What Is the Chevrolet Logo?
The Chevrolet logo is the bowtie, a slanted badge with no lettering that co-founder William C. Durant introduced in late 1913 and that has kept the same basic outline ever since. It belongs to Chevrolet, the American car and truck brand founded in Detroit in 1911 by Louis Chevrolet and Durant, and part of General Motors since 1918.
The bowtie is available as the Chevrolet logo SVG.
Chevrolet Logo Facts
| Introduced | Late 1913, on the 1914 H-2 Royal Mail and H-4 Baby Grand |
| Symbol | A slanted bowtie shape |
| Logo type | Abstract mark |
| Owner | General Motors |
What the Chevrolet Logo Means
Nobody knows for certain what the bowtie was meant to show, and General Motors itself calls its origin a mystery. The shape carries no lettering and pictures nothing in particular, so its meaning comes from use rather than from a story. Chevrolet announced it to buyers in 1913 with the line "Look for this nameplate", and the outline has not changed since: only the colours and details have.
Chevrolet Logo History
Durant's own account, printed in the company's 1961 book The Chevrolet Story, was that in 1908 he saw the pattern repeating on the wallpaper of a French hotel and tore off a piece to show friends. Two members of his family told it differently. His daughter Margery wrote in her 1929 book My Father that he sketched the design at the dinner table, "between the soup and the fried chicken". His widow Catherine recalled that on holiday in Hot Springs, Virginia, in 1912 he spotted a design in a newspaper and said it would make a good emblem for the Chevrolet.
That last story led Ken Kaufmann, historian and editor of The Chevrolet Review, to an advertisement in the Atlanta Constitution of 12 November 1911 for Coalettes, a fuel product of the Southern Compressed Coal Company. Its logo was a slanted bowtie very like Chevrolet's, and the paper came out nine days after Chevrolet was incorporated. Another explanation links the shape to the cross of the Swiss flag, since Louis Chevrolet was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1878.
The earliest known advertisement using the bowtie ran in The Washington Post on 2 October 1913, under the line "Look for this nameplate". The badge first appeared on the 1914 H-2 Royal Mail and H-4 Baby Grand. Its colour and detail changed many times after that, but the shape stayed. In 2004 Chevrolet began phasing in the gold bowtie across all its cars and trucks worldwide. By its 100th anniversary in 2013, the bowtie was in its tenth version.
Chevrolet and Ford
Chevrolet's switch to a single gold bowtie in 2004 was partly meant to set it apart from Ford's blue oval and Dodge's red imagery (compare the Ford logo). The two Detroit badges took opposite routes: Ford's is the company name in script, while Chevrolet's bowtie has no letters at all.
For more brands like Chevrolet, browse our car logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the Chevrolet bowtie come from?
No one knows for sure. The stories include Paris hotel wallpaper, a sketch at Durant's dinner table and a 1911 newspaper advertisement for Coalettes fuel.
When did Chevrolet first use the bowtie?
William C. Durant introduced it in late 1913 on three new 1914 models, and The Washington Post carried the earliest known bowtie advertisement on 2 October 1913.
Is the Chevrolet bowtie based on the Swiss flag?
That is one theory, because Louis Chevrolet was born in Switzerland, but there is no evidence that settles it.
Why is the Chevrolet bowtie gold?
Chevrolet began phasing in the gold bowtie in 2004 to give all its cars and trucks worldwide one badge.