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Mercedes-Benz is always looking for ways to give money to charities and increase the quality of life for those less fortunate. The Mercedes Kids Marathon in Alabama was just the latest example of the goodwill that the company likes to show.

The automaker designed this good-natured race as a way to benefit the Children’s Hospital. More than 3,300 area children of all ages throughout elementary school went to Birmingham to participate in the marathon. Even the little ones that were too young to run by themselves had a little help from their parents or older siblings.

The marathoners couldn’t have asked for better weather for the event, either. The sun was shining, and it was a mild day that made the marathon even more fun. The weather also brought out more people than in previous years, including schoolteachers, coaches and many others. Older children began the race around 10:00 AM, and the youngest ones began an hour later.

The Mercedes Kids Marathon was only one mile long, but it was a great workout for the children. And the children did end up running an entire marathon, but that’s because they ran between one-half mile and a mile a day since October. The parents or school officials would keep track of their mileage until it got up to 25.2 miles overall.

At the end of the race, each child received a medal with the iconic Mercedes-Benz star. But Peyton Gilliland was the star of the race as he completed the mile in just under five minutes and 30 seconds. He even beat his second-place time from last year’s race.

All in all, it was a spirit-lifting event that raised awareness and funds for the Children’s Hospital. It’s just another way that Mercedes-Benz cares for its customers and the community as a whole.

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If you didn’t get out to visit the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2008 at the beginning of this month, you missed a lot. It wasn’t all about the cars or the new innovations in the auto industry in recent years. It was a “coming together” of some of the biggest names in fashion from all over the world at one event.

The Baby Phat brand name is just one of the more recognizable monikers you would’ve seen at the show. A full line of outfits and designs by Baby Phat’s Kimora Lee Simmons graced some leggy and beautiful models on the runway at the prestigious Roseland Ballroom in New York City. You probably wouldn’t recognize the names of the models showcasing the avant garde clothing, but you may have been slightly star-struck by some of the faces that were in the front row. Tyra Banks, Vivica A. Fox, Victoria Silverstedt and several others watched as Baby Phat’s latest designs pranced on the runway.

But one of the big stories is the designer herself. Kimora Lee Simmons is half-African-American mixed with one-quarter Japanese and one-quarter Korean ethnicities. She began modeling informally at the age of 11 and received her first modeling contract at age 13 with Chanel. Less than a year later, she went to Paris,  one of the fashion design capitals of the world , and began working under world-renowned designer Karl Lagerfeld.

Kimora began Baby Phat clothing in 1999. Since then, she has also introduced two new and decadent fragrances for women: Goddess and Golden Goddess. She also stars in her own reality TV series entitled Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane.

If you don’t want to miss this kind of talent again, start making plans now to attend next year’s Fashion Week. There are always exciting events in store each year that are sure to please anybody. See your local Mercedes-Benz dealer for the latest information about other events in the upcoming year, too!

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Mercedes-Benz has enjoyed a string of record-breaking sales records. This past January is not any different.

At the end of December 2007, the luxury automaker reported its 14th straight year in which the company’s sales increased over the previous year. And if January 2008 is any indication of this year’s sales, the officials will be making a similar report at the end of this December.

Last month, Mercedes-Benz dealers sold a total of 18,275 new vehicles to customers that couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel of one of the new models. That figure is a 7.1-percent increase over January 2007’s sales. That is not only a big gain but also the best January sales figures in MB’s history.

Mercedes has several of its model lineups to thank for the increased sales last month. Consumers were clamoring to get the new and improved SUV models as well as the company’s coupes and convertibles. Sales for Mercedes-Benz’s SUVs rose by more than 23 percent over last January. That’s a sales increase of more than 1,000 units in SUV models alone!

But those weren’t the most impressive figures from the lots. The M-Class sales enjoyed the largest increase, with more than 37 percent. Last January, consumers only purchased 2,351 of these models. In January 2008, the dealerships sold more than 3,230 M-Class units.

Other models that fueled the sales increase include the CLK-Class (up 19.1 percent), SL-Class (up 5.4  percent) and the SLK-Class (up 21.2 percent).  The Mercedes-Benz CPO Program also sold more quality used vehicles in January 2008 than it did last year, but that increase was less than one-half percent.

Visit your local Mercedes-Benz dealer today and see what’s getting so many car owners to invest in one of these luxury vehicles. Once you take one for a test drive, you’ll see why the company’s sales continue to increase after all these years.

