A hood ornament (or bonnet ornament or bonnet mascot in Commonwealth English), also called, motor mascot, or car mascot is a specially crafted model which symbolizes a car company like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood. It has been used as an adornment nearly since the inception of automobiles. [2]
According to the author of A History of Cars written for youth, the first "hood ornament" was a sun-crested falcon (to bring good luck) mounted on the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's chariot. [3]
In the early years, automobiles had their radiator caps outside the hood and on top of the grille which also served as an indicator of the temperature of the engine's coolant fluid. [2] The Boyce MotoMeter Company was issued a patent in 1912 for a radiator cap that incorporated a thermometer that was visible to the driver with a sensor that measured the heat of the water vapor, rather than the water itself. [2] This became a useful gauge for the driver because many early engines did not have water pumps, but a circulation system based on the "thermo-syphon" principle as in the Ford Model T.
The "exposed radiator cap became a focal point for automobile personalization." [4]
Hood ornaments were popular in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, with many automakers fitting them to their vehicles. During the 1920s, advertisements for Mercedes-Benz emphasized their "star" hood ornament as representing the "world-famous product of the oldest automobile works in the world" and as the ultimate symbol of luxury. [5]
Moreover, a market developed in the supply of accessories to those who wanted to add an ornament or car mascot to their automobile. [6] These were a way to express the owner's love of their car or customizing to express individuality. Most of these companies went out of business, with only Louis Lejeune Ltd. in England surviving. Sculptors such as Bazin, Paillet, Sykes, Renevey, and Lejeune created detailed sculptures in miniature, like statuettes.
Restrictions to the fitting of ornaments on the front of vehicles have been introduced in some jurisdictions. Projecting decorative designs on the hood may increase the risk of injury to pedestrians in the case of a collision.
Regulations introduced in the United States for the 1968 model year vehicles meant the disappearance of fixed stand-up hood ornaments, as well as spinner wheel protrusions. [7] Later versions featured flexibly mounted (spring-loaded) stand-up hood ornaments designed to fold without breaking on impact, such as on the 1973 Ford Thunderbird, 1974 AMC Ambassador, and on the 1986 Jeep Wagoneer (SJ). [8] [9] [10]
In the European Union, since 1974 all new cars have had to conform to a European directive on vehicle exterior projections. [11] Rolls-Royce's mascot is now mounted on a spring-loaded mechanism designed to retract instantly into the radiator shell if struck with a force greater than 98 newtons (22 pounds-force). The Mercedes-Benz and many other ornaments were designed with a spring mount to fold on impact. For aftermarket ornaments, breakaway nylon fixings are available that comply with EC Directive 74/483. [12]
The ornaments have been moved down from the hood to the grille. [13] They are now viewed as overwrought and detrimental to aerodynamics. [14]
Many automakers wanted their own emblems displayed on their vehicles' hoods, and Boyce Motormeter accommodated them with corporate logos or mascots, as well as numerous organizations that wanted custom cap emblems to identify their members. [2] The company had over 300 such customers at one time during the mid-1920s, for car, truck, tractor, boat, airplane, and motorcycle manufacturers, and in 1927, had 1,800 employees in six countries: U.S., England, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany. The hundreds of motor vehicle manufacturers before 1929 meant many customers for their customized emblems. [15]
Brand identification continues to be important "as firms try to distinguish their company's cookie-cutter SUV, sedan or pick-up truck from another company's cookie-cutter SUV, sedan, or pick-up truck merely with a hood ornament or a name on the bumper." [16]
Along with the grille, the hood ornament is often a distinctive styling element, and many marques use it as their primary brand identifier.
