You've always heard about the rivalry between luxury car manufacturers and the three names that are always in the news - BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. This rivalry in fact goes beyond who trumps who in the automobile market, but you see them want to grab the top spot when it comes to racing too. Mind you, they acknowledge it too. We've seen them taking jabs at each other every time and the proof is in the billboards.
The ad wars have taken things to a whole new level and even Jaguar has been entangled in this rivalry but one thing that all these manufacturers have for each other is respect. Respect for the rich history they share which is where we see the camaraderie between them. In conjunction with BMW's 100th anniversary this year, the Mercedes-Benz Museum has offered its congratulations. They've gone to the extent of inviting BMW employees to visit the museum in Stuttgart - with no admission charges between March 8 and 13, 2016.
Mercedes-Benz in fact has gone to the extent of saying that those who arrive in a BMW will be allowed to park and there will be no parking fees charged either and will get a prominent position directly outside the entrance on the hill. You might think this will be a rare spectacle, but there are a lot of classic BMW vehicles that visit the museum at the 'Cars & Coffee' classic car meetings. These meetings beckon cars from different manufacturers and it's all about understanding the cars and their heritage.
Additionally, the museum has issued a special invitation to the first 50 BMW employees who arrive: following their tour of the exhibition, they are invited to enjoy a Swabian speciality citing the double kidney shape of the signature BMW radiator grille.
"We warmly congratulate the globally renowned company BMW on its anniversary and invite all employees of BMW AG to discover the complete history of the automobile at the Mercedes-Benz Museum," said Ralf Glaser, Head of Press and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Classic. "The unique exhibition at our museum, which opened at its new location ten years ago, takes visitors throughout the history of the automobile from its earliest beginnings - always in the context of the given historical and cultural background and contemporary innovative developments."
Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) was founded in Munich 100 years ago and the brand was born 30 years before Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invented the automobile independently of one another in 1886 and it's nice to see Mercedes-Benz join in to celebrate this milestone of a year with a rival. No hard feelings eh!
