It’s not my intention to make this blog all about car logos, but they’re almost always a joy to look at (and I’m a sucker for anything cast in chrome). There are some interesting progressions here.  As expected, they each follow the graphic trends of their day, and some are certainly more successful than others.  SAAB began as an airplane manufacturer, reason enough to buy one if you ask me. I mean, how can you not like that stylized wing profile?  LINK.

Yesterday, I and daddy have this game, a guessing game about car logos. Well, I have learned a lot from him about identifying different car logos. Here are some of the logos I have remembered and there are some I have researched in the net.

Notice the circle around the tri-star logo of Mercedes. This logo has been around since the 1920s.

See the spinning propeller on BMW. This represents the company’s beginning as an aircraft engine manufacturer.

Observe the four linked rings that represent Audi’s formation following the merger of four German companies in the 1930s.

Look at a Ferrari and you’ll see Francesco Baracca’s prancing horse, which is the emblem of the WWI flying ace adopted for Baracca’s racing Alfas.

Find a Mitsubishi to view the three diamonds in its logo, which represent a ship’s propellers referencing the company’s ship-building days in the 1800s.

Alfa Romeo Shows the coat of arms of Milan. It is also related to the crusades that’s why there’s a cross. A snake on the right is eating a certain figure that may be a child or a Saracen.

Buick is rooted from the coat of arms of the Buick family with Scottish origin. In it three shields colored red, blue and silver. Each shield has a white diagonal line from the upper left to the lower right part of each shield. It is the latest revision of the logo. The shields represent the three Buick models in production at that time, which are the LeSabre, Invicta and Electra.

Citroen the only thing I’ve got about this is that the two chevrons are meant to represent gear teeth for the reason that the founder of this, who is Andre Citroen started in the business by building gear wheels.

Cizeta logo shows a wolf’s head, which is a Tiberian she-wolf that fed Romulus and Remus. These two are the orphaned children of Mars, who founded Rome. The colors blue and yellow are the colors of Modena, Italy, where the company is founded before moving to its present location. The name is the founders initial when said in Italian.

Fiat Logo was what the designer saw against the sky while driving past the factory one night during a power outage. The spaces were the light he saw between the letters he saw.

Koinnegsegg logo is the phantom symbol on it is a mark of respect to the Swedish air force squadron that operates outside the airbase where the factory of this company is located.

Lotus logo. The letters above are the initials of its founder, who is Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. Lotus name’s history is unknown. The background is green due to the British Racing Green. During hs days, green is the color of British cars. The yellow signifies the hope that lies ahead for the company.

The only thing known about the Morgan Motor Company’s logo is that the wings are inspired by Captain Ball, who said that to drive a Morgan three-wheeler is the nearest thing to flying on the ground.

Panoz logo. It was designed by Daniel Panoz, the company founder. Since it was an American company the colors red, white and blue are incorporated on it. There is a Yin-Yang symbol that signifies balance and symmetry. The company and the founder’s Irish root is represe

Venturi logo was in 1989 when this latest logo was chosen. In it a gerfalcon that is set on a glove that means mastery. Above it is the sun of the region Loire. What’s left of the original logo is the oval on it. The V shape on it is a tribute to France.

Sources: ehow.com @ hit the road by Rob Braun

i was hoping to add to the more ‘famous’ list of legendary supercar makers those that have been developed only in recent history. plus these supercar companies make really really pretty supercars, by my standards. the Pagani Zonda, the Ascari supercars and the Koenigsegg from Sweden. because of their relative ‘youth’ to the great Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche brands, they are also making names for themselves. car logo history is thus difficult to obtain from such young car makers. probably will just interpret them according to what i see and read. save for the Koenigsegg, though.

Koenigsegg

The company was started by Christian von Koenigsegg in 1993. the logo for the company (or emblem) is based upon the original ancient Coat of Arms of the medieval Koenigsegg family from Schwaben, Germany. The original is a single field of golden diamonds surrounded by ornaments. Christian von Koenigsegg, founder of Koenigsegg Automotive – can trace his lineage back to the late 12th century when his ancestors became Knights of the German / Roman Empire.

When the logotype of Koenigsegg was created, it was quite clearly a derivation of the original family coat of arms. At the top end you recognize a crowning ornament – a golden monogram on blue – representing the letters KCC for Koenigsegg CC. The Koenigsegg logotype was created by Jacob Låftman, a highly talented grafic designer who unfortunately passed away in 2002. Jacob was a close friend of Christian von Koenigsegg’s; the two grew up in the same neighbourhood and went to school together. (from the Koenigsegg website)

However, the logo that appears on every Koenigsegg supercar is more than the company emblem. they have placed on it a phantom or ghost in honor of its workers’ history.

Fighter Jet Squadron nr. 1 of the Swedish Air Force was based at the present Koenigsegg HQ before being closed down by the government in 2003. Their symbol, a ghost within a circle, now adorns the CCR and all future extreme versions of the Koenigsegg CC. This is both to honour the predecessors and to show that the Koenigsegg crew feels they continue the legacy of Squadron nr 1. Several of Koenigsegg’s employees previously worked with the maintenance and repairs of the fighter jets.

Pagani

I can’t seem to find any history or explanation of the Pagani’s emblem. My guess is that it traces it to its beginnings from its Horacio Pagani, an Argentina-born Italian, who formerly managed Lamborghini’s composite department and founded Pagani Composite Research in 1988. In 1991, he established another company because of the great demand for his design, engineering, and prototyping services. hence, the quite ‘industrial’ feel of the emblem (with rivets i suppose) plus the design of the script of P of Pagani.

Ascari

One of the nicest-looking cars are made by Ascari (by my standards at least). I love how the KZ1 looks, sophisticated, civilized but has a secret to tell. I also like how their emblem/logo looks like. Unfortunately, once again, there isn’t much on the internet on its design history and origin. All I could see from their website is their goal of providing “a feeling of freedom in which the race and “relax duality” of life is integrated into a personal, exclusive and exciting experience.”

well are those flames or badges? so they come as a pair, is this the ‘duality’ their talking about? hmmm… i can only guess…

Andate su questo blog, che raccoglie l’evoluzione dei marchi delle varie case automobilistiche.

 
Evolución del logo de Volkswagen desde su fundación por Hitler en 1939.

Evolution of Car Logos, recopila la evolución sufirda a lo largo de los años de un par de decenas de marcas de fabricantes de coches —o al menos de lo que hoy en día son fabricantes de coches, algunos empezaron fabricando sólo motores, aviones, motocicletas o bicis.

If you have any interest in cars you will want to read this over, it describes the history of car logos and their meaning from Abarth to Volvo. Click on the logo and see a higher resolution version. One of the more interesting being Alfa Romeo.

I found this on jalopnik.com