Porsche

PORSCHE

According to a spokesperson with Porsche Cars North America, an extremely influential automobile distributor, Max Hoffman, met with Ferry Porsche in a New York City restaurant in 1951. The discussion moved on to Hoffman’s belief that Porsche needed a powerful logo, something distinctive and elegant. A rough sketch was made then and there, on a dinner napkin
Yet the story from Porsche Germany differs from this colorful explanation. Max Hoffman did ask Ferry Porsche for a logo, but the emblem was designed by Porsche engineer Franz Xaver Reimspiess—and most definitely not sketched on a napkin somewhere in Manhattan.

Chevrolet and Cadillac

 

CHEVROLET

Had it not been for a talkative spouse, the Chevy Bowtie emblem could have claimed one the strangest design origins. Louis Chevrolet said the famous emblem was inspired by a wallpaper pattern in his hotel room during a visit to Paris in 1908. The story would have been considered fact, had it not been for Mr. Chevrolet’s wife. She later said her husband had seen an advertisement featuring a similarly shaped logo in a Sunday supplement. Eye-catching design—and careful evolution—is a theme found in many American car company logos.

                    

CADILLAC

The Cadillac crest is the coat of arms of French military commander and explorer, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701. Simplified and streamlined over the years, the basic style remains intact. “It’s so distinctive, you don’t want to give that away,” says Anne Marie Webb, Design Manager for GM’s Global Brand Identity. When updating one of GM’s brand logos, Webb says she always considers elements “that made it recognizable and strong.” Even then, cultural differences must be considered. The Buick Tri-Shield emblem is monochromatic in every country except China, where the logo maintains red, blue and grey coloring. “They felt [color] had a more premium feel,” explains Webb.

Toyota and Hyundai

Toyota

Good luck—and an easier to pronounce name—played a role in the creation of the Toyota nameplate in 1936. In the book Toyota: A History of the First 50 Years, company founder Kiichiro Toyoda “ran a contest for suggestions for a new Toyoda logo. There were over 20,000 entries. The winning entry consisted of katakana characters in a design that imparted a sense of speed… “Toyoda” became “Toyota” because as a design it was esthetically superior and because the number of strokes needed to write it was eight, which in Japan is a felicitous number, suggestive of increasing prosperity.”

 Hyundai

The Hyundai name has an even simpler explanation. In Korean it means “modern,” while the company’s logo is a stylized “H” that also represents two people, the company and customer, shaking hands.

BMW

BMW
In the case of BMW, myth (and savvy marketing) has fooled generations into linking the company’s logo with an aviation theme. “A German advertising agency in the 1920s produced an ad that showed the [BMW] roundel against the spinning propeller of an airplane to reflect the company’s origins as an aircraft engine manufacturer,” says Dave Buchko, company spokesman for BMW North America. “That, it seems now, turns out to be urban myth.” While it’s true that BMW manufactured airplane engines, the blue and white logo represented the colors of the Bavarian flag, not a stylized propeller and sky.

Ferrari and Lamborghini

Ferrari
One of the best known emblems of all time, Ferrari’s Prancing Horse first appeared on warplanes flown by Francesco Baracca, an aviator and hero of World War I. In 1923, Enzo Ferrari met Francesco’s parents after a race, where they suggested Ferrari use their son’s prancing horse badge on his race cars—both for good luck, and as an homage to Francesco, who died before the war ended. A yellow background was added (it’s the official color of Enzo Ferrari’s hometown of Modena, Italy) and the horse’s tail was redesigned to point upward.

Lamborghini

The design of the gold and black emblem was led by company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, and the bull located in the center stands for his astrological sign (Taurus). Legend has it that Mr. Lamborghini purposefully copied the Ferrari shield, then reversed that company’s yellow and black color scheme to prod the ego of Enzo Ferrari.

With the key protagonists having passed away, there is probably no way to know for certain how much of this is true. “To our knowledge, this is just a rumor,” said a spokesperson for Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. “The only way to confirm would have been to ask Mr. Lamborghini himself.”



Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz


The origins of some automotive logos begin even before the dawn of the automobile. The Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star is commonly known to symbolize the use of the company’s engines on land, sea and air. But the star first appeared on a personal note written in 1872 from company founder, Gottlieb Daimler, to his wife. Mr. Daimler used a three-pointed star to mark the location of his family’s new home in the town of Deutz, Germany. His sons adapted the emblem as the Mercedes-Benz logo from 1910 onward.

Rolls Royce

Rolls Royce

Tragedy plays a role in a popular myth surrounding the famous intertwined double-R logo of British luxury automaker Rolls-Royce. The company’s founders, Sir Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls, originally used red lettering for the emblem that combined the first initial of their last names. Legend has it the color was changed, from red to black, in a mark of respect after the death of Sir Henry Royce in 1933. In reality, black lettering was simply considered more becoming of a prestigious luxury car. The timing of the color change was pure chance.

Rolls Royce’s second iconic emblem, the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament, is linked to a similarly tragic (but in this case, entirely true) tale. Designed by Charles Sykes in 1911, the model for the emblem was Miss Eleanor Thornton, the personal secretary of John Scott Montagu, the 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu and friend of company co-founder Charles Stewart Rolls. In 1915, Miss Thornton died at sea while traveling to India. Yet for almost 100 years her likeness has graced every Spirit of Ecstasy.