Chevrolet Motor Co. (1912-1918)
Chevrolet Motor Co. Div. General Motors Corp. (1918-present)
Detroit, Michigan
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| This is the first Chevrolet radiator emblem used from 1913 to c1915 mjs Size: 110mm wide 38mm high MM: Shepard |
William C. Durant planned the Chevrolet as the car to allow him to regain control of General Motors, the corporation he had founded in 1908 and lost in 1910. Billy Durant did succeed in regaining control of General Motors in 1915 but by 1920 he had lost everything again. However, General Motors kept the Chevrolet, which was to become one of their most successful cars.
The first Chevrolet, designed by Louis Chevrolet for Billy Durant, was the six-cylinder Type C Classic introduced in 1912. It was too expensive and Durant wanted a smaller, lower cost car to compete with the Ford Model T. He attempted to do this by combining the best features of the Chevrolet and the Little car (see Little), which he had also started in 1912 , to produce a new Chevrolet. Louis Chevrolet left to build the Frontenac. The new Chevrolet models were introduced in 1914, in particular the four-cylinder Royal Mail and Baby Grand models. These were the first cars to carry the famous Chevrolet bow-tie emblem. They were immediately successful and Chevrolet sales grew. However, very low production costs allowed Ford to keep reducing the price of his Model T below the price of a Chevrolet.
In the early 1920's, after Durant had departed from General Motors, it was planned to keep the Chevrolet as a lower cost car but to add improvements and refinements that the Ford Model T did not have to make the higher cost of the Chevrolet more acceptable. This policy was successful but did not happen immediately. A new specially designed air-cooled Chevrolet was introduced in 1923. But, the Chevrolet Copper-Cooled, as it was called, was a disaster. Of the 759 cars built, 239 were scrapped before leaving the factory and those that were delivered to dealers were recalled. Only two Chevrolet Copper Cooled cars survive, one of which is displayed at The Henry Ford in Dearborn.
Fortunately, there were other Chevrolet models that were successful and after a few years Chevrolet had become a really serious competitor to Ford and a highly successful automobile. By 1928 Chevrolet was the best selling automobile in America and after World War II Chevrolet became the best selling car in the world. Chevrolet continued to introduce new models like the Corvette sports car in 1953, as well as the Camaro, Corvair, Bell Air and Impala, and became one of America's best selling automobiles in history.
Chevrolet also started to produce commercial vehicles in 1918, including a wide range of trucks and delivery vans, which together with Chevrolet passenger cars, continue today.
The Emblems
There are several stories about the origins of the well known Chevrolet bow tie emblem design. The most well known story is that William Durant was on vacation in Paris in 1908 and saw the bow tie design in the wallpaper in his hotel room and thought that this "would make a good nameplate for a car".
However, his wife has since said that she and William were on vacation in Virginia around 1912, when he saw the bow tie design in a local newspaper and said "I think this would be a very good emblem for the Chevrolet". It has since been discovered that in November 1911, the Southern newspaper "The Constitution" carried an advertisement for Coalettes, which incorporated a bow tie design, see below:
Whether or not this advertisement was the real inspiration for the Chevrolet bow tie emblem design may never be known.
There are several stories about the origins of the well known Chevrolet bow tie emblem design. The most well known story is that William Durant was on vacation in Paris in 1908 and saw the bow tie design in the wallpaper in his hotel room and thought that this "would make a good nameplate for a car".
However, his wife has since said that she and William were on vacation in Virginia around 1912, when he saw the bow tie design in a local newspaper and said "I think this would be a very good emblem for the Chevrolet". It has since been discovered that in November 1911, the Southern newspaper "The Constitution" carried an advertisement for Coalettes, which incorporated a bow tie design, see below:
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| Part of the Coalettes ad showing the bow tie design ("The Constitution" Nov 1911) |
Whether or not this advertisement was the real inspiration for the Chevrolet bow tie emblem design may never be known.
The first Chevrolet car, the Type C Classic Six, introduced in 1912 did not carry a radiator emblem but had a small sterling silver cast "Chevrolet" script attached to the dash board.
The bow tie radiator emblem first appeared on a Chevrolet in 1913. The emblem was finished in deep blue enamel with white enamel letters. This Chevrolet emblem continued in use until 1915 but is rare, see example shown above at the top of this post.
In 1915, the bow tie emblem was given a wide white enamel border and had a less intense blue enamel finish, see example below, which was used for many years thereafter, including on Chevrolet trucks, even though the original 1913 bow tie emblem design was used as the Chevrolet logo in advertising into the 1940's.
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| This is the second bow tie Chevrolet radiator emblem (1915-1928) mjs Size: 104mm wide 37mm high MM: Unknown (some D L Auld) |
The white and copper colored enamel Chevrolet Copper Cooled radiator emblem of 1923 shown below is extremely rare, as very few survived after Chevrolet recalled and destroyed these cars and their emblems.
