Hood ornament
The hood ornament is an ornament and identifying feature of many automakers. It was originally mounted on the radiator cap by the changed design today on the hood. Famous hood ornaments are the Mercedes star and the " Spirit of Ecstasy " by Rolls- Royce.
Hood ornaments were particularly common until the 1940s. These were small figures of people (for example, Rolls- Royce ), animals ( for example, Leaper, the figure of Jaguar) or trademark (for example, Mercedes -Benz). They were often made very elaborate and expensive.
With the onset of mass motorization hood ornaments became rarer mounted on new vehicles. One reason was - in addition to the cost of production - the safety aspect: the case of accidents involving pedestrians, the hood ornaments often caused serious injury. Therefore, the currently used Mercedes star have a mechanism that ensures that the star without much force flips ( without canceling ). In April 1959, the mascots have been banned in Germany.
Kühlerfiguren often fall to the theft or vandalism. So, the Mercedes star the most commonly needed spare parts for Mercedes -Benz passenger cars. The hood ornament of Rolls- Royce vehicles are retracted due to this problem with the current models of a button. Furthermore, they are equipped with sensors that automatically move when touched down in the grille and are thus protected against intruders.
Today, only a few manufacturers mount hood ornaments, mainly in higher vehicle classes. Examples are Mercedes -Benz, Maybach, Jaguar ( no longer ex works) and Rolls -Royce.
Gallery of hood ornaments
" Leaper " Jaguar
" Winged B" Bentley
Horch
Packard Cormorant ( deluxe figure, 1942)
Packard Cormorant, Senior Models ( 1956)
Chevrolet "Eagle"
Illuminated automobile hood ornament by René Lalique
Peugeot lion hood ornament
Mercedes star
Flying Stork of a Hispano -Suiza
Opulent hood ornament of Buick ( 1930s )
Opalglasfigur the artist René Lalique on a Rolls- Royce Silver Wraith (1956 )
Old Maybach
Nash Metropolitan
Toyota