Can You Name the Car Brand From the Hood Ornament or Badge?

AUTO

By: Craig

7 Min Quiz

Image: Wiki Commons by Lord Laitinen

About This Quiz

Symbols and badges are used to identify all kinds of products.  They are the identifying marks of brands and products all around the world.  

The automotive industry is one of the industries most associated with symbols and badges.  This industry's most recognizable brand symbols, aside from its emblems, are the hood ornaments used to adorn its vehicles. 

In fact, even if you don't consider yourself a car aficionado, we bet you can identify the maker of some of the most popular cars, simply by seeing their hood ornaments, which are sometimes also used as their logos.

So popular are these iconic ornaments, that car manufacturers have had to do away with them because they are easy targets for thieves!  Who can forget the fad that was around just a few years ago, when it was considered trendy to wear the hood ornament from a Mercedes on a chain around your neck?

Hood ornaments have mostly been replaced with badges, but they too are quite recognizable.  How good are you at knowing which hood ornament or badge goes with a particular car?  In this quiz, you have 50 chances to show just how much you know about cars and their identifying symbols.

What are you waiting for?  Take the quiz now!

What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The Chevrolet ‘Bowtie’ is instantly recognizable. But where does it come from? It is claimed that it was designed by one of the people who started the company, William Durant and first appeared on vehicles in 1913. This may not be the entire story, however, and some historians believed he may have ‘borrowed’ it from a company called Coalettes.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The current Toyota logo was first used in around 1989. Previously, the car had only been adorned with signage with Toyota appearing on the hood. It comprises overlapping T’s, each with a specific meaning. The two that form the T-shape signify the relationship and trust between the brand and its customers while the encircling oval indicates the company’s expansion globally.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The iconic Ford Mustang logo, featuring a mustang horse adorned the iconic muscle car from the 1960s onwards. It was originally drawn from left to right and its reversal was an error.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Well, these don’t have anything to do with motoring really. Mitsubishi originally started out as a shipping company and the diamonds represent its first three vessels.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Pontiac is a manufacturer that has had a range of hood ornaments and other hood badges over the years. This includes the ‘dart’ which in fact is an arrowhead, a natural progression from the Native American chief who formed part of their early logos.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The cursive lettering of the Ford logo was devised by Henry Ford’s engineering assistant as an alternative to the long-winded Ford Motor Company. It is one of the most recognizable corporate symbols in the world today.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

As one of America’s pioneering car manufacturers, Cadillac took the unique step of offering a glass eagle head on a number of its models in the 1930s. Certainly very eye-catching as well as patriotic!

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Another extremely famous emblem that even those not interested in motor vehicles will be able to identify, the Prancing Horse is the symbol of Italian sports car company, Ferrari. It first appeared on Alfa Romeos in the 1920s when Enzo Ferrari worked for the company.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

This Korean car manufacturer has used a few ideas from Toyota in its​ logo. Immediately noticeable is the oval shape encompassing the H. This indicates the company’s global expansion. The two arms of the H are connected, which symbolize the interaction and trust between the brand and its customers, very similar to Toyota.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

An iconic Italian marque, Maserati use a trident as their hood logo. It was designed by Mario Maserati, an artist and one of five brothers who founded the firm.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The hood emblem design for Audi features the now famous ‘Four Rings.’ Not many people know what these symbolize, however. In 1932 four different companies merged – Audi, Horch, Wanderer, and DKW. The rings symbolize this merger.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Now a badge on modern vehicles more than a hood ornament, the Mercedes-Benz Tri-Star logo has been around since 1926. The three points depict the land, air, and sea as Mercedes made engines in all those spheres in its early years.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

An alternative emblem to their other famous hood ornament, the Leaper, this badge is commonly known as the Growler. It was used before the 1940s but became a regular badge option from the 1950s onwards

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

This emblem, which appears on the hood of all Porsche sports cars, is extremely similar to that of the City of Stuttgart, built on the site of a horse farm. And those are not swords towards the top and bottom of the horse; they are antlers.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

A clever design, the Jeep logo here obviously shows the front of the vehicle. The vehicles themselves never have this design on them, however. They only have the word, ‘Jeep.'

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Probably one of the most iconic hood ornaments in history, ‘The Leaper’ adorned most early models of this British brand. Today, because of various safety laws, you can buy one as an accessory when purchasing your Jaguar.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The four pointed star hood ornament appeared on Lincoln vehicles in 1950. It was called the Continental Star. It has become an indelible part of this luxury car maker's identity.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Most will recognize the BMW hood logo, the iconic blue and white quarters in a circle. Many believe this, in fact, symbolizes a propeller as the company did first start out by manufacturing aviation engines.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Volvo, which means ‘I Roll’ originally manufactured bearings for the automotive industry. The circle and arrow pointing up is actually an ancient symbol used to denote iron, an important metal in the bearing manufacturing process.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

You probably don’t want to be a pedestrian who gets in the way of this hood ornament – a knight with a very pointy lance. These appeared on cars made by Willys who later made the Jeep for the United States military in World War II.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Well, the Mercedes logo is easy enough to identify, it’s the crest above it that people aren’t sure about. It belongs to the Wilhelm family and adorned their vehicles while Fredrich was Kaizer of Germany.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The Flying B is one of the most famous hood ornaments in the world. It has adorned Bentley models since the company was started by W.O. Bentley with the first car produced in 1919. In 2010, Bentley was forced to recall cars and modify the hood ornament for fear that it could injure pedestrians in an accident.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Certainly one of the most striking hood ornaments ever designed, the Jet Bird featured on the Chevrolet Bel Air in the 1950s. It’s beautifully patriotic as well, although not officially a bald eagle it would seem.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Another flight-themed ornament, the Flying Stork appeared on Hispano Suiza vehicles, a Spanish luxury brand often compared with Rolls Royce. The stork itself is in a downward flap, with the wings attaching it to a base, both incredibly beautiful and striking.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

