5 Car Brand Logos With Hidden Meanings – Jalopnik

There are many aspects of a car that car manufacturers pay a lot of attention to. For example, it is clear that a lot of time, money and other resources have been invested in the development of electric powertrains in recent years, in addition to the development of family-friendly SUV models. But at one point, all of our favorite automakers were new startups, and the highest order of the day was coming up with a sharp new logo.

Some speak for themselves. The Ford logo simply shows the founder’s last name in a smart and flowing font (although it is not his signature, contrary to popular belief). However, other car logos have been developed with hidden meanings. Those hidden meanings aren’t necessarily important, and they’re unlikely to make you switch from one brand to another. However, it still makes for interesting trivia. So if you’ve ever wondered why the Audi logo has four rings or why old Cadillac emblems had ducks on them, read on as we decipher the meanings behind these and more.

We could decipher Cadillac’s shield logo all day. It has been continuously updated and modified over the past century, with various features added, removed, and/or replaced. Nearly every aspect introduced in these iterations has a hidden meaning, so rather than give you a whole history lesson, let’s instead revisit the original shield logo and why it was designed the way it was.

The famous car manufacturer’s logo first appeared in the early 20th century, when it was first born in Detroit. Although this logo sits proudly on the hoods of all-American cars, it is largely inspired by a French coat of arms. Specifically, it is the coat of arms of Detroit’s founder, Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac. The last part translates directly to “Lord of Cadillac.” Do you see the connection now? The original shield contained a crown, a coat of arms, a number of mythical birds called merlettes, and a chain of petals, as well as the words “LA MOTHE CADILLAC.” It actually bears very little resemblance to the Cadillac logo we know today, largely because the merlettes are gone in the new one. Additionally, the logo itself was slowly updated over time, with very few dramatic changes.

As for the hidden meanings, the mythical merlettes, believed to be always in flight, represent the company’s drive to reach ever greater heights. The different colors chosen represent important values, such as blue for knightly courage and silver for purity and charity. The shield itself is linked to nobility. As for Cadillac’s logo, the deeper you dig, the more hidden meanings you can find.

Fortunately, the Audi four-ring logo is a little easier to decipher thanks to the clear and concise meaning behind its creation. Each ring represents one of the four German brands that merged to form Auto Union AG in 1932. These four automakers were Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, and their alliance allowed the resulting brand to become a masterful group of industry leaders.

Interestingly, each ring also represents something unique to the brand it is associated with. For example, Audi’s ring embodies progress and innovation, DKW’s ring represents ingenuity, Wanderer’s ring represents the spirit of discovery and Horch’s ring represents luxury. Together they represent the multi-dimensional approach of Auto Union AG – or Audi, as the car manufacturer is now known.

The emblem has been tweaked and adapted over the years, culminating in the flat and rather minimalist logo that we see on new models today. Despite being essentially just four circles pushed together, it’s surprising to see how much history lies within Audi’s simplistic yet effective logo.

Does the Hyundai logo have a hidden meaning? Isn’t it just the letter H in an oval, kind of like a wobbly Honda emblem? Coincidentally, the Hyundai logo is actually so much more, because it actually depicts two people shaking hands. No, seriously, that’s true!

According to Hyundaione of the people depicted is a company representative, while the other is a satisfied customer. The image of them shaking hands is meant to embody the happy relationship between producer and consumer. That’s actually quite a nice image to build a company around.

Interestingly enough, the word ‘Hyundai’ also has a meaning as it actually means ‘modern’ in Korean. While Hyundai hasn’t always paved the way for excellence and innovation (its initial releases instead targeted the lower end of the market and triumphed in affordability and simplicity), it’s hard to ignore the impressive progress it’s made in recent years. Thanks to a choice of highly rated and powerful EVs and great value propositions that Hyundai developed and sold in later years, the brand has since achieved great success in the US market.

The raging bull that adorns every Lamborghini model is perhaps one of the most recognizable car logos out there, at least for car enthusiasts. When we say every Lamborghini model is decorated with it, we mean the cars, not the company’s original tractors. The famous bull did not appear until 1963, when founder Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to produce cars that would surpass those of Enzo Ferrari.

The reasoning behind the bull itself is quite simple. Ferruccio’s zodiac sign was Taurus, a bull, and that was all the reasoning he needed to slap the animal on every performance GT and supercar he ever developed. The fact that the bull is shown in a fighting position is equally personal, as Ferruccio felt this position best reflected his own character.

The alleged circumstances of the way the car manufacturer was first developed caused Ferruccio to complain about the constant clutch failure in his Ferrari. In response, Enzo dismissed him as a simple tractor driver who did not know how to properly handle a Ferrari. This spurred Ferruccio to take revenge by launching his own company to rival Enzo’s. With all that in mind, we believe the Lamborghini logo is an appropriate self-assessment from its creator.

The undoubtedly famous Toyota logo we know today was first introduced in honor of Toyota’s 50th anniversary in the industry, debuting on the scene in ’89. It is reported that it took the design team a total of five years to complete the look, which is essentially just three ovals placed on top of each other.

However, there is still some symbolism to be unpacked here. These two inner ovals are meant to represent the relationship between consumer and business, and the fact that they overlap shows that both parties benefit from this relationship. The larger oval surrounding them represents the world Toyota embraces. The two inner ovals are also positioned to form a ‘T’ for the car manufacturer’s name.

As is quite common with modern car logos, the Toyota emblem is also horizontally symmetrical. This means it looks the same both frontally and in the rear view mirror. Toyota has had a number of different logos over the years, although the brand’s main colors of red and white have been around since the very first emblem in 1935. Before ’89, in lieu of a logo, the automaker largely relied on various scripts and fonts that simply spelled out “Toyota.”