How Do They Come Up With Those Automotive Logos?

You have a great point, but most products that are marketed have logos as well as a font that is just as easily recognized as a logo. It is part of branding. Think of Addidas, Mc Donalds, etc.

I think it's to make the back of the car look more balanced. There's the Logo on the top, and then the model insignia on one of the sides which leaves the other side empty and unbalanced looking.

I think it is tradition. All Asian brands list name and logo while European brands on have their logo. For example, Hyundai does both while VW does only logo. I do not think it has anything to do with recognition. Europeans love to de-badge their cars (you can order them that way), so no one knows the type of series you may have.

Honda doesn't do it. And I think Toyota stopped too.

Lexus plasters its name on the car because people will just assume its a Toyota.

To be fair, My BMWs have roundels on the front, rear, steering wheel and all 4 wheels. My M roadster in particular has roundels covering the side blinkers! In total, I have 8 visible roundels on the car! Overkill? Probably. Im not even going to mention all the roundels stamped on just about every component under the hood.

yes, lexus needs to WRITE 'lexus' on every car so that it's not mistaken for a toyota.

You people are sad. Are you seriously judging a car by how many logos they use? Grow up, for the sake of us all.

for the neophytes:.....

LEXUS means "luxury export united states"

Infiniti logo is the "omega" symbol signifying Intinity
not Mt. Fuji

bonzai !!!!

I can guarantee you that Lexus doesn't stand for Luxury Export United States. Lexus IMPORTS to the United States. I'm 100% sure that the word Lexus comes from the German word for luxury, which is "luxus". I read that on Lexus.com.

I think there are several variations of the origin of the Lexus name and logo.

Congratulation's YOU WIN - dumbest comment of the day.

Dude, get real! What's so special about the Lexus name as compared to Audi and BMW. BMW stand for something specific as Bavarian Motor Works which was initially based on building airplane engines. Audi means "listen" in latin and is derived from the German "horch" which meand to hear. Horch was the name of the Audi founder and this automobile name goes back to the late 19th century when Audi was named Horch. Both Audi and BMW names signify a long standing heritage of automobiles. Unlike Lexus, these names have substance to them

and history too.

I think Lexus made their name start with an L because if you are searching for Mercedes in a Drop-down list you will always see Lexus as well (quite a good piece of marketing). Because after L comes ....M. Acura is trying to say Acurate....in design, build quality and engineering.

Or better yet when someone on the branding team of Toyota heard the "Alexis" proposal. Well it seems the person didn't hear a woman's name but "a Lexus" instead. And the name stuck from that point on, and all models sport the now iconic “L”.


If this is true, then its pathetic.

How did this, like just about everything on Autospies become an Anti-Lexus rant, which then rurns into a Lexus vs BMW argument?

This site is infuriating.

Can we just be grateful to 009 for posting such a cool link that will waste way too much of our workdays.

They spent a lot of time researching all of this information.

It was started by the ignorant, meant to put-down comments of MichaelTaylor. So, Euro Trash didn't start it, but the Rice Boys did.

actually it was started by xdrive's brand recognition comment, but thanks for keeping it up.

Here is the offical Storie(s) of the Roundel

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The BMW Roundel, one of the world's most recognised and revered commercial symbols, celebrates its 90th anniversary this month.

In July 1917 Franz Josef Popp registered the name Bayerische Motoren Werke, thus distancing the new company from the Rapp Motorenwerke. This was a necessary move if the new company was to find new clients and prosper. The name was registered but as yet there was no new logo…

It was on 5 October 1917 that the BMW trademark was registered with the Imperial Trade Mark Roll under No. 221388. It featured the circular design of the Rapp logo but with the letters BMW at the top of the outer ring. The inner featured quadrants in the Bavarian Free State colours of blue and white - but in the opposed order - as it was illegal to use national symbols in a commercial trademark.
The design was not in any way connected with aircraft engines or propellers. The idea that the blue and white had anything to do with spinning propellers comes from a 1929 advertisement, which featured aircraft with the image of the Roundel in the rotating propellers. This advertisement came at the beginning of the Great Depression, which coincided with BMW acquiring the license to build Pratt & Whitney radial aircraft engines. The advertising department used the Roundel and BMW heritage in an attempt to increase sales of the new radial motors.

......



http://www.bmwmotorrad.co.za/bikes/news/default.asp?Id=812&tier=search


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Interesting you uncovered an urban legend. One of many I assume..

http://www.motorcycle.com/images/news/bmwround01.jpg

You leave me speechless sometimes Josh. I admit I dont know what to make of you. Are you even real?

I'm alive I'm real I guess

That's quite a butchering of cogito ergo sum isn't it?

Descartes would be spinning in his grave...

Whoever put the logo site together did a great job.

It is one of the best I have seen

I don't think Josh can comprehend what you mean Rupert. That is above his head at this time. Remember he still in Junior High.

