Carl Benz built his business upon his wife’s money. His business was built upon her marketing.
On 5 August 1885, Bertha Benz gathered her two teenage sons and took Carl’s Patent-Motorwagen for a 100-kilometre spin. The three daughters were too young and wouldn’t have fitted the three-seater anyway.
Bertha bought her petrol – the petroleum fraction ligroin – from a chemist along the way, cleared a blocked fuel line with her hat pin, and gave up her garter for insulation. A cobbler lined the worn wooden brakes with leather. Bertha – or perhaps the boys, who had to push the car uphill – convinced Carl to install a further gear. All in all, she demonstrated the importance of a test drive and of marketing. It was the first time an automobile had gone serious distance.
