GILBERT Kwek still remembers the first thing his first customer - a top banker - asked the fresh graduate when he showed up at the latter's office to close a deal on a Mercedes-Benz: 'Why are you selling cars?'

Mr Kwek replied: 'It's my passion - I love the motor trade.'

Today, more than 26 years later, the general manager for sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Singapore is still enamoured of the automobile business.

'Like all guys I love cars, and I like the motor trade because it is always changing,' he says. 'It's a dynamic industry with all kinds of competition, and the biggest challenge is ever-changing regulations.'

The rules usually change every two years, he says with a laugh. And 'you never know what to expect'.

'It keeps you on your toes. More importantly, every change brings certain opportunities. Apart from stock broking, I cannot think of any profession that is as dynamic. And you get to drive the latest cars.'

Mr Kwek joined Cycle & Carriage straight out of university in 1981. Back then, C&C was the first car company to employ graduates in an industry that was considered less than savoury. The distributor of the three-pointed star was also considered 'the best company and the most professionally run'.

He joined as a sales executive and steadily rose through the ranks, moving from taking on responsibilities like order processing and VIP sales initially to becoming branch manager of one of C&C's four showrooms (one of them was a novel 'all-girl' outlet but that wasn't the branch he was in charge of).

Then came the recession of 1985 and all the showrooms were consolidated into the one on Alexandra Road. After the upheaval, Mr Kwek became a sales manager. He remembers those years with fondness.

'In 1986, Mercedes-Benz was No 1 in the luxury segment with more than 300 cars,' he recalls.

In 1988, sales crossed the 1,000 mark in an industry with a total annual volume of about 20,000 cars - a fifth of today's number. During that period, Mr Kwek says Merc's market share was close to 10 per cent.

'Sales were limited by supply. Profit was good because of surprisingly good demand for the S-Class. The waiting period was three years.' The S-Class was especially popular because 'there was no competition then in that segment'. 'Our problem was trying to get enough cars.'

For other models, the typical waiting period was one to two years. 'So whenever a customer collected his new car, he usually placed an order for his next car.'

In the 1990s Mr Kwek was given the task of heading strategic planning for Mercedes-Benz. As division manager, he would study pricing and branding, and revamp C&C's sales team as head of its sales division.

In 2000, when the-then DaimlerBenz - the carmaker is known simply as Daimler today - decided to take back the wholesale function from C&C, he moved over to the former to set up operations.

Having been associated professionally with the three-pointed star for more than a quarter of a century, he reveals that his fascination with the brand began even before that.

'The first car that made an impression on me was the Mercedes-Benz SLC,' he says, referring to the classic coupe of the 1970s. 'I was in Secondary 3 or 4 and I thought to myself, it is such a beautiful car. To this day, I remember where I first saw it - on Orchard Road. It was light green.'

He also thinks the new C-Class is particularly attractive and is satisfied with the overall performance of the marque in 2007.

'At the rate we are going, I am going to be very happy,' says the easy-going Mr Kwek with a smile. 'The S-Class and the E-Class are both leading in their respective segments. We are confident that the product quality is much improved and the driving dynamics are better compared with previous models. With a strong partner in C&C, we are confident of containing the competition.'

So which is his favourite model? Without hesitation, he says AMG, referring to the tuning division of Mercedes-Benz which produces high-performance cars.

'I love AMG because they are fast, yet safe and comfortable. It truly epitomises the qualities of this more than 100-year-old brand.'