Dodge logos and hood ornaments

Dodge Ram (trucks and early cars)

The original Dodge Ram logo came from sculptor Avard T. Fairbanks, who was working at the University of Michigan in 1929; he needed a new car to replace his Willys-Knight, and offered his services to Chrysler Corporation in exchange for designing a hood ornament.

Mike Sealey wrote that the separated-horns hood ornament appeared in stylized form on cars around 1954, and was then applied to trucks.

“Probably the best remembered ram ornaments was seen on the 1951-1952 passenger cars. This one had separate horns, and was a popular aftermarket accessory for Dodge trucks well into the late 1960s.” (see photo below.) A striking ram logo was substituted in the late 1990s.

Dodge cars

by Mike Sealey

Chrysler replaced the Dodge Brothers logo with a gold winged shield, through to 1938. Some years wings were more level, while later ones drooped. Starting around 1954, the Ram logo, based on the old hood ornaments, was applied.

Dan Minick wrote that Dodge used a crest with red bars (the Dodge family coat of arms), starting in 1941; the Dodge coat of arms referred to changed shape in 1955, 1956 and 1957 before fading away at some time after 1960.

A three-pointed arrow shape (like a rocket — since Chrysler also built rockets) was used from the 1962 through to the 1970s. The coat of arms returned briefly in 1976 before fading away again around 1982, when Lee Iacocca sublimated all division logos in favor of the pentastar logo on all cars.

The coat of arms may have returned in 1976 because the hubcap logo used on the 1975 Coronet Brougham closely resembled the crest used on Zenith radios and TVs. I remember wondering why Dodge didn't bring back the crest it had used in the 1940s and 1950s; the following year they did just that.

The three-delta, rocket-like Dodge emblem used from 1962-1976 is called a "fratzog;" the name was reportedly made up by a designer who was told it had to be called something.

During the 1970s, a moderately slanted type-based logo was used to convey speed and a modern feel; Plymouth used a similar logo. In the 1980s, it was changed to all capitals and given a stronger slant. Starting in the late 1990s, the Ram logo was applied to cars as well.

Not to be forgotten is the short-lived Dodge “Scat Pack” logo, drawn up for the Super Bee in imitation of the more successful Plymouth Road Runner’s Warner Bros. cartoon Road Runner and Wiley Coyote. The logo was in tune with the times, but the Road Runner was far more in character for the value-oriented Plymouth brand than the “bare performance” Super Bee was for the still-upmarket Dodge brand.

Dodge Brothers

The use of the Star of David in the Dodge Brothers logo goes back to 1914 and the first Dodge Brothers car built.  It was last used on the 1938 Dodge.

The Dodge Brothers logo has been extensively discussed in the Dodge Brothers Club newsletter, which notes that in 1938, an export version with a single black triangle was used, and shortly afterwards, the Star-of-David logo disappeared completely. David Zimmerman wrote that he suspected that the Dodge Brothers may have believed that certain export markets would not buy a car with the link to the Jewish symbol.

The Dodge Brothers Club's FAQ states that the symbol was not chosen to anger Henry Ford, and goes on to say that "At the time the emblem was selected (most likely 1912-1914) it's likely that the Dodge brothers were unaware of its use in Judiasm. In fact, at this time, that symbol was not used universally in this context." It suggests these possibilities, among others:

1. These are two interlocking Greek letter "deltas" or "Ds" for the two Dodge brothers
2. A medieval symbol of mysticism and the joining of mind and body; in this case representing the joining of two brothers, who were very close, in this business venture (allegedly, letters addressed to just one of them would be discarded).
3. An abstraction of the square and compass of the Freemasons (this seems unlikely as well).
4. Nothing more or less than a badge with six pointed star similar to those used for law-enforcement officer's badges, some outlined with triangles. Sheriff, Marshall, and police badges frequently wore six pointed stars. The old-west Dodge City badge had six points. Horace Dodge was said to enjoy accompanying local law-enforcement officers on their runs.

The Dodge Brothers Club News editor wrote that "emblem is also a "Solomon’s Seal" sign of interconnected spirits, as the brothers were."

The source for the FAQ information on this topic appears to be Dodge Bros, the men, the motorcars, the legacy, by Charles K. Hyde, Wayne State University Press, 2004.

The source for the Dodge Brothers logos is cartype.com.

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