Badges, scripts, emblems, logos…no matter what you call them, there’s plenty of mystique tied up in a vehicle’s nameplate.
When the Dodge brothers, Horace and John, built their first automobile back in 1914, their final touch was a small enamel badge on the radiator with their company logo: a circle with two interlocking triangles inside, one white and one black, forming a six-pointed star. Old school machinists, the brothers were fiercely proud of their work and the emblem was their badge of honor.
Through nearly 100 years of Dodge history, a series of badges and logos evolved. In 1932, the first Dodge Ram mascot made an appearance. Today that Ram represents Dodge’s sibling brand, RAM Trucks. In 1940 a crest with a knight’s helmet was introduced, growing more stylized each year as the cars became more streamlined and modern.
From 1962 to 1981, the Dodge emblem had a colorful internal label: It was called a fratzog. Three arrow shapes pointed inward to form a three-sided star. Not knowing what else to call the imaginative design, a Dodge stylist made up the whimsical name. Today the Dodge brand is physically represented by the name DODGE spelled out in bold, upper-case block letters, accompanied by two diagonal red stripes, which symbolize speed and agility.
In the swinging sixties, wild model names became all the rage, especially in the muscle car lineups. In 1968, fellow Chrysler brand Plymouth introduced the Road Runner, based on the Saturday morning cartoon character. Dodge followed suit in 1969 with the Super Bee, featuring a caricature of a crazy little bug with racing goggles and a helmet. Popular? They sure were. Decades later, the legend continues with the Super Bee. It’s a hot SRT-prepared Charger with a 392 HEMI® V8 and 470 horsepower. But be careful, you might get stung.
Article and image courtesy of Dodge Redline.
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