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After researching the interwebs campfire narratives of crediting the creator by no less than 4 people and multiple dates for the Jake logo I couldn’t help but dig into the original Corvette logo and how much it was altered throughout the entire lifespan
Now we have 1/2 a French flag ( fleur de lis) where the checkered flag was. I understand that back then you weren’t allowed to use the American flag and quickly changed it due to time constraints but I mean why leave the damn thing? Why not just go Chevy symbol alone or 1/2 Chevy/1/2 GM ?
I say for the love of God (Zora) lose the fleur de lis and put the checkers back on the right side for the 70th anniversary.
Anyone have Tadge’s phone number?
I had a C4 and guess what? My family lineage is French.
The knee jerk reaction to adding an homage to Louis Chevrolet was only due to legal trademark infringement of the American flag not an honest acknowledgement of Chevrolet at all. It was actually a mis step and a quick response to slapping an emblem on the production assembly line already geared up.
Like the present car the emblem shows how much change you can do in the name of brand and lose sight of the original target just to sell more cars
The guy who designed the original Corvette logo was an interior designer. I think he got it more right than the current design teams have
Bit late for that, considering the 70th anniversary cars are already being sold and delivered.
The fleur de lis was a nod to the man for whom the company was named - a Frenchman named Louis Chevrolet.
IMHO it’s never too late to do the right thing and just think how the cray cray collector crowd would react to a mid line emblem change!
I realize it’s not possible, but it’s still not a great representation of what should be
I had a C4 and guess what? My family lineage is French.
The knee jerk reaction to adding an homage to Louis Chevrolet was only due to legal trademark infringement of the American flag not an honest acknowledgement of Chevrolet at all. It was actually a mis step and a quick response to slapping an emblem on the production assembly line already geared up.
Like the present car the emblem shows how much change you can do in the name of brand and lose sight of the original target just to sell more cars
The guy who designed the original Corvette logo was an interior designer. I think he got it more right than the current design teams have
Speaking of Louis Chevrolet. I actually watched a pretty good yt video that talks about the rise and fall of the man, very interesting and worth the 18min watch:
Bit late for that, considering the 70th anniversary cars are already being sold and delivered.
The fleur de lis was a nod to the man for whom the company was named - a Frenchman named Louis Chevrolet.
The Frenchman title is not factual. Louis ne pas Francias! He was born in Switzerland to a family of 9, who moved their business to France where Louis would later grow up and find his passion for autos before moving to the U.S.
Tant mieux As the son of a French descendant myself, I identify with Louis Chevrolet’s passion for racing was his greatest achievement as well as it was his downfall. Be it Swiss, French or American; we all have that drive to excell regardless of location
Originally created by Robert Bartholomew, an interior designer at Chevrolet, this emblem was installed on the 1953 prototype that was set to debut in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria during the “Motorama” show. As preparations were made for Corvette's big day, the Chevrolet legal department discovered that it was against the law to use an American flag on any commercially made product. With only four days left before the show, the pressure was on to come up with a new logo, and fast.
The designers acted quickly, and looked toward Louis Chevrolet for inspiration. Searching at first for a family crest that could be adapted into a flag they ran into a dead end, as the Chevrolet family didn't have a crest. Getting desperate, they looked to the French origins of Chevrolet’s name for inspiration. They chose the fleur-de-lis, which means “flower of the lily” as it is the French symbol for royalty. Beneath that there are three lines to represent the three Chevrolet brothers. The revised emblem was quickly made by jewelers and installed on the prototype where it has remained on Corvettes ever since.
The actual American flag emblem that was pulled off of the first Corvette for the Motorama show is on display at the National Corvette Museum, on loan from GM.
“The revised emblem was quickly made and installed where it has remained on Corvettes ever since.”
So the flag part of the Corvette emblem was immediately replaced with something that is mistakenly representing French heritage.
It may no longer be in good taste to do so after cutting Louis out of all royalties and him dying as a common production line worker for said company and Louis Chevrolet was Swiss not French.
Better yet why not change the flag to a Lion w/crown symbol to a Belgium design for Zora Arkus-Duntov ?
It’s no longer illegal and I’d love to see old glory on the emblem but since it’s never been on a production vette the purists would lose their minds.
In this day and age, there has to be someone out there who could recreate a C5 Corvette emblem with the original flag configuration (whether that emblem would escape the notice of GMs legal team is another question). I would certainly be interested in purchasing those emblems! If nothing else, it would be a unique look (with some actual history).
Edit- Well, it didn't take too long to discover someone actually is creating these logos. Can't say it's exactly the look I'd be going for, but it does exist! https://www.ebay.com/itm/13416009269...hoCbicQAvD_BwE
Thanks for the picture- looks great, and I just ordered those emblem inserts from Corvette Mods!
Full disclosure, after 3 weeks of owning my first Corvette I'm definitely thrilled to be driving America's Sports Car. However, I'm still not overly excited about the "by Chevrolet" part of the Corvette (as a long term owner of many Ford Mustangs, I despise the Camaro, and- by extension- most things Chevy). I definitely welcome the opportunity to replace a couple of the bowties on the car with the American flag. The fact that the originally intended logo had the American flag is just icing on the cake!
Thanks for the picture- looks great, and I just ordered those emblem inserts from Corvette Mods!
Full disclosure, after 3 weeks of owning my first Corvette I'm definitely thrilled to be driving America's Sports Car. However, I'm still not overly excited about the "by Chevrolet" part of the Corvette (as a long term owner of many Ford Mustangs, I despise the Camaro, and- by extension- most things Chevy). I definitely welcome the opportunity to replace a couple of the bowties on the car with the American flag. The fact that the originally intended logo had the American flag is just icing on the cake!
That looks better than OE. Wouldn't it be cool if they'd put the flag on the original side?
Thanks for the picture- looks great, and I just ordered those emblem inserts from Corvette Mods!
Full disclosure, after 3 weeks of owning my first Corvette I'm definitely thrilled to be driving America's Sports Car. However, I'm still not overly excited about the "by Chevrolet" part of the Corvette (as a long term owner of many Ford Mustangs, I despise the Camaro, and- by extension- most things Chevy). I definitely welcome the opportunity to replace a couple of the bowties on the car with the American flag. The fact that the originally intended logo had the American flag is just icing on the cake!
Good luck with that. Corvette mods is not a reputable vendor. There are horror stories all over the forum.
I like the idea of an American flag on the emblem. However, I don't feel like they did a very good job of matching the flag to the shape of the C5 emblem.
Corvette Emblem Repatriation
