So now that DaimlerChrysler no longer owns Chrysler, the German side needed a whole new name to go by. Well, it isn't a whole new name. It's Daimler AG.
But converting to the name wasn't as easy as you might have thought. The new Daimler AG, reports BusinessWeek, had to get permission from Ford to use the Daimler name.
That's right! It seems that Jaguar had acquired the name when it bought Britain's Daimler Motor Company about 50 years ago. And Daimler Motors had the name because they bought the engine license for cars built in England late in the 19th century.
Daimler Motors then became part of the BSA Group which in turn became a part of Jaguar Cars Ltd. in 1960. Then Ford bought Jaguar in 1989.
All of this allows Ford to put some restrictions on Daimler AG, namely (pardon the word play) that the name can be used for trade and corporate purposes but it can't be used to name a car brand (i.e., you won't be seeing any Daimler models on the road or even at the autoshows any time in the future).
The name change is not complete. Shareholders of DaimlerChrysler will have to approve it at a meeting in October.
Our take? Sheesh. Why didn't Daimler AG just call itself Mercedes-Benz and be done with the entire hassle.