Mercedes-Benz Museum:

Besides Porsche, Stuttgart is also home to Mercedes-Benz (Nowdays part of the Daimler-Chrysler conglomeration). Their prescence is widely felt here, and even the main train station tower is topped by the 3-pointed star. Near their main production plant, there is a world-class museum that just opened earlier this summer.

Although I am not usually a big fan of modern achitecture, I was impressed by this 8-story building. It is in the shape of a rounded triange, with a huge open space at the core and the galleries housed in the lobes. The path through the museum starts at the top, then spirals down in a very organic manner, always with views of the next galleries from above. Both the interior and the exterior are characterized by broad, sweeping curves that just flow nicely throughout the building.

Mercedes-Benz Museum

By no means can I cover all the amazing exhibits (I spent nearly 4 hours there), but I'll try to concisely hit some of the highlights. Every visitor is given a PDA/headphone set that can download info from specific exhibits and introduce an exhibit when you walk in. It was like a tour guide that only talks when you want, about the things you want. It was nice.

Anyhow, Daimler and Benz both independently developed a "horseless carraige" within a few months and a few miles of each other around 1875. It wasn't until the post WW1 era that the two companies merged. In the early years, they fitted their new, light gas engine to everthing: Bicycles, boats, some early balloons, and of course carraiges and streetcars. Impeccably restored examples of all were on display.

As I worked my way down the spiral, I progressed through the decades and eras. Displays of world events between galleries completed the timeline effect. As to be expected, there were many rare and impeccable models... with guards well interspersed through the galleries. They had three examples of the rare and extrodinarily beautiful 300sl, which is my all-time favorite Mercedes.

In no way was the museum limited to just cars. Everything Mercedes has made, from trucks, busses, fire engines, car transporters, and snow plows, to bicycles, pope-mobiles and Dinosaur-proof SUV's (the Lost World) was represented. Of course the company's racing history was on display as well, with a sweeping "race track" holding 30+ models from many different series over the entire course of its history. Of interest to me were cutaways of an (actual) 1960's race car and a modern F1 car. My, how design philosophies have changed!

To round things out, they had several recent concept cars on display and a good technical exhibit of the processes used to make some of the parts (also of interest to me as an engineer). Back on the ground floor was a sales lot of sorts ("investigate" our current models, too!), but they had an SLR Mclaren ($450,000 dollar supercar) on display, so it was worth going by. Overall, I was very impressed with the museum and would recommend it to everyone... not just car nuts!