 'Daimler' continued to be used to determine top-line XJ Jaguars (in every country except the USA, where the top line XJ was (and still is) known as the 'XJ Vanden Plas', as the company feared that the American market would confuse Jaguar Daimler with DaimlerChrysler ) until 2002, when, with the arrival of the new Mk. III XJ, the Daimler name (seen on the Mk. II XJ as the 'Daimler V8') ceased to be used to mark out the top models, with the 'Jaguar Super V8' the new flagship model. Now, Daimler is back with the new 'Super Eight' model, and there are rumours that Jaguar may be designing a successor to the DS420 Limousine.
In July 2005, after a three-year hiatus, a new Daimler, the Super Eight, was presented, with a 4.2 L V8 supercharged engine. (see thumbnail).
A Daimler Limousine was the Queen Mother’s favorite car and the funeral of Princess Diana featured a convoy of Daimler DS420 hearses and limousines and a Daimler hearse was used for the Queen Mother’s funeral as well.The Queen's own car for personal use is a 2002 Daimler V8 Supercharged (based on the MkII XJ).
Since 1896, Daimler has been the motor car marque of the British Daimler Motor Company, based in Coventry. The company was a subsidiary of BSA from 1910 up until 1960, when it became part of Jaguar and the brand was used for their luxury models. It is now a subsidiary of the Premier Automotive Group, making it part of Ford.
Sadly, today, there is only one model, the Daimler Super Eight.
How is it that the name Daimler is used by both British and German companies? In fact, the history of both companies can be traced back to the German engineer Gottlieb Daimler, who patented an engine design in the late 19th century. He built, with Wilhelm Maybach, the first motorcycle in 1885 and built the first 4-wheeled car in 1889. This was the origin of the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft ("Daimler Motors Company") which built cars from the 1890s onwards and sold licenses of its designs and patents to others.
The licence granted to the British Daimler Motor Company included the right to use the Daimler name in Great Britain. Gottlieb Daimler died in 1900, having sold licences to use the Daimler name in a number of countries.
AND THEN CAME MERCEDES. Emil Jellinek had legal problems selling German Daimlers in France and put it to Daimler Germany that he would put in a large order if they would make a car to order for him bearing his daughter's name, which was ‘Mercedes’. These cars proved enormously popular. Daimler Germany now realised the problem of having sold licences to use the Daimler name, and to avoid any further confusion and licensing troubles, the name Mercedes was adopted for all the cars built by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft itself, in 1902, while the name Daimler was last used for a German built car in 1908.
In 1924, the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft merged with Karl Benz's Benz & Cie. to form the Daimler-Benz car company which built Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks and agreed to remain together until 2000. In 1998 Daimler-Benz took over the Chrysler Corporation to form DaimlerChrysler.
History of the British Company
The UK patent rights to the Gottlieb Daimler's engine were purchased in 1893 by Frederick Simms, who formed a new company, the "Daimler Motor Syndicate". In 1896 Simms and Harry Lawson moved into car production in the city of Coventry as the "Daimler Motor Company".
Known as Britain's oldest marque, Daimler became the official transportation of Royalty in 1898, after the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, was given a ride in a Daimler by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. Scott-Montagu, as a Member of Parliament, also drove a Daimler into the yard of the British Parliament, the first motorized vehicle to be driven there. Every British monarch from Edward VII to the current Queen have been driven in Daimler limousines although, in 1950, after a transmission failure on the King's car, Rolls-Royce was commissioned as the Royal Primary Carriage, Daimler being reduced to 'second fiddle'.
Since 1907, the fluted radiator grille has been the Daimler marque's distinguishing feature..
From 1910 it was part of Birmingham's BSA group of companies, producing military vehicles as well as cars.
In addition to cars, Daimler produced engines for the very first tanks ever built in 1914 ("Little Willie" and "Big Willie"), a scout army vehicle, engines used in aeroplanes, ambulances, trucks, and double-decker buses. In late 1920s, it, together with Associated Equipment Company, formed the Associated Daimler Company to build commercial vehicles.
In 1930 Daimler, through BSA, took over Lanchester Motor Company, which had the distinction of having been the maker of Britain's first production car. My grandfather owned a Lanchester in the 1950’s and I remember riding in it as a child. Marvellous car.
During World War II, Daimler production was geared to military vehicles. After that war, Daimler produced the Ferret armoured car, a military reconnaissance vehicle, which has been used by over 36 countries.
Daimler struggled after the War, producing too many models with short runs and limited production, and frequently selling too few of each model, while Jaguar seemed to know what the public wanted and expanded rapidly.
Jaguar and British Leyland
In 1960, the Daimler name was acquired by Jaguar and in 1966 Jaguar merged with the British Motor Corporation, the masters of badge-engineering, to form British Motor Holdings (BMH). Not surprisingly, except for the Daimler DS420 Limousine introduced in 1968 and withdrawn from production in 1992, subsequent vehicles were badge-engineered Jaguars, given a more luxurious finish. For example the Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas was a Jaguar XJ-12 with the Daimler badge and fluted grille and boot handle the only outward differences from the Jaguar.
During that period, Daimler became the second-largest (after Leyland) double-decker bus manufacturer in Britain, with the "Fleetline" model. At the same time, Daimler made trucks and motorhomes.
BMH merged with the Leyland Motor Corporation to give the British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968. Production of Daimler buses in Coventry ceased in 1973. The Daimler marque stayed within BLMC and its subsequent forms until 1982, at which point Jaguar (and Daimler) went their own way and the Austin Rover Group went the other.
In 1989 the Ford Motor Company took over Jaguar and with it the right to use the Daimler name. In 1992, Daimler stopped production of the DS420 Limousine, the only model that was not just a re-badged Jaguar. In 1996 Jaguar Cars produced a "Daimler Century" model to celebrate 100 years of motoring.
The name 'Daimler' continued to be used to determine top-line XJ Jaguars (in every country except the USA, where the top line XJ was (and still is) known as the 'XJ Vanden Plas', as the company feared that the American market would confuse Jaguar Daimler with DaimlerChrysler ) until 2002, when, with the arrival of the new Mk. III XJ, the Daimler name (seen on the Mk. II XJ as the 'Daimler V8') ceased to be used to mark out the top models, with the 'Jaguar Super V8' the new flagship model. Now, Daimler is back with the new 'Super Eight' model, and there are rumours that Jaguar may be designing a successor to the DS420 Limousine.
In July 2005, after a three-year hiatus, a new Daimler, the Super Eight, was presented, with a 4.2 L V8 supercharged engine. (see thumbnail).
A Daimler Limousine was the Queen Mother’s favorite car and the funeral of Princess Diana featured a convoy of Daimler DS420 hearses and limousines and a Daimler hearse was used for the Queen Mother’s funeral as well.The Queen's own car for personal use is a 2002 Daimler V8 Supercharged (based on the MkII XJ).
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