"Iconic" is a word that is thrown around far too often in the automotive world, but after 100 years and dozens of colors and text styles, the lasting importance and brand symbol of the Chevrolet brand was launched with a script logo with the words Chevrolet written in stylized cursive.
Legibility and pronunciation of this French name were a real problem versus monosyllabic "Fords" across the street. A baby blue bowtie logo appeared along with Chevrolet written in all caps in 1913, but the exact origins of this bowtie are unknown.
What we do know is that the Chevy bowtie instantly means cars - even among people who have never been bombarded by endless car commercials and even if they have never seen a TV, in fact. Along with Ford, Coca Cola and General Electric, the emblem of the Chevrolet lineup is a globally-recognized symbol of freedom, prestige and mobility.
Logo changes are often fraught with peril for the companies who fail to understand the symbol’s importance to their most loyal consumers. Just a brief look back shows disastrous results followed when Gap Inc. tried to remodel their emblem, or the huge drop in real-life sales following Tropicana’s disastrous package redesign.
With the new 2014 Cadillac logo (without the wreath!) in place on the Elmiraj Concept, here’s a look back at the evolution of the Chevrolet bowtie over the Chevrolet bowtie over the last hundred years.
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