Proof that all cars look the same...

[AustinBoston]

People have been saying this for generations.  Cars used to look different.  Now they all look the same.  I've come up with proof.  At least, I've come up with proof that the marketing departments have no imagination.

Car styles (shape and color) are designed by the marketing department.  And the marketing department also comes up with...the logo.  About half of all cars today have one of just two (yes, two) logo styles.

Ovals and circles.  Thye're everywhere.  More and more automotive logos are based on either ovals or circles.  (Mathematically, a circle is just an oval with both focal points at the same location, aka a constant radius oval.)  Now I can excuse Ford from this tyrade because they have been using the oval for ever, and I can excuse Volkswagon because they have been using the circle for ever.  But what's up with everyone else?  I came up with this because I bought an Oldsmobile Intrigue last fall.  The new Olds logo is an oval with a double-vector through it.  You can see the logo here: http://www.oldsmobile.com/olds/home_f/index.html

A few examples:

Ovals:
Subaru - an oval with stars
Toyota - two ovals that sort of make a T...inside of an oval.
Hyundai - a slanted H inside an oval
Nissan - an oval with the word Nissan superimposed on it (it looks almost circular, but it is not a true circle, it is a very circular oval)

Circles:
Saab - A circle with a cluster of grapes
BMW - Blue and white circle with the letters BMW in a circle
Mercedes-Benz - Three vectors in a circle
Lexus - A bent L inside a circle
Acura - a pair of dividers in a circle (it's not a perfect circle, but very close)

Now at first, I thought this disorder had only infected foreign car companies and that the Oldsmobile was just an exception.  But then I came up behind a Chevy Malibu, which has an oval with a wave, and the typical chevy logo in the bottom of the wave.  This reminded me of the chevy Impala, which is a stylized Impala (a type of small antelope) superimposed on an oval.

So then I thought, well, Chrysler isn't really an American car company any more, but at least they have the Chrysler Star.  But no, that was abandoned years ago.  It's been replaced with a pair of stylized "wings" with an oval in the middle!  There is another car company that uses a very similar logo - a pair of stylized wings with an oval in the middle - but I can't remember who.

Even the use of ovals lacks imagination.  Only one oval logo includes a vertical logo, and that is the Toyota logo.  But that is offset by the use of TWO horizontal logos.

So what is up with these people?  There are other simple geometric shapes besides circles and ovals.  They can look really cool, and they can be quickly recognized from a long way off.  As an example, look at the Mitsubishi logo: http://www.mitsubishicars.com/MMSA/jsp/index.jsp
This is a triangle-based logo that is easily recognized from a long way off, and it looks cool.

Come on, get off your stuck logos and do something with an imagination, car companies!

Comments/observations/other examples?

Austin

[MommaMia]

At first I thought " Cadillac... their logo is a crest".  But after looking at the Cadillac site, their crest is encompassed by, you guessed it, a circle, albeit one that's broken at the top.

Now I'm going to be checking out all the cars on the road, at stop lights, in parking lots...  Thanks a lot AB.  Like I didn't already have enough to think about! :p

[Firefyter-Emt]

Well, my Jeep logo is still "JEEP"  Ahhh gotta love old school style!

[B-flat]

At least there are varying price tags.

[tlhdoc]

Now I will be watching the badges on vehicles instead of the road. :eyecrazy:

[MommaMia]

Volkswagen.... a V over a W in a circle.

[AustinBoston]

Volkswagen.... a V over a W in a circle.

Volkswagen (and Ford) were excused at the beginning of my post because they've been using the circle and the oval for so long.  The first to think of something can't be called "unimaginative" or a "copy cat".

I remembered three others:

Kia - an oval with the word KIA in it.
Mazda has one model that uses an oval with a circle in it...does this go under ovals or circles?
Audi - four interlocking circles

Austin

[MommaMia]

Volkswagen (and Ford) were excused at the beginning of my post because they've been using the circle and the oval for so long.  The first to think of something can't be called "unimaginative" or a "copy cat".


Austin

ooops. Sorry.  I just got back from being out driving when i posted that and ran into the house to type what I had seen.  Should have gone back to your original post and re-read before I posted!  So sorry!

[birol]

let me guess, you were eating those yummy burgers and fries again and couldn't scroll down because your hands were greasy :-()

Even the cars look like each other these days .... I do not like that a bit ! They are all trying to do the same thing at the same time, except Cadillac !

ooops. Sorry.  I just got back from being out driving when i posted that and ran into the house to type what I had seen.  Should have gone back to your original post and re-read before I posted!  So sorry!

[griffsmom]

Alfa Romeo: Banded circle with the words "Alfa Romeo" in the band and the inner circle divided in half vertically with a red cross on the left side and a snake under a crown on the right.
 
 
I used to have a 1986 Spider Veloce convertible that I bought used after I graduated from grad school and passed my professional exams. I loved that car. I had it for 7 years and then finally had to sell it when DH and I decided to start a family. It was the best car I have ever had and I cried when I had to sell it!

[flbuilder]

Maybe there's a psychological reason behind it.  Nost big companies dump millions into research and leave almost nothing to chance.  Maybe round/oval shapes subconciously make people want to buy cars.  

[griffsmom]

Maybe there's a psychological reason behind it. Nost big companies dump millions into research and leave almost nothing to chance. Maybe round/oval shapes subconciously make people want to buy cars.

That's a good point. Maybe a square psychologically conveys a "box" and people don't like to be boxed in. Maybe we just inherently find comfort and security in the softness that a circle gives us...you know, no sharp corners, nothing to "cornber" you in...kind of like that nice padded round room, down at the local psych hospital...:eyecrazy:

[6Quigs]

You know Austin, asking for people's observaations can be a bit dangerous.
My commute is on a 2 lane, winding road, against the main flow of traffic, so there I was this morning, flying along at 60 mph, trying to check out the Logos, on all the cars going 25 mph in the other direction,
Nearly hit a few, but did manage to notice some different ovals.

Buick has a circle with 3 crests inside
Mercury uses a circle, and I think it is a M inside
Infinity uses a circle with a piece missing
Plymouth has a circle with a sailing boat inside
Fiat also uses a circle
and
Scion uses a circle(never heard of them before).

Our Company recently changed it's logo and the Marketing firm we used came up with a Green circle for the Logo, saying it was very Earth Friendly.
Looks like the Motor companies are using the same Marketing guy, and are trying to use circles so that their vehicles appear as being earth friendly, again making us subconciously want to buy their cars!!