Bertha Benz was amazing. She was a rich girl, born into wealth. She chose to marry Karl Benz, a genius inventor with absolutely no business savvy. She bailed out his first company using her own dowry while they were still engaged. She believed in and supported her husband while he tinkered away in his workshop, too timid to bring his product to market.
Bertha was more than just generous and supportive. Like her husband, she understood engineering. Unlike her husband, however, Bertha was not timid. She was confident that his horseless carriage could work, and could sell commercially. One August morning, she hatched a perfect plan.
Sneaking off early in the morning with one of her husband's Patent-Motorwagens, which had never been driven more than a few feet, Bertha charted a course for her mother's house 65 miles away.
Can you imagine the courage and audacity it took for a Victorian-age woman to set off across country, on unpaved roads, on a 65 miles trip? If the car broke down, she would be stranded-- and there was no cell phone reception in those days.
Remember when I said Bertha had engineering savvy, and was amazing? The car did break down a few times, but Bertha knew what to do. When the fuel line clogged, she cleared it with her hatpin. When an ignition wire short-circuited, she used her garter to fix it. When the wooden brakes wore down, she had a cobbler replace them with leather (incidentally inventing brake lining).
Was Bertha's journey a success? Just take a look at our new Mercedes-Benz inventory. What do you think? We've come a long was in the 127 years since Bertha's journey, and we've learned a lot. Like Bertha, we approach the road fearlessly. Take a test drive at our Walnut Creek location. We promise you won't need to unclog anything with your hatpin!
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