Metal Badge French

A collection of Brand Car Logos and their meanings (II)

PEUGEOT

PRUGEOT LOGO

Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker in Europe. Peugeot’s roots go back to 19th-century coffee mill and bicycle manufacturing. The company’s entry into the vehicle market was by means of crinoline dresses, which used steel rods, leading to umbrella frames, saw blades, wire wheels, and ultimately bicycles. The trademark of Peugeot is a mighty lion, which is the symbol of the region Franche-Comté, where the company is. The lion represents the excellence of their saws in three aspects: saw tooth is as enduring as lion’s tooth; saw blades is as elastic as lion’s backbone; the performance of the saw is as invincible as that of lion. In 1890, when the first Peugeot motor was out on the market, the company decided to carry on the “lion” trademark to signify its high quality.

ASTONMARTIN

ASTON-MARTIN LOGO

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company’s founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. The logo of Aston Martin is a flying roc with wings wide spread, on each of which writes ASTON and MARTIN, indicating that the company has the velocity and ambition of a roc.

Bentley

BENTLEY LOGO

Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley (known as W.O. Bentley or just “W.O.”). Mr. Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel. Since 1998, the company has been owned by the Volkswagen Group of Germany. Bentley’s winged and flying B logo has been used since the first Bentley motor made its appearance.

LINCOLN

LINCOLN LOGO

Lincoln is the luxury brand of Ford Motor Company. Founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland and acquired by Ford in 1922, Lincoln has manufactured vehicles since the 1920s. Leland named the brand after his longtime hero Abraham Lincoln. In 1927, Lincoln adopted the greyhound as their emblem, which was later replaced with diamond that is currently in use.

JAGUAR

JAGUAR LOGO

Jaguar Cars Ltd., better known simply as Jaguar (pronounced) is a manufacturer of luxury and executive motor cars, headquartered in Coventry, England, and now operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business owned by Tata Motors of India. Jaguar was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company by Sir William Lyons in 1922, originally making motorcycle sidecars before switching to passenger cars. The name was changed to Jaguar after World War II due to the unfavourable connotations of the SS initials. Jaguar cars are designed in an engineering centre at their headquarters in Coventry, England and are manufactured in one of three English Jaguar plants; Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, Halewood near Liverpool and Gaydon in Oxfordshire. The Jaguar logo is a Jaguar leaping across the company name. The leaping Jaguart is possibly built to represent the speed, power and quickness of the car. The Jaguar emblem is also placed on the front of the car.

CHEVROLET

CHEVROLET LOGO

Chevrolet (of Swiss origin) (also known as Chevy) is a brand produced by General Motors Company. It is the top selling GM marque, with “Chevrolet” or “Chevy” being at times synonymous with GM. Chevrolet offers 18 vehicles and many different enhanced versions in its home market. The vehicles range from subcompact cars to medium duty commercial trucks. Its number one seller in the United States is the Silverado pickup. The straightforward Chevy logo may seem mundane to the spectator at the first glance but it indeed holds huge significance in the corporate world. A brilliant simple cross in customary metallic colors representing the automobile industry defines the Chevy logo completely. Being a very simple yet elegant trademark, the Chevy logo design compels an everlasting impact on the human mind.

LEXUS

LEXUS LOGO

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lexus logo was developed by Molly Designs and Hunter Communications. The final design for the Lexus logo featured a stylized “L” within an oval, and according to Toyota, was rendered using a precise mathematical formula. The first teaser ads featuring the Lexus name and logo, designed by Team One, appeared at the Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York auto shows in 1988.

LAMBORGHINI

LAMBORGHINI LOGO

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini, is an Italian sports car manufacturer, based in the small village of Sant’Agata Bolognese. Founded by businessman and tractor factory owner Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, the company has achieved widespread recognition for sleek, exotic designs, and its cars have become symbols of performance and wealth. The Lamborghini Charging Bull Logo stands for the founder’s, Ferruccio Lamborghini, zodiacal sign (Taurus). Most of the company’s cars have been named after famous fighting bulls (oddly most have been Spanish bulls not Italian). Interestingly it is said that the choice of an animal and the colors used on the logo (gold on a black background, and a charging bull) are suspiciously similar to the Ferrari logo (a black horse on a yellow background). It is believed that this was no accident on the part of Lamborghini, who had a long standing (and not always friendly) rivalry with Ferrari.

