Logo of famous brands

Cadillac

Known for its innovations, from the electric starters to V8 and V16 cylinder engines, auto transmission to thermal imaging technology, Cadillac Automobile Company began to function as a separate entity on 22 Aug, 1902. It was the mastermind of Henry M Leland that led to the formation of the company from the 'remains' of the Henry Ford Company when it got dissolved. The company was named after the founder of Detroit, Antoine de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac.

The first logo of Cadillac which got registered in 1906, was however been in use right from its formation. The emblem included the shield with Merlettes or ducks and a tulip wreath round the crown which had seven teeth. It was based on the family crest adopted by Antoine de La Maothe from the shield of Baron Sylvester of Esparbes de Lussan.

Coat of Arms of the Baron's family
(Source: http://www.car-nection.com)

Cadillac Family Crest and First Logo of Cadillac Car Company

(Source: http://www.car-nection.com)

In 1909, when General Motors purchased the company, Leland and his son continued to offer their services until 1917 when they left to form Lincoln Motor Company.

Cadillac is a company which brought in many transitions in its logo right from its inception. Though the cause for the changes are not known, these are some of the modifications that it underwent over the years.

Logo- 1902 to 1999
(Source: http://www.carswallpapers.us)

(Source: http://neatorama.cachefly.net)

(Source: http://www.cadillacfaq.com)

The emblem from 1916 to 1918 consisted of the tulip wreath and the crown with nine teeth which was later modified in 1920 to seven teeth that was connected to the shield, used until 1925. The year 1932 saw the company adopting a logo with wings for cars with V8, V12 and V16 engines which remained in use till 1935.

Graphic designer, Anne-Marie Laverge-Webb, the person behind the new 'Wreath and Crest' logo employed a logo with a shield upholding the traditional colours of the company - red, silver, blue, black and gold- on a platinum background aimed to suggest technological advancement. The wreath was remodelled to give a mechanical effect to the emblem. The current logo was unveiled at the 1999 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, California.

From 1999

Lotus

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman, the founder of Lotus Cars, started his journey through the completion of the Mark 1 on an old 1930's Austin Seven in the garage of his girl friend's house in the year 1948. The second trial car built during his spare time while serving the RAF in 1948 was sold in Oct,1950 to Mike Lawson who won the Wrotham Cup and is considered to be the first Lotus car.

It was the demand for his cars that motivated him to form the entity, Lotus Engineering Company Ltd in partnership with Michael Allen in Jan, 1952.

The first logo of the company composed of the letters, ACBC - the initials of its founder Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman - with the word, 'LOTUS' on a triangular green lozenge placed on a yellow background. While the green denoted the British Racing Green, the colour which was designated to the British cars that competed in international events of the time, the yellow is said to signify the glorious days Chapman predicted for his company.

The emblem was modified on the death of the World Champion, Jim Clark, wherein the green and yellow were replaced by the colour black in 1968. The new emblem continued to adorn its cars until the death of Chapman in 1982.

Logo from 1968-1983

In 1986 when General Motors took over the company, it saw the birth of a new emblem which was noted for the absence of the initials of its founder.

Logo in 1986

The company, however, reintroduced the initials as a token of respect to Chapman who founded the company that brought in major players including Ayrton Senna who drove for the team from 1985 to 1987 winning twice in each year.

Logo - 1987-'88

Source: http://www.cartype.com/

It was finally in the year 1989 that a slightly modified version of the original logo returned wherein a darker green was placed on a mustard yellow background replacing the British Racing Green and yellow of the emblem.

Lotus was later sold to ACBN Holdings S.A, controlled by the Italian businessman Romano Artioli, the one time owner of Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996 the majority stakeholding was sold to the Malaysian car company, Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton) who is the current owner of Lotus.

Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi had its beginning when a young Japanese entrepreneur named Yataro Iwasaki who was working for the Tosa Clan moved to start a small shipping company called Tsukumo Shokai in the year 1870. For the logo of the newly started entity, he took his own family crest with its three stacked diamonds along with that of the Tosa Clan with its three oak leaves joined at the stem resulting in an emblem of three diamonds meeting at a central point.

Source: (http://www.mitsubishi-motors-europe.com/corporate/history/)

Slight modifications to it resulted in the current logo of the company.

(Source: http://www.mitsubishi-motors-europe.com/corporate/history/)

His decision to rename the company after the three diamonds in the logo gave birth to the name Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi is a combination of the words 'mitsu' meaning three and 'hishi' meaning water chestnut though the Japanese have used the word to denote a rhombus or diamond shape. As the Japanese often give 'h' a 'b' sound, the combination resulted in the name Mitsubishi.

Today Mitsubishi Group consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the same brand and trademark. The past years saw the company expanding its businesses and a slight additions to the logo.

At times the logo was added with the company slogans, in English and Japanese. In 1955 the company name was introduced in a font called Mitarashi-ryu which was used till 1963.

