09-02-2011, 12:30 PM | #1 |
Blessed
Drives: 2013 Sonic RS MT Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Saint Augustine FL
Posts: 28,444
|
Interesting read: Origins of the Chevy Bowtie
History with a Mystery: The Chevrolet Bowtie
Globally recognized today, the Chevrolet bowtie logo was introduced by company co-founder William C. Durant in late 1913. But how it came to be synonymous with the brand is open to wide interpretation. Durant’s version of how the logo came into existence is well known. The long-accepted story, confirmed by Durant himself, was that it was inspired by the wallpaper design in a Parisian hotel. According to The Chevrolet Story of 1961, an official company publication issued in celebration of Chevrolet's 50th anniversary: “It originated in Durant's imagination when, as a world traveler in 1908, he saw the pattern marching off into infinity as a design on wallpaper in a French hotel. He tore off a piece of the wallpaper and kept it to show friends, with the thought that it would make a good nameplate for a car.” However, conflicting accounts have emerged, each of which is plausible enough to deepen the mystery and suggest it may never be solved. Two of the alternate origins come from within the Durant family itself. In 1929, Durant's daughter, Margery, published a book entitled, My Father. In it, she told how Durant sometimes doodled nameplate designs on pieces of paper at the dinner table. “I think it was between the soup and the fried chicken one night that he sketched out the design that is used on the Chevrolet car to this day,” she wrote. More than half a century later, another Bowtie origin was recounted in a 1986 issue of Chevrolet Pro Management Magazine .based on a 13-year-old interview with Durant's widow, Catherine. She recalled how she and her husband were on holiday in Hot Springs, Va., in 1912. While reading a newspaper in their hotel room, Durant spotted a design and exclaimed, “I think this would be a very good emblem for the Chevrolet.” Unfortunately, at the time, Mrs. Durant didn't clarify what the motif was or how it was used. That nugget of information inspired Ken Kaufmann, historian and editor of The Chevrolet Review, to search out its validity. In a Nov. 12, 1911 edition of The Constitution newspaper, published in Atlanta, an advertisement appeared from by the Southern Compressed Coal Company for “Coalettes,” a refined fuel product for fires. The Coalettes logo, as published in the ad, had a slanted bowtie form, very similar to the shape that would soon become the Chevrolet icon. Did Durant and his wife see the same ad – or one similar – the following year a few states to the north? The date of the paper was just nine days after the incorporation of the Chevrolet Motor Co. One other explanation attributes the design to a stylized version of the cross of the Swiss flag. Louis Chevrolet was born In Switzerland at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Canton of Neuchâtel, to French parents, on Christmas Day 1878. Whichever origin is true, within a few years, the bowtie would emerge as the definitive Chevrolet logo. An October 2, 1913 edition of The Washington Post seems, so far, to be the earliest known example of the symbol being used to advertise the brand. “Look for this nameplate” the ad proclaims above the emblem. Customers the world over have been doing so ever since. Many variations in coloring and detail of the Chevrolet bowtie have come and gone over the decades since its introduction in late 1913, but the essential shape has never changed. In 2004, Chevrolet began to phase in the gold bowtie that today serves as the brand identity for all of its cars and trucks marketed globally. The move reinforced the strength of what was already one of the most-recognized automotive emblems in the world. More than 4.25 million Chevrolets were sold in more than 120 countries and regions during 2010
__________________
Click image to see build thread. PQ - "the love of cars. It's a boys first step toward manhood and a mans last hold on boyhood." Fbodfather - "We do not want to use the Z28 moniker on a car that does not deserve this hallowed name." The_Blur - "Let's not confuse competitors with equals." |
09-02-2011, 12:41 PM | #2 |
Petro-sexual
|
NICE!!! I've always wondered but never got around to checking this out. Thanks for the post.
This thread is full of WIN!!!
