Automobile Insignia Of The World Quiz

Answer: Chevrolet

In 1911, Swiss racing car driver Louis Chevrolet was a joint founder of the automobile company in Detroit, Michigan, that bore his name. Some say the badge was based on the white cross on the national flag of Switzerland. He was not to stay long with the company, though, leaving in 1914.

Chevrolet was noted for many innovations and produced many well-loved car models. Among these was the Impala, of which some 14 million were sold in 10 generations between 1956 and 2020. By then it was number 10 on the list of the best-selling cars of all time.

Answer: Jaguar

Jaguar dates its formation to the Swallow Sidecar Company of 1922. The first car to carry the Jaguar name was a sports saloon in 1935. For insignia it used a leaping jaguar and a round logo with the roaring face of a jaguar. The leaping metal jaguar ornament on the bonnet (hood) of the cars was discontinued in 2005 for safety reasons.

Jaguar became noted as a manufacturer of stylish and sporty cars, probably the most famous of which was the E-Type. The company went through various different ownerships over the years.

Answer: Peugeot

The French company made its first internal combustion engine car in 1890, although it had been in business from 1812. In 1975 it took over its rivals Citroën and years later the new PSA Peugeot Citroën group acquired Britain's Vauxhall.

According the company's website: "Since 1850, Peugeot has been represented by the lion symbol. Originally appearing on the company's saw blades, the lion symbolised the toughness of the saw's teeth, the flexibility of blade like the lion's spine, the strength of the steel and the speed of the cut, like a bounding lion." (The crests were reinvented several times, but remained focused on the lion imagery.)

Models carrying the lion rampant have won the European Car of the Year award six times

Answer: Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari, the company's founder, took the Prancing Horse logo from an image of a red horse painted on the aircraft of Count Francesco Baracca, an Italian Air Force pilot during WW1. Baracca had used a red horse, but Enzo changed that to black and added a yellow background to represent the colour of his home town, Modena.

Good looks and sporty performances became the hallmarks of the company down through the years from its first production model in 1940. Many innovations from Ferrari's successful Formula One cars made their way onto the road-going models.

If you feel you must have one of those Prancing Horses in your driveway to impress the neighbours, then the cheapest at the time this quiz was written was $220,000 and the most expensive $645,000.

You may have noticed that Porsche also has a horse on its insignia.

Answer: Dodge

Dodge introduced the ram's head across all its vehicles (except the Viper) in 1996. However, it decided to rename its trucks division as Ram and the ram's had was transferred over.

The ram's head involved from a leaping ram that first appeared on Dodge cars in the 1930s.

Answer: Volvo

Volvo is Latin for "I roll", and not many people know that, as Michael Caine never actually said. It was formed in Sweden in 1927 with the aim of putting safety first. For example, every time you get into a car and put on your three-point seatbelt, you can thank Volvo for that. Volvo developed it and, instead of patenting it for themselves, made it freely available to all manufacturers. In 2009, Volvo calculated that this design had saved one million lives worldwide.

If you thought safety was the end of it all, Volvo also had a racing pedigree. Introduced in 1994, the Volvo 850 estate car was competitive in the British Touring Car Championships, winning outright in 1998.

As became so very common in the last half of the 20th Century, Volvo's time as an independent car maker came to an end and the model name went through the hands of several other companies.

Answer: Vauxhall

The Griffin, sometimes spelt gryphon, had the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. Vauxhall used an image of the head holding a pennant.

The Vauxhall company dates to 1857, but made its first automobile in 1925. For many years it was one of the biggest sellers of cars in the UK, although also made vans and trucks. It became part of General Motors in 1925 and many later Vauxhall cars were rebadged Opels. In 2017 Vauxhall became part of the company that already owned Peugeot and Citroën.

Answer: Maserati

The Maserati company was founded in Bologna, Italy. The Maserati logo is based upon a fountain in Bologna that shows Neptune, god of the sea, holding a trident. The company was founded by the three Maserati brothers in 1914. Ownership has changed hands several times.

Power and luxury are bywords for Maserati cars - and agricultural tractors. In a list of the "Top 10 best luxury cars 2022, 'Autocar' magazine in the UK placed the Maserati Quattroporte at number 10. This is the car that darksplash would buy if he could find the £80,000, $104,000, asking price. Now where did I leave that lottery ticket...

Answer: Citroën

Many of the technologies we take for granted on modern cars stem from the work of Citroën, a company that historically tended to go its own way. Formed in 1912, Citroën was, for example, the first company to be mass-produced with front wheel drive. In 1955, they produced the first car with modern disc brakes.

Traditional Citroën cars were also good lookers. The SM introduced in 1970 was number 22 on the 'Auto Express' magazine list of "The world's most beautiful cars". Meanwhile. 'Autocar' had the 1955 DS at number 14 on their list of the "100 most beautiful cars".

Answer: Arash

Based in Newmarket, Suffolk, Arash was founded under the name Farboud as Farboud Limited in 1999, but changed to the current name in 2006.

The Arash Motor Company was set up to make distinctive sports cars. One model, the AF10, had a top speed of over 200mph and a price tag of over $1,555,700. Let me write that again so you will know it is not a typo: $1,555,700.

If you want one, get your name on the waiting list: only three are built each year. Let me write that again so you will know it is not a typo: three.