Papal Visit Set Zetsche On His Road To Damascus

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

If it weren’t for a Papal visit, Dr. Z may never have come to know Mercedes-Benz.

A brief article in Automotive New s mentions M-B boss Dieter Zetsche’s first encounter with a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which ultimately led him to the company that he is now CEO of

During the launch of the new S class in Hamburg last night, Zetsche said what he remembers most from a pastoral visit that Pope Paul VI made to the area where he was living as a young man was the Mercedes that his holiness was being driven in.

Mercedes’ top-of-the-line model wasn’t known as the S class at that time, which didn’t matter to Zetsche. He said he knew right then and there that he had to figure out a way to someday get behind the wheel of a car like that, “without having to become pope.”

As far as Popes go, Paul VI is a fairly controversial figure for some Catholics. I always thought the faux-Idi Amin S-Class used for the Entebee raid was the world’s coolest S-Class but that’s just me.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Luke42 Luke42 on May 17, 2013

    Interesting factoid. The more business leaders I meet, the more I realize that being in the right place at the right time matters a lot. Don't get me wrong - these people are also smart, qualified, and competitive. But I've spent most of my career at a universities where most people are just as smart, qualified, and competitive. I'm also posting because I like factoids much better than the deliberately controversial slugfests that have been posted over the last few days. Yeah, yeah, you guys keep score in the comments. Got it.

  • Jpolicke Jpolicke on May 17, 2013

    As the Pope who implemented all the liturgical changes devised by the second Vatican Council, he certainly was responsible for a lot of controversy within the Church. To this day there is a group of holdouts that want to go back to the Latin Mass.

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