Interesting piece about the FIAT name and logo. Lexus, not so interesting.

Most older car companies have names that either mean something or was a founder's name...which makes sense. The younger companies have fabricated names to aid with the marketing for their particular brand of product.

The most interesting names are those that have withstood the test of time and are still around today.

I always thought "Lexus" came about from "roLEX"us...everyone knows Rolex, and it has serious cache...someone had to think of that.

Acura = classic Japanese branding in the 80s and 90s:

ACURA Acurate
INTEGRA Integrity
LEGACY Legacy
LEGEND Legend
VIGOR Vigorous
Impreza Impressive?

I'm sure there's others...

true.

i like Mitsubishi too-- the logo more than the car. it is also the crest of the Mitsubishi clan which goes back hundreds of years. arguably, it is the OLDEST and most time tested, even tho' Mitsu did not make cars until the 20th century.

Latest research indicates that the BMW logo isnt actually the propeller as most think, but a throwback to the Bavarian flag which has blue and white checks of the same color.

On another note, my 2006 Mustang GT doesn't say "Mustang" on the outside. The only place where "Mustang" is printed on the entire car is on the door sills, which you can't see from the outside or inside when the doors are closed. The brand relies solely on the prancing horse logo on the grille and trunk.

I like how Toyota, Lexus and Scion logos are all interchangeable. Toyota Production System in action!

toyota's logo used to be a stylized T.

it is still, except the bars of the T became ellipses, and put in a circle. ~1993.

which may have been to link it to the lexus logo, which was in a circle from the start (1989).

the stylized S for scion was likely put in a circle too, for consistency across the 3 brands.

the suffix "Maru" on all japanese ships, also refers to a circle. as a charm that the ships would never sink but ALWAYS return on a round trip.
not unlikely, toyota folks figured that was also applicable to their highly reliable cars, which rarely broke down and ALWAYS RETURN home.

it's possible this has worked on a subconscious level. many other brands that incorporate a circle are also quite successful.

correction: what i called circles are actually ellipses, of course.

or, being used on autos, "low and wide" circles. ;)

which all makes for an interesting contrast to Audi's 4 circles, representing 4 different brands, some on the verge of collapse, all being merged into one healthy company.

sort of like an EXPANDING empire, vs. one consolidated to stave off collapse. altho' with regained health and vigor, audi has expanded again with the acquisition of other brands.

i luv peugeot
especially the 206

Just to throw this in there.... I really like how the corvette uses its own badge and not the chevy bowtie... I think it really makes it feel more exclusive than just another chevy... i think the mustang cobra does that too... i kinda like that

in Europe the Corvette isn't actually badged Chevrolet anywhere, nor is sold through Chevy dealerships. In Britain at least it's sold through Cadillac dealers.

The (Chevrolet) bow tie does appear on the Corvette logo however, it is on one of the flags that comprises the logo.

On another note, Rupert, again you add great info to this site. In all honesty, I am beginning to think you are one of the most informative members on auto spies. Thank you for your contributions.

Aww shucks, you're making me blush.
Don't embarrass me. :P

imho, chevy has had a tuff time with their logo.

it USED TO BE a complex shield, not unlike cadillac's.

then they simplified it, dumping the shield and retaining only the bowtie. now, that's FINE for a car that built it's rep on "value for the money."

however, it is so easy for people to associate "value" = "cheap." in itself, not a bad thing when you crank out a lot of econoboxes. but did they go TOO FAR in simplification?

the simple bowtie worked fine, on the cheap chevy econoboxes.

but what about the fancier and pricier models? i think it is not without reason, that the corvette eschews bowtie emblems.

and on the $30+k pickups and suburbans, the over simple bowtie was artificially BOOSTED up with a BIG FAT horizontal bar as background. which has since been toned down a bit. and is almost tastefully proportioned now, on the malibu.

question: can the bowtie EVER make an impression on its own, sans a bar background?

Subaru is Japanese for Pleiades, a cluster of stars in the constellation of Taurus. So when you look at their logo, it is a logo of a cluster of stars.

BMW double kidney - that's Hitler's moustache
FIAT -Fiat Is Always Trouble

Are you suggesting that BMW is a Nazi car?

i agree, Huu, that a brand has "made it" when the logo has become recognized sufficiently that there is NO NEED to spell out the brand.

to a large degree, you are right.

as far as instant recognition goes, the most successful logos DO NOT require redundant script. but few would doubt that those 3 brands you mention HAVE 'made it' in prestige and in the marketplace.

still, i think having a logo where the name DOES NOT HAVE to be spelled out, is superior from a design perspective. simpler. cleaner. and more easily allows for INSTANT recognition.

AND, as you say, it is less insulting to the cogniscenti and potential buyers.

ferrari and lambo could delete the text, and the prancing horse and raging bull would be sufficient. porsche too, and they mite also simplify the shield. maybach will NOT be able to ditch the script for awhile. maybe in 10 - 20 years or so.