Chevy

The inventor of the famous bowtie logo for Chevrolet was a man by the name of William C Durant, founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. Bill was most notably known for his multi-brand approach in creating a new line of cars with their own unique characteristics within GM. Each brand was symbolized by its own logo, but it was Bill who came up with the bowtie after being influenced by a piece of wallpaper that he saw in a Paris hotel.

Cadillac

The Cadillac logo was created based on the family crest for the man who founded Detroit in 1701.  Antoine de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac was a man who symbolized the self-made man which is what the Cadillac was intended to represent.  This was a symbol of success and good fortune where the owner of such a car was considered to have accomplished great wealth.  When you see the Cadillac symbol you immediately think of comfort, luxury and style.

Corvette

Corvette is a brand that stands for performance and since 1953 when it was first introduced in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The logo had a checkered flag on the right and an American flag on the left symbolizing the ultimate in performance racing and built in a country that embraced this accomplishment. The Corvette logo had one problem, it had an American flag which at the time was illegal to use on products sold commercially. It was replaced by a new emblem and this time it sported a white racing flag along with a Chevy bowtie symbol and fleur-de-lis. Fleur-de-lis is a French symbol for peace and purity.

Ford

Henry Ford was a simple man when it came to his vision fo r the first gas powered car and its design, perhaps that's why an early employee of Ford named Childe Wills was credited as being a major contributor of the logo design. Mr. Wills must have seen an opportunity to use a little bit of design as the car came only in black. The Ford symbol and famous blue oval contains the letters FORD. It was in 1907 when Ford placed his logo on the first 1928 Model A. Over time the Ford logo has remained a symbol of not only the originator of the automobile, but the industry and its evolution. Ford's emblem has a ratio of 8:3 and its notably become larger on late model vehicles.

Buick

Buick's logo is of three shields that sit in a diagonal fashion and overlap each other. The use of shields in an emblem is quite consistent with other car logos likely due to their power and prestige. The pattern of the shields matches across each of the three but has color changes. The one on the left is red and the one in the middle is white, followed by a blue to symbolize the American flag and the US as the world’s most reliable manufacturer. The emblem was called the Tri-Shield and started appearing on vehicles in 1959, to include models such as the LeSabre, Invicta and Electra. The three shields were inspired in part by the shield of the Buick crest that had been on cars since the '30's. Even Buicks make for countries outside of the US still use the colors of the American flag, so Buick is a symbol of American pride.

BMW

The logo on a BMW is supposedly a symbol of a spinning propeller on a plane, the blades of the propeller aren't shown, but it is the symbol of how it moves air that is behind the Bavarian Motor Works logo. Without the propeller actually being integrated, the effect had to simulate the air movement so it used background colors of white and blue. The white being the propeller moving the wind, and the blue being the sky. It would mean that the propeller is moving at such a rate that all you see is the wind that is a result. BMW used to build engines for airplanes and that is why they incorporated the propeller into their logo.

Ferrari

Ferrari is a strong name that stands for exquisite and unyielding high performance. Its logo is a prancing horse, but not just any horse. The horse is a black stallion and is synonymous with exceptionally strong characteristics and breeding of perfection. The black horse is shown standing on its back legs with its front legs high in the air as if to say it’s victorious. The background is yellow and contains a shield with the letters S and F which stand for Scuderia (team) Ferrari. It has three stripes of green, white and red with recognition of the Italian flag at the top. The rectangular logo can usually be found on the hoods and on the front driver’s side fender.

Alfa Romeo

The history of the Alfa Romeo logo has ties to history from the 5th century AD. Its symbol is a coat of arms and was intended to protect the citizens of Milan from a serpent that supposedly devoured the people who entered the sea. The serpent was said to have been slain by Ottoni Visconti and his accomplishment was attributed to the origins of the Alfa Romeo logo. The history of the shield in this design can indicate that the vehicle is intended to protect its owner.

By Scott Golembiewski

Scott is a freelance auto technical writer.

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