“Mercedes-Benz: The Challenge of Building Cars” (Mercedes-Benz: Die Herausforderung Autos zu bauen) is a 1980s color promo film made by Mercedes-Benz that emphasizes the global outlook and high, innovative standards of the company, which aspires to produce “nothing but the best”. The film, which was originally made in German, features narration in English and shots of various Mercedes-Benz models like the Mercedes-Benz C 111-III Diesel record car, Unimog 416 Doka, 914K Meiller 3 SK, W201. Additionally, the film features footage of car development, production, testing, and innovation at Mercedes-Benz plants around the world from Germany to Saudi Arabia.

Opening credits (0:08). Mercedes-Benz design studio, engineers/ designers sketching, montage of various car models: Mercedes-Benz C 111-III Diesel record car, Unimog 416 Doka, 914K Meiller 3 SK, W201 (0:30). Testing cars on racetrack Nardo, Southern Italy (1:29). Assembly line truck factory, testing models: Unimog 416 Doka, 1213 Platform Truck (2:03). Mercedes-Benz compact car series: W201 (190 E Elektro), shots of other compact cars in different settings like ship dock, forest (T-Modell), coastline (perhaps 380 SE) (2:43). Hong Kong: Victoria Harbor, delivery of car to largest Mercedes-Benz dealership in Asia, bustling outdoor produce market, Hong Kong – China border crossing (3:30). Family tours Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen; state-of-the-art machinery, robots (4:30). Computerized system, control station tracking car parts (5:30). Finished cars glisten under factory lights, models chosen at random and put through extensive tests (6:22). Mercedes-Benz Plant Jeddah, KSA truck production (Mercedes-Benz short-bonnet trucks 1924) (6:40). Shots of Mercedes-Benz short-bonnet trucks used for various purposes at new Saudi development along Red Sea (7:23). Quality control, testing of construction and commercial vehicles under different conditions: frost/ ice, sound measuring chamber, mud (7:37). Mobile laboratory drives across Sahara Desert, Algeria (8:29). Servo hydraulic test bench (8:48). Interference holography testing using laser beams (9:27). Founders Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz (9:34). Technological innovation: 1936 Mercedes-Benz Model 260 D (first diesel car), 1951 passenger safety cell, 1954 first fuel injection engine (M186 engine), 1961 disc brakes, 1967 collapsible steering column (9:43). Testing passive, active safety – airbag, tire slitting on bus, skid tests, anti-lock braking system (10:20). Mettingen Plant: casting of engine parts in light alloy, engine testing (11:57). Alternative/ electric engines and fuels: gas turbine, ethanol engine, methanol engine, hybrid methanol petrol drive unit, hydrogen (13:10). Mercedes-Benz 307 D Gyro Bus (14:10). Mercedes trucks parts transported to remote power plant in Norway (14:15). Truck used for logging work in Zaire (today DRC) (14:45). Race cars (280 GE, 1936 AK) battle tough terrain, 1983 Paris-Dakar Rally (15:18). Tests on exhaust emissions, evaluated electronically (16:13). Cars arrive on cargo ship from Germany at port in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Sent to Vehicle Preparation Center (16:45). Mercedes development engineers in meeting at Türkheim office (18:00). Electric, battery powered Mercedes O305 bus (18:38). O-Bahn Busway (19:20). Sindelfingen Plant, young apprentices and trainees at work (19:47). TRASCO mobile lab truck on highway, data helps customers choose right vehicle for them, truck training/ info session (21:34). Sub-suppliers, incoming supplies, undergo quality checks (22:48). Design studio: engineers, designers sketching, creating models; Design research (23:23). 1982 Italeri Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 16v (24:16). 1969 Mercedes-Benz S-Class W111/112 (24:19). 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (24:23). 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K (24:26). 1924 Mercedes-Benz 24/100/140 PS (24:29). 1904 Mercedes Simplex (24:31). 1901 Mercedes Cyprus (24:34). 1886 Benz Motor wagons (4 and 3 wheels) (24:38). Training at customer support center: stickers with countries of origin of trainees: Senegal, Kuwait, Belgium (24:56). Hong Kong Victoria Harbor at night (25:15). Jeddah at dusk (25:43). Mercedes sales employees arriving at work in New York, New Jersey (25:51). Finished cars leave Sindelfingen ready for export, montage scenes of other Mercedes vehicles around the world in various contexts (26:04). Bremen City Hall (28:19). Hockenh

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com