Autopia

Logos define a brand. They become the image with which people identify big names. Here’s listing the  top automobile brands, their logos and the reason behind their design..

The Audi badge the ‘Four Rings’ is the emblem of one of the oldest car manufacturers in Germany. It symbolizes the 1932 merger of the four independent motor-vehicle manufacturers: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. Together with the NSU brand, which joined in 1969, these companies are the roots of the present-day AUDI AG. After the war the Audi name – which is Latin for “Hear!” – disappeared, but was revived in 1965, using the four rings as a logo.

BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke or Bavarian Motor Company. The logo represents a white propeller blade against a blue sky. It reflects the origins of BMW as a maker of military aircraft engines during WWI.

The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters S F for Scuderia Ferrari. The horse was originally the symbol of Count Francesco Baracca, a legendary “asso” (ace) of the Italian air force during World War I, who painted it on the side of his planes. Baracca died very young on June 19, 1918, shot down after 34 victorious duels and many team victories.

The FIAT name is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Car Factory of Turin), founded by a group of investors–Giovanni Agnelli among them–in 1899. The current Fiat logo has the letters F-I-A-T written with a silver line between each of them. The lines were added by the company’s design chief when one day passing under the factory, he noticed the sky at the backdrop of the huge FIAT letters on the top of the building. The lines added are actually the spaces that he saw in the name over the building and decided to keep it.

The Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) is a South Korean company manufacturing automobiles. The Hyundai logo seen above is appears to be an oval shaped H (symbolizing Hyundai). It is also supposed to be symbolic of the company’s desire to expand. The ovaloid shape indicates the company’s global expansion and the slanted, stylized ‘H’ is symbolic of two people (specifically the company and customer) shaking hands.

Jaguar Cars Limited is a British based luxury car manufacturer, originally with headquarters in Browns Lane, Coventry, England but now at Whitley, Coventry. It was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922,by two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley. The leaping Jaguart is built to represent the speed, power and quickness of the car.     The Lamborghini Charging Bull Logo stands for the founder’s, Ferruccio Lamborghini, zodiacal sign (Taurus). Most of the company’s cars have been named after famous fighting bulls (oddly most have been spanish bulls not italian). The Mercedes Benz logo is a simplistic three-pointed star that represents its domination of the land, the sea, and the air. The famous three-pointed star was designed by Gottlieb Daimler to show the ability of his motors for land, air and sea-usage. The name “Mitsubishi” refers to the three-diamond emblem. “Mitsubishi” is a combination of the words mitsu and hishi. Mitsu means three. Hishi means water chestnut, and Japanese have used the word for a long time to denote a rhombus or diamond shape. Although the Škoda logo is viewed as one of the most original and stylistically clean manufacturing company trademarks in the world, the author is not yet known. The black and green logo, which has been used since 1994, gives the Škoda brand a greater degree of originality – black symbolises the hundred-year tradition, green signalises environmental production. The current Toyota Mark consists of three ovals: the two perpendicular center ovals represent a relationship of mutual trust between the customer and Toyota.  These ovals combine to symbolize the letter “T” for Toyota.  The space in the background implies a global expansion of Toyota’s technology and unlimited potential for the future.