“Teen driver education” may conjure up memories of a lazy class in high school or driving around in an Oldsmobile with a big, embarrassing “Student Driver” sign.

Mercedes-Benz wants to change that image when it opens a driver-training school in West Hollywood this fall. It will be the first Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy in the United States, modeled on a school the car maker opened in London two years ago.

Alexander Hobbach, senior manager of the academies at parent corporation Daimler AG in Germany, said vehicles for instruction in West Hollywood will range from the entry-level C class sedan, which starts around $34,000, to the luxury ML450 SUV model, which sells for nearly $57,000.

The school will primarily target teenagers who need 30 hours of classroom or online instruction plus six hours behind the wheel to get a license. Typical costs for such classes run between $250 and $400.

The program will emphasize safety, of course, but the school also will provide the company a marketing opportunity.

“For dealers, it’s an opportunity to show Mercedes-Benz is now offering an additional service, whether it’s to the teenager, the soccer mom or the elderly driver,” Hobbach said.

Harlan Platt, a professor of finance at Northeastern University in Boston who specializes in the auto industry, said Mercedes is the first company to use driving schools to market their cars – while getting paid for it.

“In the history of business blunders and successes, I think this will come in at the high end of the success scale,” he said. “This goes far beyond Hollywood’s idea of product placement. Seeing Cameron Diaz drive a Mercedes is less important than me driving one.”

Classes will start in October with about 15 to 20 instructors. Eventually, Mercedes hopes to employ 100 full-time instructors at the academy.