[King T]

Cadillac Loses its Wreath With Elmiraj Concept

With all the attention going to the new Cadillac Elmiraj concept that just debuted in Pebble Beach — and speculation on what it means for the brand’s future — it’d be easy to miss a very-real change that could affect us much sooner than an Elmiraj-based production model. That change concerns the new Cadillac logo, which for the first time since 1982, doesn’t have a wreath. Is the move for the better?

The revised Cadillac Crest – officially still a concept – is wreathless, and more streamlined than before. Some may be crying foul over the change, but this isn’t the first time Cadillac has changed its logo. Cadillac’s first crest from when the company was founded in 1902 doesn’t look all that different from the latest iteration. It featured the signature Cadillac shield (complete with ducks and crown), with the wreath wrapping around it. But that logo only lasted a few years before being replaced by a wreathless emblem. The wreath would then be added and removed from Cadillac logos numerous times until the early 1930s. Cadillac would go through more than 10 logos in the years after, until the Wreath made a comeback in 1982.

Since then, the Cadillac Crest has seen a few revisions, losing its ducks and crown, but always keeping the wreath. That is, until today’s Cadillac Elmiraj Concept reveal. The new Cadillac Crest unveiled on the Elmiraj combines the modernity of the outgoing crest, with the flat and wide crest Cadillac used during its heyday between 1959 and 1964. Cadillac calls the more modern-looking crest (still technically a concept), “streamlined and tailored to the [Elmiraj's] overall design.”

What do you think of the new Cadillac Crest as seen on the Elmiraj concept?

Do you like it, or do you think Cadillac should stick with the wreath?