Unimog

Anniversary
Château Calisanne near Lancon-de-Provence (Bouche du Rhône), a place
greatly respected among gourmets for its olive oil and sun-soaked
Provençal wine, was chosen as the ideal venue for a very special event
held on November 5 and 6, 2003: 55 years of the Unimog and – a welcome
coincidence – the sale of the first Unimog in France took place 50 years ago.
Unimog Sales, France, has felt it owed
something to its customers, friends and
the interested public ever since June 2001,
the date when at our German production
location in Gaggenau the “50 Years of Mercedes-Benz
Unimog” anniversary was in full
swing. In France itself, this event went unnoticed.
It was high-time to make good on
our negligence by organizing the “Unimog
55 ans” event. At Château Calisanne, two full
days were dedicated to the Unimog, its customers
and friends; and the press was of
course also invited.
On both days an interesting “anniversary
show” was organized, presenting historic
and contemporary Unimog vehicles, including
the U 500 which will participate in the
26th Paris – Dakar Rally in January 2004,
and the latest off-road forest firefighting
vehicles from the 437 series. In the information
section Jean-Emile Martin, Unimog
Sales Manager at DaimlerChrysler France,
and Didier Baille-Barelle, the Product Marketing
Manager, presented the U 300/U 400/
U 500 off-road implement carriers as well as
the U 3000 / U 4000 / U 5000 models suitable
for severe off-road travel in their relevant
market segments and explained in
some detail the latest technical innovations
and details directly at the vehicles.
Didier Baille-Barelle
(above right) hosted the
Unimog demonstration
runs at Château
Calissane
Tree branch cutter and
mower demonstrated on
an all-terrain model
All the guests were unanimous that the
off-road driving demonstration was the
event’s genuine highlight. The rocky landscape
of Lançon-de-Provence not only provided
magnificent scenery but also unique
levels of challenge, giving passengers in var-
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