Replacing the horse with automobile technology is unpatriotic! It's heresy!
These were the attitudes held by the Kaiser and the church of Germany, where Karl Benz was hard at work building a "horseless carriage." Karl had already embarrassed himself in public, when a driver lost control and crashed into a wall at a demonstration.
No wonder Karl Benz was so hesitant to unveil his latest creation, Patent-Motorwagen No. 3. He locked himself away in his workshop, and would likely have gone bankrupt without his wife's support. She hatched a plan that would give Karl the confidence he needed in his machine, and show the public how useful an automobile could be.
Traveling 65 miles, Bertha showed people in every village she travelled through how easily one could commute long distances without a horse that needed to stop for rest and water.
Requests poured in, and within a few years, Karl Benz was selling over 600 cars per year. Almost 130 years later, and Mercedes-Benz is still going strong. Just look at the diverse and luxurious lineup of Mercedes-Benz vehicles we have to offer at W.I. Simonson.
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