The 100th birthday of the automobile in 1986 and its association with the history of Daimler-Benz AG, its founders and predecessor companies, provided the company with a welcome opportunity to present the two volumes "Die Technik" and "Das Unternehmen" ("The technology and engineering" and "The company"). While the technical development of Mercedes-Benz automobiles and the history of individual production plants of Daimler-Benz AG had already been the subject of historical portrayals, the second volume was unable to draw on any existing historical works. Both volumes are the work of renowned independent journalists Manfred Barthel, Gerold Lingnau and Max Kruk, who have proven the right choice to pen the first systematic portrayal of corporate and product policy in concise and easy-to-read form. As such, the two volumes document the history of the depicted period while also serving as a rich source of all kinds of information on Daimler-Benz AG and its forerunners.