__________________
'20 ZL1 Black "Fury" A10, PDR, Exposed CF Extractor Magnuson Magnum DI TVS2650R // TooHighPSI Port Injection // FF // Katech Dual In-Tank // Soler 103 // PLM Heat Exchanger // ZLE Cradle bushings // BMR Chassis-Suspension Stuff // aFe Bars // Diode Dynamics LEDs // ACS Composites Guards // CF Dash // Aeroforce // tint // other stuffs |
09-02-2011, 12:41 PM | #3 |
Drives: Truck Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Home
Posts: 2,439
|
Durant vandalizing his hotel room. Nice. I wonder if he stole the towels on the way out too.
|
09-02-2011, 12:49 PM | #4 |
Drives: SS,PaceCar,ZL1,1LE,C7Z51,Z06,17-ZL1 Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Detroit, Mich
Posts: 68,623
|
|
09-02-2011, 12:50 PM | #5 |
|
Pretty cool.
|
09-02-2011, 01:26 PM | #6 |
It's okay the hotel room was French.
__________________
K&N Typhoon CAI, Flowmaster Outlaw axle backs, Vertini 20" Wheels, Sparks Restorations SS Emblems, GM Wind Restrictor, Splash Guards
|
|
09-02-2011, 01:36 PM | #7 |
Switchin' n Twitchin'
Drives: 2011 Camaro Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Chula Vista, CA (Eastlake)
Posts: 3,145
|
Here's the Coalette's logo for those wondering...
__________________
I am not childish, you're just being a poopy head!
|
09-02-2011, 01:40 PM | #8 |
COTW 12/3/12
Drives: 2012 Ashen Gray ZL1 Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Glen Carbon, IL
Posts: 3,279
|
That's interesting! I always wondered where the bowtie nameplate originated, and I guess now I have some sort of idea (or 3)!
|
09-02-2011, 02:30 PM | #9 |
Drives: Truck Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Home
Posts: 2,439
|
|
12-03-2011, 06:16 PM | #10 |
Drives: 2011 2SS Black RS Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Illinois
Posts: 95
|
Chevrolet Emblem "story"
Found this from "OMG Facts" on twitter. Thought I would share here. Any truth to this?
The Chevrolet emblem is based off of a wallpaper design from Paris When you think Chevy don't you think manly? Well, suprisingly, the design for the emblem of this many car company was inspired by dainty wallpaper from a hotel in Paris. There are several stories about the logo but this one is the most famous and popular. It is said that the co-founder of Chevy, William Durant, saw the pattern on a wallpaper and fell in love with it. So next time you see a Chevy commercial with Eminem music playing in the background remember that the emblem originated on wallpaper in Paris. Oo lala! |
12-03-2011, 06:23 PM | #11 |
Drives: 2011 2LT RS Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Kansas
Posts: 331
|
Considering the name Chevrolet was taken from a french partner, I would believe there is some validity to this story. And the commercial refered to is Chrysler's trying to push their 300 line, if memory serves.
__________________
|
|
|
Thread Tools | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
For Sale: Tjin Edition Chevy Camaro SS (GM Design Award Best GM Vehicle) | Tjin Edition Camaro | Autos For Sale / Wanted | 34 | 10-11-2013 06:31 PM |
Chevy Street Cruise to open Super Chevy Show Weekend in Houston | Houston Raceway | USA - Texas | 0 | 08-08-2010 08:11 AM |
Very poorly worded memo from GM - no more use of the term "Chevy" | comiskeybum | Off-topic Discussions | 222 | 06-13-2010 05:38 PM |
Interesting read........don't flame me!! | NVMY68SS | 5th Gen Camaro SS LS LT General Discussions | 32 | 05-14-2009 04:00 AM |
5th Gen Camaro LS3 info from Chevy Hi-Po...READ | TAG UR IT | Camaro V8 LS3 / L99 Engine, Exhaust, and Bolt-Ons | 295 | 03-07-2008 10:06 AM |