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If you’re an American Express cardholder, you may have enjoyed the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week with a few extra perks. Last month, the AmEx company announced that it was once again giving select customers exclusive events and activities during the week-long celebration of some of the best and most recognized brand names in the world.

American Express hopes that its efforts  created a connection between cardholders and some of the lesser-known names in the fashion design industry. AmEx has been a strong supporter of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and has even donated $500,000 to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund (CVFF). This particular fund helps talented designers who have been trying to “break” into the business. It also helps some smaller fashion designers continue their success in the industry.

According to Claire Bennett, Senior Vice President of Advertising, Marketing and Media for American Express, the company’s cardholders are “passionate about fashion.” To cater to that passion, AmEx is consistently trying to find ways to connect them to the fashion industry. Last week’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was one of the best ways to accomplish this.

Here are just a few things select AmEx cardholders had the option of enjoying exclusively:

• An American Express Skybox that overlooks the Promenade and the Main Tent areas
• “By Invitation Only” experiences that include meet-and-greets, full access to the Skybox and behind-the-scenes tours (these tickets sold out by the end of December)
• A “Card Member Only” Fashion Show that includes an exclusive look at Peter Som’s Collection.
• . . . and much more!

But even if you left home without your American Express card, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was a great event for everybody to enjoy. If you missed it this year, be sure to save the date for it next year.

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The Mercedes-Benz iconic three-pointed star is one of the most recognizable auto symbols among consumers. But did you know that realtors who show up with a Benz when showing a house have a higher chance of making the sale?

It’s true. Based on a concept called “behavioral economics,” consumers make buying decisions as a result of their emotions as well as their logical thought processes. When they see their real estate agents drive up in a Mercedes-Benz for their appointments, it instills a sense of success in the potential homebuyers and gives them more confidence in their agents.

As a matter of fact, I’ve known a few realtors in my day–some more successful than others. And I’ve witnessed some of the less successful ones rent a luxury vehicle like a Mercedes when they had an important appointment with a huge client. The bigger the house, the nicer the cars they would rent. And more often than not, they made the sales just by driving status symbols to the appointment.

According to this real estate blog, this happens for several reasons:

• It makes homebuyers think that the realtor is so successful that there are probably several others interested in a particular property.
• A real estate agent can make the home seem more desirable by inflating the price a bit.
• Many consumers try to “keep up with the Joneses.” When they see somebody else owning nice things (such as a Mercedes-Benz), they want to own equally nice or nicer things.

So the next time a realtor drives a luxury vehicle to an appointment with you, don’t take it at face value. It could just be a marketing tool used to influence your decision.

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Mercedes-Benz of Canada and Sirius Canada Inc. have teamed up to offer factory-installed satellite radios in several of the luxury carmaker’s latest models. If you’re planning on buying one of the following models in the new 2008 lineup, you’ll have Sirius radio as a standard option:

• E-Class
• S-Class
• CL-Class
• CLS-Class
• SL-Class
• ML-Class
• R-Class
• GL-Class
• C350 and C350 4MATIC models
• All AMG models

Other models also include the option of adding factory-installed Sirius Satellite Radio for just a small fee.

Some models will also include a complimentary six-month subscription to the popular satellite service. Maybach models include a lifetime subscription. You can’t get much nicer than that!

The President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada had this to say about the new partnership: “For our customers, the Mercedes-Benz experience will be further enhanced by the unique programming and wide range of exclusive content that Sirius offers.” If you’re unfamiliar with the programs the satellite service offers exclusively to its subscribers, you might enjoy some of the following:

• Commercial-free music
• Various talk stations, ranging from financial news to sports
• Howard Stern
• Several stations dedicated to comedy
• Martha Stewart
• . . . and many others!

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If you’re like me, several companies and brands come to mind when somebody mentions the word “luxury.” For hotels, I think of the Hilton or the Ritz Carlton. For clothes, I think of Bloomingdale’s or Macy’s. And when it comes to water, I think of Evian.

That’s probably why Evian water is part of the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week going on right now. But it’s not just any plain ol’ water from Evian. The bottle featured at the illustrious event is the creation of French fashion designer Christian LaCroix. And to make it even more impressive, the design is a limited edition that you can only find in some of the more upscale nightclubs and restaurants around the nation.

The prestigious bottled-water company began producing Evian in 1826. It marketed the drink as the world’s #1 brand of bottled spring water because every drop flows for 15 years through the French Alps. According to the company’s press release, the brand “provides a uniquely balanced mineral composition and subtle flavor as a product of its unhurried journey.” Evian entered the North American market in 1978 and began sponsoring the MB Fashion Week in 1993, taking a few years off after 10 consecutive seasons.