Examples of hood ornaments include:
Additionally, many models in all price and market segments such as Buick Regal, Chevrolet Impala, Jeep Grand Wagoneer (SJ), and Chrysler Cordoba featured unique emblems and accompanying distinctive standup hood ornaments. [32] [33]
While "originally designed for a purpose" the hood ornament became "transformed into elaborate decorations or symbols." [34] As a result, the radiator cap was changed into an art form and became a way of individualizing the car, "representing a company's vision of the automobile", or "speaking volumes about the owner" of the vehicle. [2] Another design objective developed for the hood ornament "reflected an idea of motion and speed and grace." [34]
There are legal issues in protecting the designs of hood ornaments. Less expensive than patenting the design, protection by copyright may be possible "only if, and only to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article." [35] Thus, the Rolls Royce ornament could be used as a separate sculpture while most other distinctive hood ornament forms would not be considered free-standing items. [35]
Hood ornaments are usually cast in brass, zinc, or bronze and finished in a chrome plated finish. During the years when chrome plate was unavailable, they were plated in either silver or nickel. Some also incorporated other materials, such as plastic, bakelite, or colored glass. The 1950 Ford Custom DeLuxe hood ornament was molded in Plexiglas. [36] Others incorporated a light bulb for illumination at night. Pontiac featured a lighted Indian-head hood ornament through 1955 when it was replaced by the flying V design. [37]
The best-known glass mascots were made by René Lalique in France. [38] Other sellers or producers of glass mascots include Sabino in France, Red Ashay in England, and Persons Majestic in the U.S. The latter two had their products made in Czechoslovakia. The Lalique company, like Louis Lejeune, is one of the few survivors from this era of motoring.
Some hood ornaments are attractive for more than the car's owners such as the red-white-and-blue golden lion crests that were on the hoods of 1950 Fords that children took to decorate their hats, belts, or bicycles. [39] The company solved the problem by offering a free miniature crest to all the kids that wrote letters requesting one. [39]
There is a collector's market for hood ornaments and car mascots. [40] [41] [42] [ self-published source ]
René Jules Lalique was a French jeweller, medallist, and glass designer known for his creations of glass art, perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments.
Pontiac, or formally the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, was an American automobile brand owned, manufactured, and commercialized by General Motors. Introduced as a companion make for GM's more expensive line of Oakland automobiles, Pontiac overtook Oakland in popularity and supplanted its parent brand entirely by 1933.
A station wagon or estate car, is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door, instead of a trunk/boot lid. The body style transforms a standard three-box design into a two-box design—to include an A, B, and C-pillar, as well as a D-pillar. Station wagons can flexibly reconfigure their interior volume via fold-down rear seats to prioritize either passenger or cargo volume.
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume.
The AMC Pacer is a two-door compact car produced in the United States by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from the 1975 through the 1980 model years. The Pacer was also made in Mexico by Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) from 1976 until 1979 and positioned as a premium-priced luxury car.
The Ford Galaxie is a full-sized car that was built in the United States by Ford for model years 1959 through to 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford's full-size range from 1958 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race. In 1958, a concept car was introduced called "la Galaxie" which incorporated the headlights into pods inline with the grille and a reduced front profile.
Pony car is an American car classification for affordable, compact, highly styled coupés or convertibles with a "sporty" or performance-oriented image. Common characteristics include rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short decklid, a wide range of options to individualize each car and use of mass-produced parts shared with other models.
Buick Century is the model name that was used by Buick for a line of upscale full-size cars from 1936 to 1942 and 1954 to 1958, as well as from 1973 to 2005 for mid-size cars.
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the design, strength, and style of the vehicle.
In automotive engineering, a grille covers an opening in the body of a vehicle to allow air to enter or exit. Most vehicles feature a grille at the front of the vehicle to protect the radiator and engine. Merriam-Webster describes grilles as "a grating forming a barrier or screen; especially: an ornamental one at the front end of an automobile." The word 'grille' is commonly misspelled as 'grill' which instead refers to the cooking method. Other common grille locations include below the front bumper, in front of the wheels, in the cowl for cabin ventilation, or on the rear deck lid. Grilles evolved from previously installed gravel shields that were designed to protect exposed radiators typically used on cars until the early 1930s.
