A hood ornament (or bonnet ornament or bonnet mascot in Commonwealth English), also called a motor mascot or car mascot, is a specially crafted model that 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 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. They also serve to differentiate cars and the ornaments were inspired by animals, mythological figures, and the automakers' logos. [5] A common element on every Rolls-Royce since 1911 is the "Spirit of Ecstacy" on the hood that serves as a type of "calling card" and denotes the message of luxury. [5] 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. [6]
A market developed supplying accessories to those who wanted to add an ornament or car mascot to their automobile. [7] 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 like Bazin, Paillet, Sykes, Renevey, and Lejeune created detailed miniature sculptures, like figurines.
Hood ornaments were viewed as "objets d'art" according to Richard Teague, who served as styling vice president at American Motors Corporation (AMC). [8] A sculptor described some hood ornaments as “certainly some kind of sex symbol—a symbol of virility." [8] There were Art Deco stylized women’s forms serving as hood ornaments. [9] After World War II, Nash Motors commissioned George Petty to design hood ornaments featuring female figures without clothing for their cars. [10] [11] Petty used his daughter to make the "Flying Lady" hood ornament which became a marketing coup for Nash and the 1950 "Airflyte" models in the Ambassador and Statesman cars. [12] Nash had four different versions of this iconic ornament on its vehicles for ten years before designing non-anthropomorphic hood decorations. [13] [14]
Teague brought back a hood ornament for the top-of-the-line AMC Ambassador cars because of the "good feeling" they provide to the owners "or at least a reminder of the money spent on the car." [8] Others in the auto industry, such as Dick Macadam, a chief stylist at Chrysler hold the view that hood ornaments provide an aiming point for centering, "possibly making for easier and safer car handling." [8]
Restrictions to fitting 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 during 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. [15] 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). [16] [17] [18]
In the European Union, since 1974, all new cars have had to conform to a European directive on vehicle exterior projections. [19] 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). Other hood 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. [20]
The ornaments have been moved down from the hood to the grille. [21] They are now viewed as overwrought and detrimental to aerodynamics. [22]
Many automakers wanted their emblems displayed on their vehicles' hoods. 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. [23]
Brand identification remains essential "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." [24]
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. [40] [41]
While "originally designed for a purpose," the hood ornament became "transformed into elaborate decorations or symbols." [42] 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." [42]
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." [43] 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. [43]
Hood ornaments are usually cast in brass, zinc, or bronze and chrome plated. During the years when chrome plating was unavailable, silver or nickel was substituted. Some also incorporated other materials, like plastic, bakelite, or colored glass. The 1950 Ford Custom DeLuxe hood ornament was molded in Plexiglas. [44] Others contained a light bulb for illumination at night. Pontiac featured a lighted Indian-head hood ornament through 1955, after which it was replaced by the flying V design. [45]
The best-known glass mascots were made by René Lalique in France. [46] 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. Like Louis Lejeune Ltd., the Lalique Company 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. [47] The company solved the problem by offering a free miniature crest to all the kids that wrote letters requesting one. [47]
There is a collector's market for hood ornaments and car mascots. [48] [49] [50] [ self-published source ] One of the most sought-after is the Nash Petty Hood Ornament, with one of the most largest followers of all hood ornament collectors. [51] To satisfy collectors, reproduction castings of the "Flying Lady" are being made from the original Nash ornament. [52]
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.
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.
Rambler is an automobile brand name that was first used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914.
Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 until 1937. From 1937 through 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. As sales of smaller firms declined after 1950 in the wake of the domestic Big Three automakers’ advantages in production, distribution, and revenue, Nash merged with Hudson Motors to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Nash automobile production continued from 1954 through 1957 under AMC.
The AMC Javelin is an American front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-door hardtop automobile manufactured by American Motors Corporation (AMC) across two generations, 1968 through 1970 and 1971 through 1974 model years. The car was positioned and marketed in the pony car market segment.
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. The popularity of pony cars is largely due to the launch of the Ford Mustang in 1964.
The Landau began as a carriage design with a folding fabric top consisting of two sections supported by external elliptical springs. This landau roof design was adopted in early automobiles as a convertible top. The term, however, came to mean a simulated convertible. A landau bar is an ornamental feature located on a car's c-pillar derived from the roof form, primarily used on hearses.
A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles.
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the vehicle's design, strength, and style. The term typically applies to a pillarless hardtop, a car body style without a B-pillar. The term "pillared hardtop" was used in the 1970s to refer to cars that had a B-pillar but had frameless door glass like a pillarless hardtop.
Fender skirts, known in Australia and the United Kingdom as spats or covers, are pieces of bodywork attached to or part of the fender that cover the upper portions of the wheels of a vehicle. They are usually used only on rear wheels, but some models have them on all wheels.
The Nash Ambassador is a luxury automobile produced by Nash Motors from 1927 until 1957. It was a top trim level for the first five years, then from 1932 on a standalone model. Ambassadors were lavishly equipped and beautifully constructed, earning them the nickname "the Kenosha Duesenberg".
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 in July 1950, and four-cylinder production started shortly after Labor Day, 1950. The official public introduction was on September 28, 1950, and the car was marketed until 1954.
The Nash Rambler is a North American automobile that was produced by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation from 1950 until 1954 in sedan, wagon, and fixed-profile convertible body styles.
The Rambler Rebel is an automobile that was produced by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) of Kenosha, Wisconsin for the 1957 through 1960 model years, as well as again for 1966 and 1967.
The Hudson Hornet is a full-size car manufactured by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1951 until 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Hudson automobiles continued to be marketed under the Hudson brand name through the 1957 model year.
The Hudson Jet is a compact-sized automobile produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, during the 1953 and 1954 model years. The Jet was the automaker's response to the popular Nash Rambler.
The Weather Eye was a trade name for a Nash Motors-designed fresh-air system for automobile passenger compartment heating, cooling, and ventilating. The Nash "All-Weather Eye" was the first automobile air conditioning system for the mass market. The use of the Weather Eye name for automobile passenger heating and air conditioning systems continued in American Motors Corporation (AMC) vehicles.
The Rambler Six and the Rambler V8 are intermediate sized automobiles that were built and marketed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) for model years 1956 through 1960.
A continental tire or a continental kit is the common U.S. term for an upright externally-mounted spare tire behind an automobile's trunk.
The XR-400 was a fully operational concept car. A "sporty" youth-oriented convertible was built in 1962 by the Budd Company, an independent body builder in Detroit, Michigan, for evaluation by the fourth largest U.S. automaker at the time, American Motors Corporation (AMC).
...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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