Idiotic car badge question: Volvo edition
July 26, 2014 7:48 AM Subscribe
Yes, I know this is a truly silly question, but what does Volvo's logo represent? It looks like a pair of manicure or embroidery sissors!
I mean, Ford's badge is easy to interpret: it's the word 'Ford' in script inside their iconic blue oval. Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Acura; all are stylized versions of capital letters: T, H, L, A, whatever. Mitusubishi's is their 'three diamonds'; Subaru's is 'seven stars'. Chrysler and Saab use crests; Audi's linked circles has to do with their founder's names.
But Volvo..... I swear the thing just looks like a tiny pair of sissors: two empty loops at either side of the base of a thick-ish upright with a notched top. Does anyone know where this came from, or what it's supposed to represent?
I mean, Ford's badge is easy to interpret: it's the word 'Ford' in script inside their iconic blue oval. Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Acura; all are stylized versions of capital letters: T, H, L, A, whatever. Mitusubishi's is their 'three diamonds'; Subaru's is 'seven stars'. Chrysler and Saab use crests; Audi's linked circles has to do with their founder's names.
But Volvo..... I swear the thing just looks like a tiny pair of sissors: two empty loops at either side of the base of a thick-ish upright with a notched top. Does anyone know where this came from, or what it's supposed to represent?
Response by poster: Well. Maybe I'm seeing something like a local dealer's logo? Because it sure isn't that circle with the arrow thingy!
I'll hunt through nearish Volvo dealership logos, thanks.
posted by easily confused at 7:55 AM on July 26, 2014
I'll hunt through nearish Volvo dealership logos, thanks.
posted by easily confused at 7:55 AM on July 26, 2014
I always thought it was the 'male' symbol (never seen the scissors icon), also I think the current Toyota symbol is actually the styalied entire name of Toyota.
posted by edgeways at 8:00 AM on July 26, 2014
posted by edgeways at 8:00 AM on July 26, 2014
Best answer: You're probably looking at the Don Beyer logo. Stylized version of the initials DB.
posted by drlith at 8:03 AM on July 26, 2014
posted by drlith at 8:03 AM on July 26, 2014
Response by poster: Aaaannnnd bingo: Don Beyer Volvo it is, which also explains the logo --- the thick-ish upright is actually two separate vertical bars, the loops are the loops in a lowercase 'd' and a lowercase 'b', which makes perfect sense.
Now I'm just embarrassed, because 1) I pass that dealership almost every day, and 2) Don Beyer is prominent in Virginia politics! Duhhh....
posted by easily confused at 8:05 AM on July 26, 2014
Now I'm just embarrassed, because 1) I pass that dealership almost every day, and 2) Don Beyer is prominent in Virginia politics! Duhhh....
posted by easily confused at 8:05 AM on July 26, 2014
Yeah, whoever Don Beyer is, his logo looks like scissors.
But the Volvo logo employs the Symbol for Mars which has been in use since antiquity.
posted by Rash at 8:07 AM on July 26, 2014
But the Volvo logo employs the Symbol for Mars which has been in use since antiquity.
posted by Rash at 8:07 AM on July 26, 2014
whoever Don Beyer is, his logo looks like scissors.
Or a chopped-down version of the Bowen knot or Apple ⌘ symbol. Nice work if you can get it, logo designer.
posted by holgate at 8:20 AM on July 26, 2014
Or a chopped-down version of the Bowen knot or Apple ⌘ symbol. Nice work if you can get it, logo designer.
posted by holgate at 8:20 AM on July 26, 2014
Or a chopped-down version of the Bowen knot or Apple ⌘ symbol.
I like how the anglophone world thinks it's perfectly okay to take an ancient Nordic symbol, St Hans' Cross, that's been in use for well over a 1,500 years, and name it after some random dude that died in the 17th century :-)
(fwiw, the Apple ⌘ key is borrowed from the Swedish traffic sign for attraction or place of interest, which is also what the the Unicode character is called.)
posted by effbot at 9:33 AM on July 26, 2014 [2 favorites]
I like how the anglophone world thinks it's perfectly okay to take an ancient Nordic symbol, St Hans' Cross, that's been in use for well over a 1,500 years, and name it after some random dude that died in the 17th century :-)
(fwiw, the Apple ⌘ key is borrowed from the Swedish traffic sign for attraction or place of interest, which is also what the the Unicode character is called.)
posted by effbot at 9:33 AM on July 26, 2014 [2 favorites]
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posted by elizardbits at 7:52 AM on July 26, 2014