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Hood ornament

 
Hood Ornament

 
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Hood ornament
 
 
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A hood/bonnet ornament or car mascot is a specially crafted model of something which symbolizes a car company like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood
Hood (vehicle)

The hood or bonnet is the hinged lid over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment for maintenance and auto mechanic....
.

Examples of hood ornaments include: Additionally, many vehicle models such as Buick's Regal
Buick Regal

The Buick Regal is a mid-size car produced by General Motors' Buick division from 1973 through 2004, during which Buick also used the Buick Century name on mid-size models; the two frequently shared bodies and powertrains....
 or Chrysler's
Chrysler

Chrysler LLC is an American automobile manufacturer that has manufactured automobiles since 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler ....
 Cordoba
Chrysler Cordoba

Chrysler Cordoba was the name of an intermediate personal luxury car coupe sold by Chrysler Corporation in North America from 1975 to 1983. It was the company's first model produced specifically for the personal luxury market and the first Chrysler-branded vehicle that was less than full-size....
 had their own unique emblem and accompanying hood ornament.

In the early years automobiles had their radiator
Radiator

Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in automobiles, buildings, and electronics....
 caps outside of the hood and on top of the grille.






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Ford Roadster
Hood Ornament
A hood/bonnet ornament or car mascot is a specially crafted model of something which symbolizes a car company like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood
Hood (vehicle)

The hood or bonnet is the hinged lid over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment for maintenance and auto mechanic....
.

Examples of hood ornaments include:
  • Archer
    Archery

    Archery is the art, practice or skill of shooting with Bow and arrow. Archery has historically been used in hunting and combat and has become a precision sport....
     on Pierce-Arrow
    Pierce-Arrow

    Pierce-Arrow was an United States automobile manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active between 1901 and 1938. Best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial motor truck, Fire apparatus, camp trailers, motorcycles, and bicycles....
     cars
  • Crest
    Crest (heraldry)

    A crest is a component of an heraldry display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
     and Wreath
    Wreath

    A wreath is a circle made of flowers, leaf and sometimes fruits that can be used as an ornament, hanging on a wall or door, or resting on a table....
     on Cadillac
    Cadillac

    Cadillac is a luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors. Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, mainly in the United States, Canada, and Mexico....
     cars
  • Leaping jaguar
    Jaguar

    The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a New World Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus, along with the tiger, lion, and leopard of the Old World....
     on Jaguar
    Jaguar (car)

    Jaguar Cars, Ltd. is an Automotive_industry of luxury and executive cars operating under the Jaguar marque. The company's headquarters are in Coventry, England, where it was founded by William_Lyons in 1922....
     cars
  • Lion rampant on Peugeot
    Peugeot

    Peugeot is a major France automobile brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citro?n. Its parent company PSA Peugeot Citro?n is the second largest carmaker in Europe, behind Volkswagen....
     cars
  • Ram's
    Domestic sheep

    Domestic sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates....
     head on Dodge
    Dodge

    Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and trucks, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
     cars and trucks
  • Rocket
    Rocket

    A rocket or rocket vehicle is a missile, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust by the Reaction of the rocket to the ejection of fast moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine....
     on Oldsmobile
    Oldsmobile

    Oldsmobile was a brand name of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory....
     cars
  • Spirit of Ecstasy
    Spirit of Ecstasy

    The Spirit of Ecstasy is the name of the mascot on Rolls-Royce cars. It is in the form of a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind and above her....
     on Rolls-Royce Motors
    Rolls-Royce Motors

    Rolls-Royce Motors was created from the demerger of the Rolls-Royce car business from Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973. Rolls-Royce Limited had been nationalised in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company caused in part by the development of the Rolls-Royce RB211 jet engine....
     cars
  • Trishield
    Buick

    Buick is a marque of automobile sold in the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Israel by General Motors Corporation. Since the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, it is GM's only North America-based entry-level luxury brand....
    s on Buick
    Buick

    Buick is a marque of automobile sold in the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Israel by General Motors Corporation. Since the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, it is GM's only North America-based entry-level luxury brand....
     cars
  • Three-pointed star surrounded by a circle on Mercedes-Benz
    Mercedes-Benz

    Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coach es, and trucks. It is currently a division of the parent company, Daimler AG , after previously being owned by Daimler-Benz....
     cars and trucks
Additionally, many vehicle models such as Buick's Regal
Buick Regal

The Buick Regal is a mid-size car produced by General Motors' Buick division from 1973 through 2004, during which Buick also used the Buick Century name on mid-size models; the two frequently shared bodies and powertrains....
 or Chrysler's
Chrysler

Chrysler LLC is an American automobile manufacturer that has manufactured automobiles since 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler ....
 Cordoba
Chrysler Cordoba

Chrysler Cordoba was the name of an intermediate personal luxury car coupe sold by Chrysler Corporation in North America from 1975 to 1983. It was the company's first model produced specifically for the personal luxury market and the first Chrysler-branded vehicle that was less than full-size....
 had their own unique emblem and accompanying hood ornament.

In the early years automobiles had their radiator
Radiator

Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in automobiles, buildings, and electronics....
 caps outside of the hood and on top of the grille. The hood ornament was born as a way of decorating the cap. Hood ornaments (or car mascots as they are known in the UK) were popular in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s with many automaker
Automaker

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. In 2007, more than 73 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide....
s fitting them to their vehicles. Moreover, a healthy business was created in the supply of accessory mascots available to anyone who wanted to add a hood ornament or car mascot to their automobile. Most companies like Desmo and Smiths are now out of business with only Louis Lejeune
Louis Lejeune

Louis Lejeune Ltd. is a small bronze foundry in England, producing mainly small ornamental bronzes, decorative architectural fittings, and car mascots ....
 in England surviving.

Hood ornaments are usually cast in brass
Brass

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin....
, zinc
Zinc

Zinc is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a first-row transition metal of the group 12 element of the periodic table....
, or bronze
Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other chemical element such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon....
 and finished in a chrome plated
Chrome plating

Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness....
 finish. In the years when chrome plate was unavailable, they were plated in either silver
Silver

Silver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal....
 or nickel
Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element, with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge....
. Some also incorporated other materials, such as plastic, while others incorporated a light bulb for illumination at night.

There is now a strong collectors market for hood ornaments and car mascots. Sculptors such as Bazin, Paillet, Sykes, Renevey, and Lejeune all created finely detailed sculptures in miniature.

The best-known glass mascots were made by René Lalique
René Lalique

Ren? Jules Lalique was born in Ay, Marne, a small village in the Marne region of France on April 6 1860, and died May 5 1945. He was a glass art, renowned for his stunning creations of perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks and in the latter part of his life, automobile hood ornaments....
 in France, but other sellers or producers of glass mascots include Sabino in France, Red Ashay in England, and Persons Majestic in the U.S. The latter two had their products made in Czechoslovakia. The Lalique company, like Louis Lejeune
Louis Lejeune

Louis Lejeune Ltd. is a small bronze foundry in England, producing mainly small ornamental bronzes, decorative architectural fittings, and car mascots ....
, is one of the few survivors from this era of motoring.

Few current vehicles have hood ornaments, partly because they have fallen out of style and partly because they pose a risk for injuries in collisions with pedestrians (although this hazard has been largely mitigated by mounting modern hood ornaments to springs so that they will fold down if struck by a pedestrian).

Hood ornaments still remain quite common on many models of luxury cars and are a target for vandals and thieves.

External links


  • Retrieved on April 18 2008.
  • Retrieved on October 09 2008.