Car Logos

Famous Car Logos

With car logos, you only have a limited space to work with. You can’t take up the entire side of a car, or the entire top of the hood – brands need a logo that is scalable, versatile, and can still be seen farther away. Most car companies have gotten the hang of crafting car logos because there are few car logos you wouldn’t be able to easily recognize today. Think about it. You can likely visualize Toyota’s logo, Volkswagen’s logo, Audi’s logo, and countless other car logos.Many of these car logos have been around for decades upon decades, which means they are all doing something right and there are lessons we can learn from each of these designs. It’s not easy to make a logo stand out and be relevant year after year, so for these car brands, we must believe they know a thing or two about not only crafting memorable car logos, but logos design in general.While you can take a closer look at some car logo contests on Hatchwise, below is a quick snapshot of what has worked well for three iconic car brands.

Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz’s three-pointed star emblem has been one of the most recognizable car brand logos in the United States, and we can’t say we’re surprised. The German automaker has become a staple of luxury in the automobile industry. Beyond its simplistic design, the logo is eye-catching, and its three-pointed star design has stood the test of time since it was first introduced in 1909. This star symbolized the brand’s intention to be futuristic minded in hopes of creating vehicles for land, sea, and the sky one day. To ensure that some version of the pointed star would only ever be tied back to the Mercedes-Benz brand, the company trademarked the three-pointed version we know today, as well as a four-pointed version. That way, no matter what direction the brand decided to go with, consumers would always be able to associate the pointed star only with the Mercedes-Benz brand.

FordWhen it comes to American car brands and car logos, Ford is grounded in being built in the United States. Ford was one of the first automobile brands to enter the industry and just like the brand hasn’t wavered much since its inception, Ford’s logo also hasn’t wavered much since it was released in 1927. Ford’s logo consists of a blue oval with the “Ford” wordmark centered within it in a script font. The color choices and font are intentional, just like Mercedes-Benz’s star was intentional. The white color was chosen to promote purity and clarity, blue was chosen to convey feelings of reliability and trust, and the font is based on the signature of Ford’s founder, Henry Ford. All these choices helped to craft a car logo that we all still easily recognize today.

TeslaA newer car brand is Tesla, but that hasn’t affected the brand’s ability to craft a car logo that stands out from the veteran brands in the industry. Tesla’s logo design is futuristic which ties back to the company’s focus on creating the cars of the future. With a fleet of vehicles that are entirely electric and minimalist in design, Tesla’s logo replicates these traits. The logo is a modernized “T” that mimics the cross-section of an electric motor, while also representing the first letter in the Tesla name. Tesla’s logo was released in 2003 when the company was founded and during the short time the brand has existed, its car logo has gone on to be more recognizable than some of the longstanding players in this space.
One common thread between the three logos above is that these car logos haven’t gone through a significant redesign over the years. Beyond these brands, you’ll find that the same is true for other car logos, and the same can be true for your brand’s logo.