British car manufacturer Lotus used a simple badge design with the words Lotus inside a triangular shape, itself within a circle. The predominant color is British racing green, a favorite amongst car manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Lincoln, the luxury division of Ford has used the leaping greyhound as a hood ornament on its vehicles. It was chosen as a mascot by Edsel Ford who wanted an animal with speed, stamina, and beauty. They started appearing on Lincoln vehicles in the 1930s.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Packard certainly had a variety of hood ornaments during its history. One of the designs was the Goddess of Speed, essentially an angel figure with wings facing towards the rear and outstretched arms holding a car wheel. It certainly added a certain grace to the Packards it adorned.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Perhaps the most recognizable hood ornament in the world, the Spirit of Ecstasy was designed by sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes and features a lady leaning forward with arms stretched behind her and clothes billowing in the wind. The design has changed slightly over the years and still appears on cars produced by the company today. It is spring loaded and will retract into the hood if the car is involved in a crash.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Maybach, the luxury German car automaker has the double MM logo which also appeared on vehicles as a hood ornament. The company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Dutch car manufacturer Spyker use the car wheel and propeller as its hood badge design. It first appeared in 1914 when the company and an aircraft manufacturer merged.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The winged theme is certainly a favorite among many car manufacturers, including Auburn. The company originated in 1900 before it went bankrupt in 1937. The hood ornament on Auburn's featured a winged man with his chest out and wings sweeping backward.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

This Swedish hypercar manufacturer was founded in 1994. Since its inception, their badge has been a shield with red, blue and yellow within it. Founder Charles Koenigsegg made a starting point for the design using his own family logo as a base.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

French manufacturer Renault certainly liked to change its logo in the early years. A few of the early designs include a tank and a car grille amongst others. In 1925, they used the diamond which we still see on their vehicles today.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

This one is kind of cool. Subaru means ‘united’ in Japanese. It is also the name the Japanese give to the Pleiades constellation, hence the stars in the Subaru badge.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

If you see this in your rearview mirror, best to pull over and let the car pass… unless you are driving a hypercar! Why a bull for Italian car manufacturer Lamborghini? Well, it’s the zodiac sign of founder Ferruccio Lamborghini. Simple really.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The Peugeot Lion has formed part of the French brand's logo and hood badges since its inception. In fact, it was used even before the company got into auto manufacturing. It first appeared on the saw blades the company produced in 1850 and​ was registered in 1858.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

A red cross and a snake eating a man… what’s not to like about the Alfa Romeo badge? Well, the red cross is actually the symbol for the city of Milan, where the marque was born. The snake eating a man comes from the tale of an important Milan citizen who killed a knight and brought the symbols he used on his shield back to the city. True or not, no one knows, but it is a great story nonetheless.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

This incredible design looks nothing like a ship until you take a closer look. It is then that you see a sailing ship within the borders of the hood ornament. Strikingly beautiful and yet simple. Plymouth also changed the design from time to time.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

This hood ornament appeared on Pontiac vehicles in its early years and certainly into the 1950s. It was redesigned over the years with some of them even lighting up!

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Produced in the Soviet Union, GAZ automobiles have been in production since 1932. From 1950, models featured and elaborate Leaping Deer as a hood ornament. The first model to have this was the GAZ-12 ZIM, a limousine and first executive car produced by the company.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Duisenberg produced a range of hood ornaments between 1913 and 1937. One particular favorite was the Duesenbird, a sharp, angular design, definitely very different from what other manufacturers used at the time. It would never get past health and safety today, however.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The Steel Bird appeared on all vehicles from French luxury car manufacturer, Avion Voisin, from 1919 to 1939.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

A prototype car, the hood ornament is almost as dramatic as the overall design as it gives a sense of speed even when the car is standing still.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

A direct link to the name of the auto manufacturer, the Silver Archer, a kneeling man with a bow, appeared on Pierce-Arrow vehicles. The company made cars between 1901 and 1938.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Although you won’t find them on a Dodge now, the Leaping Ram was found on all early vehicles produced by this American manufacturer. Eventually, it progressed to just a ram’s head and then a ram on a badge. Now the ram is associated with a truck brand.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Founded by Walter Chrysler, DeSoto manufactured vehicles between 1928 and 1961. On their Diplomat Model, they chose to have a Spanish conquistador as the hood ornament. Not very politically correct, particularly in the Americas.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

The Dancing Elephant appeared on Bugatti vehicles. It was designed by Rembrandt Bugatti, a sculptor, and brother to the owner, Ettore Bugatti. But he never saw it appear on and Bugattis, having taken his life years earlier.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Packard likes hood ornaments. So much so, they change them often. One of its designs was the Reclining Woman, said to be the Greek nymph, Daphne.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

American manufacturer, Delahaye, certainly can claim stake to producing one of the most risqué hood ornaments of all time. Entitled Venus, it portrays a large-breasted woman with her arms held out on either side of her. The clothes flowing back off her give the impression of wings.

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What car hood ornament or badge is this?

Probably the most elaborate hood ornament you will ever see, The Swallow was produced by the Susse Freres foundry. It was sold and could be mounted on any vehicle.

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