Mercedes-Benz Club to Mark 50th Anniversary

Route 66 Tour and Commemorative Book Highlight Celebration

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Nov. 1 -- The Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA), the largest Mercedes-Benz club in the world, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2006 with a number of events, including a June Jamboree in New Jersey, where the club was founded in 1956.

The MBCA is planning a Route 66 Tour scheduled to begin in Chicago on September 16 and end in California two weeks later at the Mercedes-Benz USA Classic Center in Irvine. In addition, MBCA will publish a hardcover commemorative book featuring 50 years of photographs, historical records and member stories. A series of MBCA-organized European Tours will include a pilgrimage to the new Mercedes-Benz Museum at their headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

With its national headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, MBCA counts more than 20,000 members in North America. More than 80 local sections range from about 50 to 1,600 members. Regional and local section events include defensive driving and track driving schools, autocross and track competition, on-road rallies, concours-type car shows and a wide variety of social events.

MBCA President Richard Simonds said, "Our 50th anniversary year is an especially exciting time to join MBCA. Membership in the Club always adds another dimension to the Mercedes-Benz ownership experience, no matter what kind of Mercedes-Benz you drive, and no matter what your age or interests."

More than a third of MBCA members drive Mercedes-Benz vehicles less than five years old. Fifteen percent drive classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles that are 21-30 years old, and eighteen percent own classics 31-plus years old.

Many Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts join MBCA to enjoy The Star magazine that is included with the $45 annual dues. Published bi-monthly, The Star features articles and photography by notable automotive journalists and photographers and also serves as a marketplace for members' vehicles.

In 2000, MBCA's Educational Foundation began awarding a $1,000 scholarship at the McPherson College Automotive Restoration Department in McPherson, Ks. The first scholarship winner, Nate Lander, interned at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Germany and now works for the MBUSA Classic Center in Irvine, Calif.

Although the Mercedes-Benz Club of America is not an affiliate of Mercedes-Benz USA or DaimlerChrysler AG, the Club does enjoy the unique position of being sanctioned by MBUSA. A company representative serves as a liaison in support of the club's activities and business affairs.

History: The New Jersey and Chicago Connection

In 1955, Dr. Milton J. Allen of Summit, N.J. petitioned Daimler-Benz in Stuttgart for permission to use the name and trademark to form a club. At the same time, a group of Chicago members of the British Mercedes-Benz Club formed its own organization. Both groups were chartered in 1956. The Easterners were joined by a newly formed Western group, received factory sanction and grew to 500 members in 19 states by 1957. In 1959, they merged with the Midwestern group, forming a national club.

For more information, go to http://www.mbca.org/.