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| This is the extremely rare Chevrolet Copper Cooled radiator emblem (1923) mjs Size: 104mm wide 37mm high MM: D.L.Auld |
The following blue and white enamel Chevrolet emblem from the Smithsonian emblem collection is also inscribed "Copper Cooled" but is not copper colored. This Chevrolet emblem may be a reproduction emblem or, a trial Copper Cooled emblem, which was never adopted.
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| Possible reproduction Chevrolet Copper Cooled emblem sac Size: Unknown MM: Unknown |
The Chevrolet radiator emblem was changed for the 1928 model year only to a smaller blue and white enamel Chevrolet bow tie emblem mounted on an oval copper backing plate with a winged wheel motif, see example shown below:
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| This is a Chevrolet radiator emblem (1928) mjs Overall Size:114mm wide 58mm high Bow tie:75mm wide 27mm high MM: Unknown |
The following larger blue and white enamel Chevrolet bow tie emblem is attached to an unusual vertically ribbed mounting plate. This Chevrolet emblem is a mystery. If you can identify this Chevrolet emblem, please lt me know, in order to update this post.
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| This is a Chevrolet emblem (1920's date uncertain) mjs Overall Size:114mm wide 58mm high Bow tie: 91mm wide 33mm high MM: Unknown |
The following is the bow tie emblem used in the Chevrolet emblem shown immediately above:
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| This is a Chevrolet radiator emblem (1920's date uncertain) mjs Size: 91mm wide 33mm high MM: Unknown |
The Chevrolet radiator emblem was changed again in 1929 to a blue and white enamel bow tie superimposed on a vertical oval shaped emblem, see example shown below. This Chevrolet radiator emblem was used on Chevrolet passenger cars and trucks through to 1932.
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| This is a Chevrolet radiator emblem (1929-1932) mjs Size: 78mm high 75mm wide MM: D.L.Auld |
The following is a rare blue enamel variation of the previous emblem::
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| This is a Chevrolet radiator emblem (c1929-1932) mjs Size: 78mm high 75mm wide MM: Unknown |
The equivalent Chevrolet radiator emblem for models built in the UK was inscribed "Made in England", see example shown below:
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| This is a UK Chevrolet radiator emblem (1929-1931) mjs Size: 78mm high 75mm wide MM: Unknown |
There was a return to the blue and white enamel Chevrolet bow tie radiator emblem in 1932, which also continued in use on Chevrolet trucks in 1933, see example shown below:
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| This is a Chevrolet radiator emblem (1932-1933) mjs Size: 75mm wide 27mm high MM: D.L.Auld |
The 1933 Chevrolet had a V-shaped radiator and carried the folded blue and white enamel Chevrolet bow tie radiator grille emblem shown below. This emblem was also used on Chevrolet trucks in 1934-1935.
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| This is a Chevrolet radiator grille emblem (1933-1935) mjs Size: 72mm (75mm flat) 27mm high MM: Grammes |
The following blue and white enamel Chevrolet bow tie emblem was used on the spare tire cover from 1933 to 1936:
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| This is a Chevrolet spare tire cover emblem (1933-1936) mjs Size: 50mm wide 19mm high MM: D L Auld |
The following blue Chevrolet emblems are a mystery. If you can identify and put dates on either of these Chevrolet emblems, please let me know, in order to update this post:
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| This is a painted pressed metal Chevrolet emblem (dates unknown) mjs Size: 72mm 27mm high MM: Fox |
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| This is an enamel Chevrolet emblem (dates unknown) mjs Overall size: 64mm wide 45mm high Bow tie size: 64mm wide 19mm high MM: None |
There was a new Chevrolet radiator grille emblem for 1934-1935, which continued in use on Chevrolet trucks through 1936. This is the red and blue painted V-shaped Chevrolet radiator grille emblem shown below.
