Hood Ornament Identification

Today, hood ornaments are only common on certain types of cars. But over the past century of automobile manufacturing, hundreds of different hood ornaments have graced vehicles ranging from high-performance sports cars to luxury vehicles and modest family sedans. Identifying hood ornaments can be an involved process of historical research.

Hood Ornament History

Hood ornaments began as a way to decorate or obscure cars' radiator caps. This was necessary on early cars that had radiator caps mounted outside of the hood rather than inside the engine compartment. Hood ornaments were considered a standard feature on most care throughout the first half of the 20th century.
Hood ornaments have been made from a number of materials, including zinc and bronze, but are usually plated in a silver metal such as nickel or chrome. This allows hood ornaments to match the rest of a car's exterior trim while being more durable due to its base made from a non-corrosive alloy. Besides those hood ornaments included with cars, many drivers purchased aftermarket hood ornaments as a way of customizing their automobile. Several large companies were founded in the 1920s and 1930s to design and sell hood ornaments not to automakers but directly to drivers.

Logo Ornaments

Most modern hood ornaments feature a three-dimensional version of the automaker's logo. These are the easiest to identify, especially in cases where the same image is used elsewhere on the vehicle or in the automaker's advertising. Examples of this sort of hood ornament are Chrysler's five-pointed "pentastar," Jaguar's leaping jaguar and the three-pointed star surrounded by a circle that symbolizes Mercedes-Benz.
Other hood ornaments based on automakers logos include the Ram's head on many Dodge trucks, the laurel wreath used by Cadillac and the "trishield" common on Buick cars in the 1980s and 1990s. As an added advantage in identification, the Buick trishield sometimes featured the word "Buick," leaving no doubt as to the identity of the automaker.

Modern Luxury Hood Ornaments

Many of today's more obscure hood ornaments are to be found on high-end luxury cars. For example, the Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar hood ornaments are common on those brands' luxury models, but two-dimensional logos are used instead on their sports cars. While these two-dimensional hood logos are sometimes referred to as hood ornaments, they are more properly classified as hood badges.
Other luxury brands, particularly those with long and storied histories, retain the hood ornaments that were used on older models. An example of this practice is Bentley Motors, whose cars feature the same "Winged B" hood ornament and corresponding hood badge they have used for decades.

Unique Hood Ornaments

In some cases, a hood ornament can be identified by its unique use of materials rather than its design. Several high-end makers of hood ornaments included electric lights to illuminate them at night. Others used glass in crafting hood ornaments that were miniature sculptures. The French design firm of Rene Lalique was notable for its glass ornaments, along with Persons Majestic in America and Red Ashay in Britain. Because of their rarity and craftsmanship, these sort of hood ornaments are among the most desirable by collectors today.
Another grouping of unique hood ornaments are those designed to represent a specific model of car rather than an automaker. The leaping impala used on the Chevy Impala and the Chrysler Cordoba's gold medallion are two examples of these more specific ornaments.

The Spirit of Ecstasy

Perhaps the most famous hood ornament is that used by Rolls Royce. Known as the Spirit of Ecstasy, the ornament consists of the figure of a woman leaning forward into the oncoming wind. Her flowing gown billows out behind her, giving the appearance of an angel with wings. Charles Robinson Sykes designed the ornament, which was first used on Rolls Royce cars in 1911. Since then, it has undergone several changes. While the original Spirit of Ecstasy ornaments were silver plate, theft was common and later models were coated with nickel. Today, some Rolls Royce models feature a retractable version of the Spirit of Ecstasy which disappears into the hood of the car while it is parked. On older examples, different inscriptions at the base of the ornament signify which era it dates from.

References

• Hood Ornament Facts
• Collector's Corner

Resources

• The Art of the Automobile Hood Ornaments