1955-1963
(Source: http://global.mitsubishielectric.com)

In 1964, the catchphrase, 'with you today and tomorrow' was incorporated to the name and general logo.

(Source: http://global.mitsubishielectric.com)

The 80th anniversary of Mitsubishi Electric brought with it the slogan 'Changes for the better' to its emblem. The Blue symbol continues to be used in Japan, while the type of industry is used overseas to separate them within the Mitsubishi Group.

(Source: http://global.mitsubishielectric.com)

Aston Martin

The company Aston Martin Lagonda Limited which was part of the Ford Motor Company from 1997 to 2007 was bought by a consortium of two major international investment houses, the Investment Dar and the Adeem Investment, led by David Richards of Prodrive along with the English businessman John Sinders in 2007.

The iconic brand of James Bond, the 1.5 litre Bamford & Martin Sidevalve Short Chassis Tourer was the first car driven by him in the first Young Bond novel, SilverFin written by Charlie Higson. From the movie, Goldfinger to Quantum of Solace, Aston Martin cars continue featuring in the Bond movies.

Bramford & Martin Sidevalve Short Chassis Tourer
(Source: http://commanderbond.net/article/2694)

DBS series seen in Casino Royale & Quantum of Solace

Bamford & Martin Limited was a company formed by the founders of Aston Martin, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in the year 1912 to sell the cars made by Singer. Their decision to form a company of their own resulted in the birth of the entity, Aston Martin. The first win by Lionel Martin in the Aston Hill Climb of 1914 was the source of inspiration for this brand name that continues to remain passionate about the cars produced by them.

The logo of the company saw a few changes over the years.

Logos of Aston Martin (Source: www.pixelmash.co.za)

The first logo of the company of 1921 was the outcome of the amalgamation of the letters A&M from its name. The year 1932 saw a transition when it was said to have borrowed the two wings of Bentley to its symbol denoting speed.

When in 1947, David Brown Limited bought Aston Martin and Lagonda, it resulted in the addition of his name to the cars manufactured. His intention to develop new models also saw the outset of the DB series, with the first being launched in 1948.

Logo - 1947 to 1987

In the year 1987, Ford Motor Company acquired a 75% stakeholding in the company which was later increased to 100% by 1994.

Logo - From 1987

The company still strives to uphold the vision of Lionel Martin, to manufacture, "A quality car of good performance and appearance: a car for the discerning owner driver with fast touring in mind, designed, developed, engineered and built as an individual".

Toyota

In the year 1936, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Ltd held a competition to create a new symbol for the promotion of its new vehicles. It is said that 27,000 people replied to it, with the winning design leading to the change in the name of the automobiles and plants from Toyoda to Toyota.

The emblem of Toyoda in the background (Source: Toyota)

The eight strokes required to write Toyota in Japanese was thought to bring luck and prosperity. The Model AA was the first car launched under the name Toyota. Though no longer used as the emblem in the automobiles, the mark is still used today as the corporate emblem of Toyota Motor Corporation. However, the usage of the word 'TOYOTA' in roman type resulted in misinterpretation from country to country because of the absence of proper branding. This brought into existence the new logo of the company in 1989.

To quote the company,

"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."

(Source: Toyota)

A search for the logo of the company, also reveals the above picture which is the emblem seen on the pin badge given to all the employees of the Toyota Motor Corporation upon joining.

Jaguar

Founded as Swallow Sidecar Company in Blackpool in the year 1922 by Bill Lyons and William Walmsley, the company started as a manufacturer of sidecars and other small vehicles.

Logo of Swallow Sidecar Company (Source: Wikipedia)

In 1931, the company got into an agreement with the Standard Motor Company to build chassis to Swallow's design for its new model of cars and launched these in the name of 'SS'. The Swallow Sidecar Company later got itself registered as SS Cars Ltd in 1934. But the name and the logo of the newly registered company which had similarity to the Nazi's SS and its eagle made the company rename it as Jaguar Cars Ltd in 1945.

Logo of SS Cars Ltd (Source: Wikipedia)

However, the name 'Jaguar' sprang up in 1935 on its new saloon and sports car model of cars which were called as 'SS Jaguar'. To quote the company, 'The 'Jaguar' name was an ideal choice - feline grace and elegance, combining docility with remarkable power and agility'.

SS Jaguar

Jaguar is now part of the Tata Motor Company after it was bought by the company for $2.3bn in March, 2008.

Opel

Opel had its beginning as a manufacturer of sewing machines in the year 1862. Founded by Adam Opel, the business as well as the emblem saw a great many transitions over the years.

(Source: Opel)

Oldest logo of the company with letters 'A' for Adam and 'O' for Opel in the year 1862.

(Source: Opel)

A shift into the manufacture of cycles also brought a change in the emblem of the company. The new emblem with the word 'Blitz', the name given to its new cycles, adorned its bicycles during the end of the 19th century.