The Mercedes has good acceleration.

[EnglishBug]

I want to say that Mercedes cars have good acceleration. I am not sure which of the following two sentences is correct:

"The Mercedes has good acceleration."

"Mercedes has good acceleration."

Should I put "the" at the beginning of the sentence? Thanks!

 

[Cypherpunk]

Yes. Use the. If you don't use the, then you will be referring to the car company, not a particular car.

I think what you actually want to say is Mercedes' cars typically have good acceleration.

I want to say that Mercedes cars have good acceleration. I am not sure which of the following two sentences is correct:

"The Mercedes has good acceleration." A specific car.

"Mercedes has good acceleration." The car company (or a Hispanic woman named Mercedes, which sounds even stranger).

Should I put "the" at the beginning of the sentence? Thanks!

 

[e2efour]

The Mercedes has good acceleration/Mercedes cars have good acceleration are correct.

 

[entangledbank]

The Mercedes: either Mercedeses generally (like 'the lion lives in Africa'), or of course this specific one.
A Mercedes: any Mercedes, so Mercedeses generally (because they're all alike in this respect).

 

[EnglishBug]

Thanks guys!

 

[sdgraham]

"Mercedes has good acceleration."

If you remember that "Mercedes" is a girl's name, it sounds even stranger this way. (The car was named for somebody's daughter. See HERE.)

 

[preppie]

Wouldn't "Mercedes accelerate well" or "The Mercedes accelerates well" do ? We are talking about how they accelerate..takes an adverb.

 

[sound shift]

There are several types of Mercedes.
My reaction to "The Mercedes has good acceleration" would be "Which Mercedes?", meaning "Which model or which particular car?"

"Mercedes Benzes have good acceleration" is a comment on Mercedes Benzes in general. (I added "Benzes" to make the plural because "Mercedeses" looks and sounds a bit odd.)