http://www.neatorama.com/2008/02/18/...-of-car-logos/



[QUOTE]Mazda began its life in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co. in Hiroshima, Japan. At the time, there was a cork shortage because of World War I, so the company was founded to process a cork substitute made from the bark of an Abemaki or Chinese cork oak tree. It was a good idea at the time, but shortly afterwards Japan could get real cork again and the company foundered.

In 1927, Jujiro Matsuda came onboard and the company began manufacturing tools, three-wheeled "trucks" and then cars. After World War II, the company formally adopted the name Mazda, which depending on who you ask, stood for the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda or an anglicized pronunciation of Matsuda the founder

 

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

 

That's pretty interesting. I like their current badge the best.

 

Youll notice most have some sort of progression. Mazda seemed to get randomly drunk and say "hey look what i made!"

 

A lot of car logos look similar too. Take Hyundai and Honda for example. Hyundai is just a slanted Honda logo. Or if you think about it the other way, Honda is a straightened version of Hyundai.

 

Most of you know this information already, but since this thread has started, here is my $0.02:

Ferrari Logo:

The Ferrari logo consists of a symbol of

 

My favorite logo story, if true, is Gordon-Keebles'; when the prototype was done and rolled out, someone noticed there was no hood badge. Someone else saw a tortoise on the side of the road, picked it up and plopped it down on the car saying "here's your hood badge", and the production cars had a badge with a picture of a tortoise.

 

I read that the bmw one was actually from the Bavarian flag and not a propellor.

 

They have a very old ad showing this logo on an airplane propeller.

 

Awesome display.

There's this thing at my local BMW dealership which displays the evolution of their logo.