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| This Chevrolet radiator grille emblem (1934-1936) mjs Size: 167mm wide 54mm high MM: Unknown |
This Chevrolet radiator grille emblem is also found painted blue and yellow, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet radiator grille emblem (1934-1936) carfromuk |
The following slightly smaller, flat blue and yellow painted Chevrolet emblem was used on the luggage rack:
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| This is a Chevrolet luggage rack emblem (1934-1935) mjs Size: 163mm wide 54mm high MM: None |
The 1936-1938 Chevrolet truck carried the radiator grille emblem shown earlier above and a bow tie hood side emblem, see illustration shown below:
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| Chevrolet truck showing rad & hood side emblems (1936-1938) gmheritagecenter |
The following shows the Chevrolet truck hood side emblem, originally painted blue:
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| This is Chevrolet truck hood side emblem (1936-1938) mjs Size: 192mm wide 62mm high MM: Crowe |
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| Chevrolet truck hood side emblem (1938) ms |
There was a new Chevrolet passenger car radiator emblem for 1936, see example shown below:
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| This Chevrolet passenger car radiator emblem (1936) mjs Size: 197mm wide 54mm high MM: Unknown |
There was a change in design for the 1937 Chevrolet radiator grille emblems with slightly different sizes for passenger cars and trucks, see examples shown below:
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| This is a Chevrolet passenger car grille emblem (1937) dj monteleone Size: 200mm wide MM: Unknown |
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| This is a Chevrolet truck radiator grille emblem (1937) mjs Size: 187mm wide 39mm high MM: Unknown |
The following is a painted Chevrolet passenger car trunk emblem:
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| This is a Chevrolet trunk emblem (1937) mjs Size: 218mm wide 30mm high MM: PT Michigan |
There was a new Chevrolet radiator grille emblem for both passenger cars and trucks in 1938, see example shown below:
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| This is a Chevrolet radiator grille emblem (1938) mjs Size: 175mm high 145mm wide MM: SM |
The following is a Chevrolet Master trunk emblem:
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| This is a Chevrolet Master trunk emblem (1938) mjs Size: 158mm high 49mm wide MM: Unknown |
The Master Deluxe had the same trunk emblem but mounted within a separate attachment, which displays "Master" on left and "Deluxe" on the right, see example shown below:
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| This is a Chevrolet Master Deluxe trunk emblem (1938) dnc Size: 154mm high 100mm wide MM: Unknown |
The Chevrolet passenger car radiator grille emblem was changed again for 1939, see example shown below:
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| This shows a Chevrolet radiator grille emblem (1939) karbuds |
The following is the 1939 Chevrolet trunk emblem/light fitting:
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| This is a Chevrolet trunk emblem/light fitting (1939) agncgroup |
The "Chevrolet" name was stamped into the chrome bar at the top of the radiator grille for the Chevrolet truck in 1939, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet truck radiator grille emblem (1939) depositphotos |
The Chevrolet passenger car emblem for 1940 was a painted diecast emblem mounted between pressed metal chrome wings at the base of the hood and with the "Chevrolet" name stamped into the top bar of the radiator grille, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet car hood & radiator grille emblems (1940) pinterest |
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| This is a Chevrolet car hood emblem (1940) mjs Size: 97mm high 36mm wide MM: Unknown |
The following shows the Chevrolet truck radiator grille emblem for 1940 with the "Chevrolet" name stamped into a deep chrome bar at the top of the radiator grille:
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| Chevrolet truck radiator grille emblem (1940) ms |
The Chevrolet passenger car radiator grille emblems changed again for 1941 with the "Chevrolet" name on a pressed metal trim piece on the front of the hood and a painted pressed metal emblem at the top center of the radiator grille, see Chevrolet Special Deluxe example shown below:
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| Chevrolet car hood & radiator grille emblems (1941) classics.autotrader |
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| Chevrolet car grille emblem (1941) jill reger |
The Chevrolet truck from 1941 to 1947 had a change in hood and grille design with the "Chevrolet" name pressed into a horizontal chrome upper grille bar and a painted diecast radiator grille emblem in the center of the radiator grille, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet truck rad grille emblem (1941-1947) theresa tahara |
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| This is a Chevrolet truck radiator grille emblem (1941-1947) mjs Size: 136mm high 40mm wide MM: Unknown |
There were some examples during the war years, perhaps due to restrictions on the use of metals, when this emblem was made in some kind of bakelite material, see examples shown below:
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| Chevrolet pick up truck emblem & grille (1945) ms |
This is the painted "bakelite" Chevrolet radiator grille emblem shown below. This Chevrolet radiator grille emblem is scarce.
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| This is a Chevrolet radiator grille emblem (c1945) mjs Size: Unknown MM: Unknown |
The Chevrolet passenger car for 1942 had a separate painted hood emblem and displayed the "Chevrolet" name at the top of the radiator grille, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet Special Deluxe hood & grille emblems (1942) mecum |
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| This is a Chevrolet hood emblem (1942) mjs Size: 253mm wide 82mm high MM: Unknown |
When Chevrolet production resumed after the Second World War in 1946, the Chevrolet Fleetmaster had a new painted hood emblem and displayed the "Chevrolet" name low down on the radiator grille, see the example shown below:
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| Chevrolet Fleetmaster showing hood emblem (1946) conceptcarz |
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| This is a Chevrolet hood emblem (1946) mjs Size: 142mm high 96mm wide MM: Unknown |
The 1947 Chevrolet had a new hood emblem and displayed the "Chevrolet" name back at the top of the radiator grille, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet Fleetmaster showing hood & grille (1947) grautogallery |
The same Chevrolet hood emblem continued in 1948 but there was a small change in the grille design, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet Fleetmaster hood emblem & grille (1948) bonhams |
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| This is a Chevrolet hood emblem (1947-1948) mjs Size: 265mm wide 55mm high MM: GMC |
There was a small change in the Chevrolet hood emblem and grille top for 1949, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet hood emblem & grille (1949) bonhams |
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| This is a Chevrolet hood emblem (1949) mjs Size: 305mm wide 59mm high MM: GMC |
There was a new Chevrolet hood emblem for the Chevrolet Bel Air in 1950, see example shown below:
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| Chevrolet Bel Air showing hood emblem (1950) oldcarsweekly |
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| This is a Chevrolet hood emblem (1950) mjs Size: 380mm wide 70mm high MM: BLC |
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