Germany has been called the Motherland of the automotive industry, and still is known for producing a disproportionate number of the world's best cars. It's a country full of history, beauty and, of course, enthusiasm for all things automotive. Furthermore, Stuttgart and Autostadt each are in their own ways even more worthy of the being called a "Motor City" than our own beloved Detroit, Michigan. Now, before you write an e-mail protesting the audacity of that assertion, read on to find out why anyone who has ever looked at a car with even the slightest amount of admiration, must see these cities before they can call their life complete.

Stuttgart: The Original Motor City

One of Germany's many classic cars on display.

Contrary to what most Americans think Detroit is not the birthplace of the automobile, whereas Stuttgart, Germany is. Most true car-lovers know this (and certainly all Germans do) and for them, a trip to Detroit (even during the awesome North American International Auto Show in January) will never compare to making a pilgrimage to Stuttgart to see the living, breathing answer to the age-old question: "Mommy, where did cars come from?"

Of the two manufacturers that call Stuttgart home, the youngest is Porsche. The company's founder, Ferdinand Porsche, once was a prominent engineer for Daimler shortly after WWI and then for Volkswagen before and during WWII, where he designed the Volkswagen Beetle (actually called the Porsche Type 60). The first car bearing his own name, the Porsche Type 356 roadster, was built in 1948, and the city has not been the same since. You can see that first car, which itself has a very interesting history, as well as 20-25 other significant Porsches past and present, from the street and track, at the Porsche Museum.

The other manufacturer calling Stuttgart home is none other than Mercedes-Benz -er, make that Daimler Chrysler AG - a company whose history reaches over twice as far back as Porsche. Now having blossomed into the pioneering automotive superpower that it is, Daimler Chrysler is responsible for much of Stuttgart's spiritual and financial livelihood. Its history, as you can imagine, is remarkable.

In the late 1800s, Stuttgart the car itself was born, thanks to concurrent projects by rivals Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. It is here in Stuttgart, you can see for yourself the greenhouse-like structure in which Daimler's first horseless carriage, which most people thought was possessed by ghosts was created using a one-cylinder internal combustion engine, a three-wheel chassis and a park bench-like two-person seat. (CONTINUE...)