Car Radiator Mascots

Some people go to car events and take lots of pictures of the cars on display others seem less interested in the actual cars but contort themselves up and down, or side to side in order to take a picture of a car mascot. Apart from the famous Rolls Royce lady and of course the leaping Jaguar, I have never taken that much notice of whatever was stuck on the top of the radiator until a few months ago when by chance I picked up a second hand, well worn book on the history of car mascots written about fifty years ago when such things could still be found on certain new cars. It all began around the turn of the last century when some owners of motor cars placed a lucky mascot in the radiator filling cap. These were simply the choice of the owner or the family. These mascots were often changed depending on where the owner was going and of course the distance involved. A long trip may well result in a lucky image like a black cat.

Rolls Royce was one of the first manufacturers to create a distinctive mascot that could be recognized where ever the car went. The Rolls famous lady was called 'The Sprit of Ecstasy', designed by the famous sculptor Charles Sykes. No is quite sure who the model was when this beautiful mascot was featured on all 'Rollers', from around 1910, but she was certainly attractive.

Peugeot featured a lion which was their Trade Mark and a Belgian company that produced the Minerva Motor car commissioned a sculptured head of the Goddess Minerva. The American motor company Peerless featured an Eagle on their radiator. (How patriotic can you get?) We all instantly recognize the famous archer mascot that adorns the Pierce Arrow and who has not been impressed with the Flying Stork featured on the Hispano-Suiza. In 1924 the Ford Motor Company acquired Lincoln Motors who had been losing money for several years not because of quality but simply over cost production and poor management. It was decided that the Lincoln image should be maintained as an individual quality product, why not have a distinctive hood mascot created that would be associated with grace and of course speed. The answer, the leaping greyhound which fills these requirements in much the same way as the Jaguar mascot is associated with sports performance in comfort!

The original Jaguar mascot was designed in 1935 and the choice of this mascot was the result of a visit to the local zoo. The founder and owner of the company William Lyons wanted to create an image of speed especially as the early models did not have a particular stunning performance with a two liter engine manufactured by the Standard Motor Company. Originally he had chosen the name Cheater but for obvious reasons he was advised not to use that term for his new designed car.

The story goes that he was visiting a zoo with his daughter who remarked that without doubt the Jaguar was both beautiful and of course fast. The name stuck and the first Jaguar complete with its famous mascot hit the motor show rooms in the fall of 1935 known as the SS Jaguar 90. The figure 90 to imply that the car could reach that MPH even if it took time!

The British Rover Motor Company featured the head of a Viking but I have no idea why as it seems to have little in common with a motor car. A Frenchman by the name of Rene Lalique who was a successful jeweler in the 1920/30's created a series of molded crystal glass mascots for cars. These were extremely popular with the owners of expensive vehicles. The most desirable was known as the Spirit of the Wind, the head of a young woman with her hair streaming behind. In 1966 a New York company announced that they were going to reproduce reproductions of the Lalique motor mascots. How successful they were is not known by this scribe but one thing is for sure, they were destined to be expensive.

Not all mascots were works of art, you could have a reproduction of Mickey Mouse and/or his girlfriend Mini Mouse for a few bucks. Whilst talking about Hollywood stars the famous silent screen idol Rudolph Valentino had a Cobra mascot specially made for his new Isotta Fraschini Italian sports car.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the various Royal Style mascots produced for admirers of Royalty especially in the United Kingdom and certain European countries between the wars. Hitler had a special mascot designed for all of his cars consisting of the German Iron Cross and oak leaves. The decline in the sale of vehicle mascots came about simply because they were considered a danger to pedestrians, as if and hen they may get hit by a car. I find this rather over protective in as much that if a car hit me even at a modest speed, the damage with or without a mascot could be fatal!

Today you may see a few mascots being displayed in fact my Jaguar has a small mascot on the hood that came with the car when new. Rollers still feature the Lady who is as attractive as ever, while a few years ago a new mascot was designed for the owners of any post war MGTC.

I have seen several of these at car events, attractive but certainly something of a danger design if you ever got in the way of a moving MGTC. The collection of vehicle mascots has grown over the years and certain examples can fetch large amounts of money. The beautiful Lalique designs are always in demand and you can spend thousands trying to obtain one at an auction.

A South African owner of a new Mercedes had the round Merc' Symbol recast in gold with a ring of diamonds to complete the picture, (He was in the diamond business). As to be expected the car was stolen but recovered without the jewelry. His Insurance claim was denied on the grounds that this missing item was not an original part of his vehicle despite the fact that the cost of the mascot, (if that's the right word) was three times the value of the car. In an appeal the courts upheld the insurance company view. Moral to that story...Stick with Mickey and Mini Mouse!

Geoff Wheatley ©