Car hood ornaments were once a popular decorative feature on cars, but are now mostly associated with luxury vehicles. They were designed to suggest power and energy, and were originally used to cover the radiator access point. Hood ornaments were phased out due to safety concerns and theft, but some luxury brands still produce them with retractable or flip-back features. Collectors can find replacements or restored ornaments from junkyards.
A car hood ornament, also known as a car mascot, is a vertical decorative device located on the hood of a car. Historically, many automakers fitted hood ornaments to their products, but today such ornamentation is largely associated with luxury automobiles, and other brands prefer badges over vertical trim. The 1920s through the 1960s were golden years for the automobile hood ornament, and several lovely examples can be seen on vehicles from this period.
Each manufacturer had its own hood ornament design for the car, and some went through several iterations. The hood ornament was often supposed to suggest power and energy, as in the leaping jaguar seen on vehicles made by Jaguar, and the archer placed on the hood of cars made by Pierce-Arrow. Other hood ornaments more closely resembled the figureheads seen on ships, consisting of elegant women wearing minimal drapery.
Originally, the automobile hood ornament was developed as a practical item to cover the radiator access point at the front or center of the hood. Over time, the cars were reconfigured, and this hotspot was no longer needed, but the car’s hood ornament remained, usually trimmed with chrome so that it would stand out against the car’s base paint.
Hood ornaments began to be phased out for various reasons. They raised a safety concern, as they could seriously injure pedestrians in car-pedestrian collisions, and were also a source of frustration for some car owners, as they were easy targets for theft. Car hood ornament collectors might rip hood ornaments they liked off vehicles, and some people would steal replacements for missing ornaments or “borrowed” hood ornaments associated with luxury brands for their own cars.
People can also choose to make their own car hood ornaments, choosing whimsical or sentimental objects to stick on their hoods. In the American West, a set of cattle horns is a particularly popular form of home auto trim.
Several luxury brands continue to produce car hood ornaments for some of the models they make. To address safety concerns, many hood ornaments retract or flip back if subjected to a sudden impact so they don’t injure pedestrians, and automakers have also devised creative methods to thwart thieves. , how to retract the ornaments. For people who like to collect bell ornaments, many companies sell replacements, and some collectors sell restored bell ornaments they’ve picked up from junkyards.
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