1979

Event18

G-Class premieres

G-Class premieres

5 - 10 February 1979
In Toulon, France, the Mercedes-Benz 460-series cross-country vehicle developed in cooperation with Steyr-Daimler-Puch i...

Gaggenau plant joins in automatic transmission production

6 February 1979
The Gaggenau plant produces its first torque converter for automatic transmissions for passenger cars. It had taken ove...

Vans in Düsseldorf, 201 series in Bremen

21 March 1979
The Supervisory Board of Daimler-Benz AG confirms the plans of the Board of Management to transfer van production from...

10,000th MB-trac

April 1979
The 10,000th MB-trac is completed at the Gaggenau plant.

Record for the C 111-IV: 403.978 km/h

Record for the C 111-IV: 403.978 km/h

5 May 1979
Test engineer Dr Hans Liebold drives a C 111-IV to a new speed record of 403.978 km/h on the Nardò circuit in Italy. He...

Hybrid buses in model test in Stuttgart

Hybrid buses in model test in Stuttgart

8 May 1979
As part of a five-year testing programme, the first four of a total of 13 Mercedes-Benz OE 305 hybrid electric buses wit...

Duo buses in Esslingen: testing in workaday use

Duo buses in Esslingen: testing in workaday use

1 June 1979
Five Mercedes-Benz duo buses based on the O 305 begin a testing programme in regular service in the town of Esslingen. T...

Track-guided buses shown in use

Track-guided buses shown in use

8 June - 1 July 1979
Daimler-Benz gives a practical demonstration of the O-Bahn concept at the International Traffic and Transport Exhibitio...

Apprentices' car: one liter of fuel for 970 kilometers

Apprentices' car: one liter of fuel for 970 kilometers

8 July 1979
Three apprentice teams from Untertürkheim and Sindelfingen take the first three places in the "Kilometre Marathon" at t...

Millionth passenger car in the 123 series

July 1979
In Sindelfingen the one-millionth passenger car of the mid-range 123 series is completed.

Frankfurt: debut of the new S-Class

Frankfurt: debut of the new S-Class

13 - 23 September 1979
The new Mercedes-Benz 280 S, 280 SE, 280 SEL, 380 SE, 380 SEL, 500 SE and 500 SEL 126-series S-Class models are unveiled...

1,284.13 km on a liter of diesel: economy prize for apprentice

1,284.13 km on a liter of diesel: economy prize for apprentice

6/7 October 1979
In the International Fuel Economy Competition in the Swiss town of Veltheim, Untertürkheim apprentice Frank Maier sets a...

Alternative drive systems for 80 test vehicles

Alternative drive systems for 80 test vehicles

28 November 1979
In Berlin, Daimler-Benz AG gives an insight into its activities in the field of alcohol-based fuels. A fleet of 80 Merce...

10,000th W 3D 080 automatic transmission for commercial vehicles produced

November 1979
The 10,000th W 3D 080 automatic transmission for commercial vehicles is produced at the Rastatt sub-plant of the Mercede...

Mercedes-Leasing-GmbH: new name for the leasing business subsidiary

6 December 1979
Mercedes-Leasing-GmbH is created by renaming Mietanlagen Industrievertriebs-GmbH, with the result that its main field o...

Sweep of first four places in African Bandama Rally

Sweep of first four places in African Bandama Rally

9 - 14 December 1979
The Daimler-Benz driver teams of Hannu Mikkola/Arne Hertz, Björn Waldegaard/Hans Thorszelius, Andrew Cowan/Rolf Kaiser a...

Board of Management chairman Zahn retires

Board of Management chairman Zahn retires

31 December 1979
Prof. Joachim Zahn retires after 21 years at the company, 14 of them as Chairman of the Board of Management. On 2 July...

Partial automation of assembly operations

Partial automation of assembly operations

December 1979
Series production of the new 126-series S-Class begins at the Sindelfingen plant, involving a newly introduced part-aut...