Japan now gets its own set of badges for loyal Mercedes drivers.
Since the 1960s, Mercedes has acknowledged owners that love their three-point starred cars and put the miles in over time through its High Mileage Program. It has taken a while, but Mercedes has now launched the program in Japan.
In the US, the award milestones are 155,000 miles (250,000 kilometers), 312,000 miles (500,000 kilometers ), 466,000 miles (750,000 kilometers ), 625,000 miles (1,000,000 kilometers), and one million miles (1,610,000 kilometers).
Once the car is verified, Mercedes will issue a specific badge for the noted mileage on the vehicle, a certificate of authenticity, and a letter of appreciation. It's always special when a car reaches one million miles, which is why Toyota replaced a million-mile Highlander lost in Hurricane Ian.
In Japan, Mercedes is now accepting applications, and the mileage intervals to qualify are 100,000, 200,000, 300,000, 500,000, and one million kilometers, then 10, 20, and 30 years of ownership.
It's a lovely touch from Mercedes to acknowledge those that keep their Mercedes models and use them as intended rather than swapping them out for the latest and greatest status symbol every couple of years.
The retro-styled badges are also a nice touch and brunch a touch of old school class to a grille for those that like to display their cars.
"The current Mercedes-Benz High Mileage champ is Gregorios Sachinidis, a Greek taxi driver with a record of more than 2.8 million miles in his 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D," said Mercedes-Benz USA.
However, it's generally acknowledged that he bought the car with over 100,000 miles on it already and swapped the engine several times. The car went to the Mercedes museum in 2004 in exchange for a brand-new C-Class.
According to Mercedes, the latest Benz to pass the 1 million mile mark is a 1970 280SE George and Luzstella Koschel of Orange County, California. The Koschels bought the car new and drove it for 1,019,000 miles, and it now resides in the Mercedes-Benz Museum Collection.
Acura
Alfa Romeo
Aston Martin
Audi
Automobili Pininfarina
Bentley
BMW
Bollinger
BrightDrop
Bugatti
Buick
Cadillac
Caterham
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Dodge
Ferrari
Fiat
Fisker
Ford
Genesis
GMC
Gordon Murray Automotive
Hennessey
Honda
Hyundai
Ineos Automotive
Infiniti
Jaguar
Jeep
Karma
Kia
Koenigsegg
Lamborghini
Land Rover
Lexus
Lincoln
Lordstown
Lotus
Lucid Motors
Maserati
Mazda
McLaren
Mercedes-Benz
Mini
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Pagani
Polestar
Porsche
Ram
Rimac
Rivian
Rolls-Royce
Spyker
Subaru
Tesla
Toyota
VinFast
Volkswagen
Volvo
Join The Discussion