There are many aspects of a car that automakers put a lot of thought into. For instance, it's clear that a lot of time, money, and other resources have been poured into the development of electric powertrains in recent years, in addition to the development of family-friendly SUV models. At one point, though, all of our favorite automakers were new start-ups, and the tallest order of their day was to come up with a sharp new logo.
Some are self-explanatory. The Ford logo simply shows the founder's surname in a smart and flowing font (although it's not his signature, contrary to popular belief). Other automotive logos, though, were developed with hidden meanings. Those hidden meanings aren't necessarily important, and they are unlikely to sway you from one brand to another. However, it still makes for interesting trivia. So, if you've ever wondered why the Audi logo has four rings or why old Cadillac emblems had ducks on them, then keep on reading as we decipher the meanings behind those and more.
We could spend all day deciphering Cadillac's shield logo. It has constantly been updated and tweaked over the last century or so, with different features being added, removed, and/or replaced. Almost every aspect introduced in those iterations has a hidden meaning, so instead of delivering you an entire history lesson, let's instead revisit the original shield logo and why it was designed the way it was.
The famous automaker's logo first appeared in the early 1900s when it was first born in Detroit. Despite this logo sitting proudly upon the hoods of all-American motor cars, it actually takes much of its inspiration from a French coat of arms. Specifically, it's the coat of arms of Detroit's founder, Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac. The latter part translates directly to "Lord of Cadillac." See the connection now? Upon the original shield was a crown, a crest, a number of mythical birds called merlettes, and a chain of petals, as well as the words "'LA MOTHE CADILLAC." It really looks very little like the Cadillac logo we know today, largely because the merlettes are gone in the new one. Beyond that, the logo itself was updated slowly over time, with very little in the way of dramatic change.
As for hidden meanings, the mythical merlettes, which are believed to always be in flight, represent the company's drive to keep reaching for greater heights. The various colors chosen represent important values, such as blue for knightly valor and silver for purity and charity. The shield itself is linked to nobility. As far as Cadillac's logo is concerned, the deeper you dig, the more hidden meanings you can find.
The four-ringed Audi logo is, thankfully, a little easier to decipher thanks to a clear and concise meaning behind its creation. Each ring represents one of the four German brands that merged to form Auto Union AG back in 1932. Those four automakers were Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer, and their alliance allowed the resulting brand to become a masterful group of industry leaders.
Interestingly, each ring also represents something unique to the brand it is linked to. For example, Audi's ring embodies progress and innovation, DKW's ring stands for ingenuity, Wanderer's ring represents the spirit of exploration, and Horch's ring signifies luxury. Together, they represent the multi-dimensional approach of Auto Union AG — or Audi, as the automaker is now dubbed.
The emblem has been tweaked and adapted over the years, culminating in the flat and rather minimalistic logo we see on new models today. Despite being essentially just four circles pushed together, it's surprising to see how much history hides within Audi's simplistic yet effective logo.
The Hyundai logo has a hidden meaning? Surely it's just the letter H in an oval, sort of like a wobbly Honda emblem? Well, as it happens, the Hyundai logo is in fact so much more, as it actually depicts two people shaking hands. No, seriously, it does!
According to Hyundai, one of the depicted people is a company representative, while the other is a satisfied customer. The image of them shaking hands is meant to embody the happy relationship between producer and consumer. That's actually quite a pleasant image to build a company around.
Interestingly, the word "Hyundai" also has a meaning behind it, as it actually means "modern" in Korean. While Hyundai hasn't always paved the way in excellence and innovation — its first releases instead targeting the lower-end of the market and triumphing in affordability and simplicity – it's hard to ignore the impressive strides it's taken in recent years. Thanks to a choice of highly rated and feature-heavy EVs and great value propositions developed and sold by Hyundai in later years, the brand has since found great success in the US marketplace.
The raging bull that adorns every Lamborghini model is perhaps one of the most instantly recognizable automotive logos out there, at least for car enthusiasts. When we say it has adorned every Lamborghini model, we mean the cars, not the company's original tractors. The famous bull didn't arrive until 1963, when founder Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to start producing cars to surpass those of Enzo Ferrari's.
The reasoning behind the bull itself is quite simple. Ferruccio's zodiac sign was Taurus, a bull, and that's all the reasoning he needed to slap the animal on every performance GT and supercar he ever developed. The fact that the bull is shown in a fighting stance is just as personal, as Ferruccio felt this stance best portrayed his own character.
The alleged circumstances of how the automaker was first developed had Ferruccio complaining about the constantly failing clutch in his Ferrari. In response, Enzo shrugged him off as a simple tractor driver who didn't know how to properly handle a Ferrari. This spurred Ferruccio into retaliating by launching his own company to rival that of Enzo's. With all that in mind, we feel that the Lamborghini logo is a fitting self-assessment of its creator.
The undoubtedly familiar Toyota logo we know today was initially introduced in celebration of 50 years in the business for Toyota, debuting on the scene in '89. Reportedly, it took a total of five years for the design team to finalize its appearance, which is essentially just three ovals placed on top of each other.
However, there's still some symbolism to unpack here. Those two inner ovals are meant to represent the relationship made between consumer and company, and the fact they overlap demonstrates that both parties benefit from this relationship. The larger oval encompassing them represents the world embracing Toyota. The two inner ovals are also positioned to form a "T" for the automaker's name.
As is quite common for modern automotive logos, the Toyota emblem is also horizontally symmetrical. This means it appears the same whether viewed head-on or in the rearview mirror. Toyota has had a number of different logos throughout the years, although the brand's key colors of red and white have been there since the very first emblem in 1935. Prior to '89, instead of a logo, the automaker largely relied on various scripts and typefaces that simply spelled out 'Toyota.'