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Mention Meredez Benz and the picture that comes to the mind is a rugged and durable car made by Germans; a car with a reputation for matching elegance with rugged reliability.

But have you ever wondered where the name came from? This question would throw up answers inside which lies the root of current efforts made by 21st Century businesses to fous on brand building more than any other market strategy.

The little car first made by a young German engineer with which it shares a name and has since then grown into a major brand whose presene is felt in nearly all the countries of the world including Nigeria.

On the roads, highways or street in Nigeria, hardly would five cars pass without a Benz. But who made that possible in the first place?

This popular car began as an idea in the mind of Karl Benz, a German engineer in 1886 who started his own business at the age of 26. The young would-be entrepreneur was inventive but initially unsuccessful, pursuing vague dreams and teetering on the brink of financial ruin. His vision was of a complete vehicle powered by a machine. Not until he was 42 did his vision become a reality. He vigorously pursued his interest in vehicles - an interest first aroused by the bicycle. Based in his small workshop in Mannheim, he started to develop a vehicle engine. After countless attempts, he succeeded in getting his first two-stroke engine, with a newly developed battery-powered ignition system, to run successfully and goes on to put it into production. He first studied at the Karlsruhe Polytechnical College.

Thereafter, he set up business as Benz & Co. Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik. It is at this point that he began to design a complete vehicle concept in which the engine and chassis form an integrated unit. In 1886, the world's first car - the Benz Patent Motor Car - was born. Another landmark in the career of Benz is the development of the "Contra" engine - the ancestor of today's horizontally opposed engines - in 1896. In 1926 his company, now known as Benz & Cie., merges with the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft [Daimler Motor Company] to become Daimler-Benz AG.

Karl Benz and his wife Betha in Munich "steadfastly and bravely set the sails of renewed hope." In times of despair she was his strength: Bertha Benz. She believed in him and in his invention. Resolutely and decisively, she stood by his side all his life. She helped him persevere in the face of economic crises, financial difficulties and technical setbacks. Without her Karl Benz would probably never have turned his vision into reality.

In 1888 Benz started to advertise his 3-wheeler but the public refused to buy it. It was after his family (his wife and two sons) stole the car one night and drove it from Mannheim to Pforzheim (Approximately 65 miles) that the public became fascinated by it and the Benz started to sell.

But rich people, who should have bought the vehicle, doubted its reliability. The resolute Bertha came up with a grand public relations idea: a woman and two children all alone on a long distance tour. In those times, it was an un-heard of adventure. On an August morning in 1888, while her husband was occupied with other things, Bertha packed up their two sons, aged 14 and 15, swung herself into the driver's seat and drove 100 kilometers on rough roads from Mannheim to Pforzheim near Stuttgart. The expedition arrived just when the sun was setting.

By telegram, she and the boys let the father know that they had successfully completed the first long distance trip in the history of the automobile.

The tale of the unbelievable adventure spread quickly and ignited wild conjectures on who in the world had helped this woman. It was grand publicity, and the business began to thrive.

But as the industry grew and changed, Karl Benz did not. He would have nothing to do with fast-running engines or with vehicles other than motorized horse carriages. Benz & Cie was in danger of losing its world leadership in car building at the turn of the 20th century, but Karl Benz saved the firm again, this time by resigning in 1903.

Benz died in his house in Mannheim 26 years later, three years after his Benz & Cie was joined with Daimler Motorengesellschaft, and 29 years after the death of Gottlieb Daimler, a man he never met. From 1893 Benz then changed his vehicle to a 4-wheeled design (The Benz Viktoria). Benz then later merged with Daimler to become Daimler-Benz. or Mercedes-Benz as most people know of it today, The name "Mercedes" came from one of Daimler's business partners, Emil Jellinek. Emil Jellinek was an Austrian businessman, who had a young daughter, named "Mercedes". He was also an avid car-racer and was known among his circles as "Monsieur Mercedes". In the early 1900s, Jellinek was fascinated by the latest model cars provided by Daimler-Motoren AG, and bought a bunch of them, giving the crucial capital and exposure to different markets. He had two conditions for buying these cars from Daimler: First that he would become sole-agent in the Austrian-Hungary monarchy, France, and US, and secondly, the car would be named after his daughter, Mercedes.

Karl Friedrich Benz was born in 1844 in Baden Muehlburg, Germany (now part of Karlsruhe). He was the son of an engine driver. Benz attended the Karlsruhe grammar school and later the Karlsruhe Polytechnic University. In 1871, He founded his first company with partner August Ritter, the "Iron Foundry and Machine Shop" a supplier of building materials.

He received his first patent in 1879. In 1883, he founded Benz & Company to produce industrial engines in Mannheim, Germany. He then began designing a "motor carriage", with a four-stroke engine (based on Nicolaus Otto's patent). Benz designed his engine (958cc, 0.75hp) and the body for the three-wheel vehicle with an electric ignition, differential gears, and water-cooling. The car was first driven in Mannheim in 1885. On January 29, 1886, he was granted a patent for his gas-fueled automobile (DRP 37435) and in July, he began selling his automobile to the public.

In 1893, the Benz Velo became the world's first inexpensive, mass-produced car. In 1903, Karl Benz retired from Benz & Company; his designs were already outdated by Gottlieb Daimler. He served as a member of the supervisory board of Daimler-Benz AG from 1926, when the company was formed, until his death.

He married Bertha Ringer in 1872, who played an active role in his business, together they had five children. Karl Benz passed away in 1929. Remarkably, in his autobiography Karl Benz wrote: "In those days when our little boat of life threatened to capsize, only one person stood steadfastly by me, my wife. She bravely set new sails of hope." Bertha, the resolute, died aged 95 in 1944.