CADILLAC

CADILLAC LOGO

Cadillac is a luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors Company. Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mainly in North America. The Couronne (Crown)-The crown symbolizes the six ancient counts of France. Each tip is topped with a pearl, a symbol of descendancy from the royal counts of Tolouse. The Shield-In heraldry, a shield represents the origins of a noble family. Its shape is of no consequence, and it pertains to those shield shapes used during the Crusades. The original Cadillac shield though, is round. The First and Fourth Quarterings-They display the arms de la Mothe. The color- black against gold- represents wisdom and riches. The “fess” or lateral black bar, represents an award for Crusader service. The Second and Third Quarterings-The red band symbolizes prowess and boldness in action. The silver represents purity, charity, virtue, and plenty. The blue represents knightly valor. The emblem was adopted for use on Cadillac cars in 1905. It was registered as a trademark on August 7, 1906.

ALFAROMEO

ALFA-ROEMO LOGO

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automaker founded on June 24, 1910 in Milan. The logo is split in half and contains the emblems of Alfa’s hometown Milan and the one of the great Milanese ‘Visconti’ family. On the left is the red cross on a white background, which refers back to the days of the First Crusade, when many Milanese soldiers were amongst the Lombards who followed Giovanni of Rho to the Holy Land. The red cross was their symbol, whilst the white background symbolised the white shirts they were forced to wear under their armour to protect them from the fierce Palestinian sun. On the right of the badge are the arms of the Visconti family, which later became recognised as those of the City of Milan. Some says the serpent represents the snakes that the Lombards used to wear round their necks in a little case as a lucky charm, - or the dragon which, at the start of the fifth century, plagued Milan and was finally killed by Uberto, Squire of Angera, and founder of the Visconti family, - or it could be the symbol of Ottone Visconti who fought a victorious duel with the Saracen leader, Voluce, during the First Crusade. The city of Milan, however, claims that the serpent has nothing to do with the Visconti family.

VOLVO

VOLVO LOGO

The Volvo Group is a Swedish supplier of commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and financial services. Volvo was founded on 14 April 1927 in the city of Gothenburg, as a spin-off from the roller ball bearing maker SKF. The name Volvo means “I roll” in Latin (or “I drive” in modern-day English, appropriate for cars as well as bearings). The word is derived from the Latin word “volvere” which means “to roll”. The logo for Volvo is the ancient symbol of Iron, which is a circle with an arrow pointed diagonally upwards to the right. The iron badge on the car was supposed to take up this symbolism and create associations with the honoured traditions of the Swedish iron industry: steel and strength with properties such as safety, quality and durability. Today, the iron logo also stands for a brand that radiates modern and exciting design and has a strong emotive connection with the customers.

MAZDA

MAZDA LOGO

Mazda Motor Corporation is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Hiroshima, Japan. t is said that Mazda coincides with the anglicized pronunciation of the founder’s name, Jujiro Matsuda, who was interested in spirituality, and chose to rename the firm in honor of both his family and Zoroastrianism. The word Mazda derives from Ahura Mazda, the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by the ancient Iranian prophet Zoroaster, as the source of wisdom, intelligence and harmony. The current logo attempts to capture the spirit of Mazda, the stylised “M” evokes an image of wings in flight and symbolises the Mazda’s flight toward the future. The “V” in the centre of the “M” spreads out like an opening fan, representing the creativity, vitality, flexibility and passion that is Mazda. The symbol as a whole expresses the sharp, solid feeling that Mazda will be seeking in all of its products. The dynamic circle symbolizes our readiness to spread our wings as we enter the 21st century.

PONTIAC

PONTIAC LOGO

Pontiac is a brand of automobiles first produced in 1926, and sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico by General Motors (GM), marketed as an “athletic” brand specializing in mainstream performance vehicles. The original logo was that of an American Indian headdress, which was used as a logo until 1956. The American Indian headdress is obviously connected to Chief Pontiac referenced earlier. This was updated to the currently used American Indian red arrowhead design for 1957. The arrowhead logo is also known as the Dart. The logo has a distinctive Red and a silver star in the middle. I am not sure what the significance of the star is but a lot of the Native American art contains elements of nature such as the sun, moon and stars.

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