Tracing the nebulous origin of Chevrolet's bowtie nameplate

Torque News ^ | 9/5/11 | Don Bain

[Impala64ssa]

On October 2, 1913 The Washington Post published an ad for Chevrolet featuring the now famous bowtie shape with the words "Look for this nameplate" over the emblem – 100 years after the company’s incorporation, this trademark is one of the best-known automotive symbols in the world. It is known the mark was introduced by co-founder William C. Durant in late 1913, but the origin of the Chevrolet bowtie nameplate has several conflicting explanations.

Durant, himself, claimed the bowtie emblem was inspired by the wallpaper design in a Parisian hotel. In the company’s official 50th Anniversary publication from 1961, titled The Chevrolet Story, the Chevrolet bowtie nameplate was attributed to Durant in the following quote.

"It originated in Durant's imagination when, as a world traveler in 1908, he saw the pattern marching off into infinity as a design on wallpaper in a French hotel. He tore off a piece of the wallpaper and kept it to show friends, with the thought that it would make a good nameplate for a car."

[Impala64ssa]

Along with Coca Cola and the McDonald's golden arches, the Chevy bowtie is one of the world's most recognizable trademarks. It's a damn shame it's now part of Gov't Motors.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

How the heck did Toyota get its lame-o sombrero nameplate?

I love my 4Runner, but the nameplate is ... dare I say it ... gay.

[rawhide]

The Toyota logo is comprised of three ellipses, representing the heart of the customer, the heart of the product, and the ever expanding technological advancements and opportunities that lie ahead. Another interpretation is that it represents the three interlocking aspects of the culture of the company - freedom, team spirit, and progress.

[rawhide]

The History of Car Logos

http://carlogos.info/index.php/All_Logos
http://carlogos.info/index.php/All_Pages

[HiTech RedNeck]

Or it’s just a fancy, oval shaped way to do a “T”

[Adams]

I think the female nether regions were the inspiration for that ugly logo.

[rawhide]

I agree, it is ugly!

[Hugin]

Still the coolest hood ornament ever.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

It represents a Mexican wearing a sombrero: maybe not their customer base, but at one time their prospective production base.

[blam]

[Impala64ssa]

Also, the Mack bulldog

[rfp1234]

It looks like an olive playing with a hula hoop.

[rawhide]

Dodge Ram is pretty nice also:

[Kickass Conservative]

Wow, I just thought it was a fancy “T”.

I guess I don’t meet the Toyota demographic.

[Kickass Conservative]

Exactly. I love the poetic rhetoric. A “T” is a “T”.

[Hugin]

Both very cool too.

[dr_lew]

It is worth remarking that the genitals themselves, the sight of which is always exciting, are nevertheless hardly ever judged to be beautiful.

Sigmund Freud

[Little Pig]

I've always been partial to the Bugatti ornament:

[tallyhoe]

Chevrolet first used its “Bowtie emblem”[3] logo in 1913. It is said to have been designed from wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel. More recent research by historian Ken Kaufmann presents a compelling case that the logo is based upon a logo for “Coalettes”.[4] Others claim that the design was a stylized Swiss cross, in honor of the homeland of Chevrolet’s parents.[5]

[barstoolblues]

Eh. Its Tennessee. Durant liked the shape of the state of Tennessee.

There you have it.
Those other theories are just wrong.