The Vice President of Marketing for Evian North America, Jeff Caldwell, said the bottled-water company is happy to resume its relationship with the MB Fashion Week, as both brands are widely known to be preferred by even the most discerning customers. He went on to say that the Fashion Week is “the industry’s pinnacle event and exactly where we want to be as we continue to integrate ourselves throughout the fashion community.”

Evian was also the first company to sponsor the New York-based Fashion Week, making the relationship between the two brands even more special.

Is there really any better company to align your brand with than Mercedes-Benz?

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Whether or not you agree with the premise that humans create and worsen global warming, it’s difficult to dispute the fact that air pollution is harmful. It’s also downright annoying. In Los Angeles, for example, you can’t even see a clear view of the sky because of the air pollution and smog.

That’s why Mercedes-Benz is leading the way in making cleaner vehicles, especially in the SUV market. The company’s production plant in Japan will be rolling out the ML 320 Bluetech later in the year. This SUV has a diesel engine that runs cleaner and produces fewer emissions than many of the current models on the market.

Mercedes-Benz is the first company to sell vehicles with a diesel engine in Japan. Much like North American drivers, Japan’s motorists still hold on to the stigma that a diesel engine is typically loud and dirty. We’re beginning to see that this isn’t always the case, but it will probably take some time over there because Japanese drivers are just now being introduced to the concept of a cleaner, quieter diesel engine.

The new ML 320 cuts the amount of emissions by about 80 percent, thus meeting the standards of Europe, Japan and the United States. If the luxury automaker can get its message across to Japanese drivers, the diesel model is likely to be one of the more exciting releases in the nation in quite some time.

In order to get the word out, though, Mercedes-Benz released 10 of these cleaner models to a Tokyo taxi service to generate publicity. This was the first time a Japanese taxi company used eco-friendly vehicles. If the concept catches on and the attitude toward diesel engines continues to change, more consumers will likely embrace the eco-friendly technology.

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January was the month for reporting sales records for automakers. And, as several years before it, 2007 was a great year for Mercedes-Benz.

Even in South Africa, Mercedes is creating impressive sales records with the country’s commercial vehicle division. Last year, the automaker reported selling 8,622 of its commercial units, an increase of nearly two percent from 2006. The number also represents more than 23 percent of the overall market share.

The Mercedes truck market in South Africa also reported a large increase in sales. In 2007, truck sales increased by more than 12 percent over 2006 with 37,069 units sold. That’s an increase of almost 4,000 units from the previous year. An increase like that is a definitive sign that the Mercedes truck division is doing something right.

Mercedes-Benz divisional manager Kobus van Zyl is excited about the results, especially as the commercial vehicle market has become “extremely buoyant with a number of new competitors” fighting for customers.

When asked about the reason for the increasing success in the South African market, van Zyl cited the company’s close relationship with dealerships all over the country. Without that relationship, the Benz sales would likely be much less impressive than they have been during the last few years.

Van Zyl went on to say that the company will continue to “look forward to 2008 and remain bullish for increased sales as our various programmes unfold.” With this commitment to the future, it’s easy to see why Mercedes-Benz continues to be a worldwide leader in everything it creates.

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Everybody knows that owning a Mercedes-Benz is a status symbol throughout North America. But did you know the luxury automaker’s popularity is spreading worldwide?

When the MB dealers in Southeast Asia and India released their sales figures for 2007, they showed that people in the region also choose a Benz when given the option. Nearly 17,500 people there bought one of these luxury vehicles in 2007, up from about 14,000 the year before. Here is a breakdown of the sales increase percentages by individual countries in the region:

• Malaysia: 14 percent
• Thailand: 15 percent
• Indonesia: 84 percent
• Vietnam: 60 percent
• Singapore: 22 percent
• India: 13 percent
• Southeast Asia: 23

The parent company of Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, is very excited about these figures and expects sales to increase even more than they have in recent years. The company plans to build upon the existing popularity and increase sales by offering better and newer models in the upcoming years.

What’s even more impressive about these figures is that each Mercedes model increased in sales. The S-Class, E-Class and even the new C-Class showed extremely strong increases over the previous year’s figures. 

Worldwide sales for some of Mercedes-Benz’s models have also increased. With the recent introduction of the Smart Car and the Maybach model, the company was able to set a worldwide record with 1,285,900 sales in 2007 alone.

With these and other record-setting figures all over the world, there’s really no end in sight for the future of Mercedes-Benz.

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