The trunk or boot of a car is the vehicle's main storage or cargo compartment, often a hatch at the rear of the vehicle. It can also be called a tailgate.
The Pontiac Star Chief is an automobile model which was manufactured by Pontiac between 1954 and 1966. It was Pontiac's top trim package on the Pontiac Chieftain, with later generations built on longer wheelbases, and serving as the foundation platform for the Pontiac Bonneville. The car was easily identified by its chrome star trim along its sides, a feature all Star Chiefs were equipped with.
The pillars on a car with permanent roof body style are the vertical or nearly vertical supports of its window area or greenhouse—designated respectively as the A, B, C and D-pillar, moving from front to rear, in profile view.
The Henry J is an American automobile built by the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation and named after its chairman, Henry J. Kaiser. Production of six-cylinder models began in their Willow Run factory in Michigan on July 1950, and four-cylinder production started shortly after Labor Day, 1950. The official public introduction was on September 28, 1950. The car was marketed through 1954.
An opera window is a small fixed window usually behind the rear side window of an automobile. They are typically mounted in the C-pillar of some cars. The design feature was popular during the 1970s and early 1980s and adopted by domestic U.S. manufacturers, most often with a vinyl roof.
The 1949 Ford is a line of cars produced by Ford from the 1949 to 1951 model years. The successor to the prewar 1941 Ford, the model line was the first full-size Ford designed after World War II, becoming the first Ford car line released after the deaths of Edsel Ford and Henry Ford. From 1946 to 1948, each of the American Big Three concentrated on the restoration of car production, offering updated versions of their 1941-1942 model lines. Released in June 1948, the 1949 Ford was the first major "postwar" American car line, beating Chevrolet to market by six months and Plymouth by nine.
The Rambler Six and the Rambler V8 are intermediate sized automobiles that were built and marketed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1956 to 1960.
The Pontiac Torpedo was a full-sized car produced by Pontiac from the 1940 through the 1948 model year. When released, it was the biggest Pontiac, used an 8-cylinder engine, and it had more standard features than other Pontiacs. Although the Torpedo name was exclusive to the highest line of Pontiacs in 1940, in 1941 the name was applied to all Pontiacs in three separate lines. The Custom Torpedoes were now top-of-the-line name, while the DeLuxe Torpedo became the base line, and the Streamline Torpedo became the middle line of Pontiacs. All Torpedo models could be had with either a 6-cylinder or 8-cylinder engine beginning in 1941. From 1942 to 1948 the Torpedo name designated only the base line of Pontiacs. The Torpedo was replaced by the Pontiac Chieftain in 1949. It was with this generation that all GM vehicles experienced increased width dimensions to accommodate three passengers on the front bench seat and an additional three passengers on rear bench seat installed vehicles. This was accomplished with the deletion of running board thereby adding additional room inside the passenger compartment.
The Pontiac Streamliner is a full-size car produced under the Pontiac brand by General Motors from 1932 until 1952. A mass-produced and popular vehicle, it was a significant luxury car during the recovery from the Great Depression, and during and immediately after the Second World War.
The Chevrolet Master and Master Deluxe are American passenger vehicles manufactured by Chevrolet between 1933 and 1942 to replace the 1933 Master Eagle. It was the more expensive model in the Chevrolet range at this time, with the Standard Mercury providing an affordable product between 1933 and 1937. Starting with this generation, all GM cars shared a corporate appearance as a result of the Art and Color Section headed by Harley Earl. From 1940 a more expensive version based on the Master Deluxe was launched called the Special Deluxe. The updated corporate appearance introduced a concealed radiator behind a façade with a grille.
...Marlin's hood ornament was redesigned, so it seemed less obtrusive.
America's heyday for hood ornaments.
the standard hood ornament on all 1986-91 Jeep Grand Wagoneers
.... distinctive medallions were set into the taillamps and the stand-up hood ornament ...
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