Do you remember when there was a badge on the boot of your car calling attention to some feature that actually mattered little, if at all, to other motorists?
The classic case was a badge reading “Automatic” or “V8”; later we saw badges covering everything from air conditioning, five-speed gearboxes, sixteen-valve heads, overdrive transmissions and ABS, to four-wheel steering systems and, of course, turbochargers. The current favourite is 4WD.
What is quite appealing about this disc brake badge from a 1962 Jaguar Mk2 2.4 litre is that it highlights something that potentially, through its performance enhancing capabilities, affects other motorists. By the time drivers of the day could make out what it said, their inadequate, likely unassisted, drum brake set-up would have allowed them to rear end this short-stopping sports saloon.
So, QOTD is: can you show a detail specification badge that is as unnecessary as this two-inch diameter disc brakes badge?
My first car had these, and to this day I wish I would have kept one. Still some of the coolest badges ever.
And that car is one I need to write up a COAL post on – or maybe a book.
Some of those old callout badges were works of art, like the Studebaker Twin Traction emblem (for its limited slip diff). And of course, the various engine callouts.
Most unnecessary? Easy:
The Stude Twin Traction emblem
Oh that’s neat… never saw one before! I like how it’s completely mysterious; if I was behind a Twin Traction-equipped Stude wearing this badge, it’d drive me nuts trying to figure out what it meant.
I used to think the Pontiac “RTS” badges actually meant something… how stupid I was. In my Buick, there’s a “Dynaride” badge on the dashboard which I believe to be more or less the same thing – a badge signifying that this car has a suspension.
Oh is THAT what that means? I saw a Hawk with that badge at a car show in 2008 and never could figure out exactly what it stood for. Thanks for solving a personal mystery.
As for most useless badge…my ’96 Lincoln Mark VIII had a small script next to the model script that read “32V InTech V8”.
A. No one, with the exception of the odd gearhead or Ford/Lincoln nut, knows WTF an InTech engine even is.
B. If an engine with 32 valves is *not* a V8, I’d love to know what configuration it is!
Darn! Beat me to it!
I’ll see your RTS and raise you a Ride-Engineered Mercury…..
Unnecesary yes but oddly the first one I thougth of. My son just purchased a 2010 Camaro SS (yes, frightening isn’t it – replaces a Dodge Charger he wrecked last December). Anyway, I thought it might be neat to replace the current fender badges with those from the first Camaros that were “written” in script instead of block lettering. Same might work as well or better for a Malibu.
I’ve got a pair of first-gen “Camaro by Chevrolet” emblems that are going on either the front fenders, or on the ground effects fiberglass below (over the stock “RS” stickers) on my third-gen. But then, I’m a big fan of the 1960s cursive-in-chrome genre anyway.
24 valve, dual overhead cams bros!
Probably worth mentioning in the early 90’s. Ten years later? not so much.
Hey come on man, that let you know your Taurus was packing 200hp instead of 150hp. That was worth noting in those years that the 24V didn’t automatically come with dual exhausts.
I’ve always enjoyed the “Automatique” badge on my US version Peugeot 504, unnecessary (and unwarranted) sassy French attitude.
On that car, it translates to “pass me.”
Well said, Mr. Fleming. Growing up, my neighbor had a 504 wagon with the “automatique” emblem. I believe, however, that the diesel 504 he replaced it with was even slower, notwithstanding it was a stick.
My ride has turboD on both front doors explains the ugly looks Ive had from several Falcon V8 pilots as I overtake uphill in 5th having heard their V8 downshift and roar the black smoke out the tailpipe confirms you just been blown away by a 4 banger diesel.
As a kid, I remember a plate on the back of some VWs that said “Automatic Stick Shift”. I never understood what that meant. Was it a universal emblem that someone was supposed to black out the one that was not applicable?
I think it was to do with the strange half manual half auto box which wasn’t a great success.There was a Chevy Nova 4 cylinder with the same semi auto which was quietly dropped after few takers
The Nova “semi-auto” (aka Torque-Drive) was just a Powerglide without the ability to shift itself. VW’s Autostick was a semi-auto in the more traditional sense – a manual transmission behind a torque convertor with an automated clutch.
I think VW sold a decent amount of Autosticks in the U.S., but Chevrolet’s Torque-Drive was an extreme rarity. There were CC articles on both:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/automotive-history-chevrolets-torque-drive-a-dumber-powerglide/
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1968-volkswagen-automatic-stickshift-chryslers-fluid-drive-returns-in-the-safer-kafer/
The “Automatic Stick Shift” concept had been around since before WWII and survived until Saab’s “Sensonic” transmission in the GM900 of the mid-late 90s. At least I think that was the last one… all the modern dual-clutch/robotized manuals I’m familiar with utilize paddles, buttons or +/- shift gates.
It was to let the person following that this particular Bug would be slower than usual…
My Outback had a sticker on the back window proudly proclaiming it was equipped with ABS. In 1997
One razor blade and some goo gone later, everyone behind me is now left wondering if my brakes might lock up…
How about a decal for not-even-a-feature?
Ah yes the Nissan Maxima and its 4DSC decals that proudly told everybody that bothered to spend the time looking at the rear door windows that the car was a 4 door sports car. i am sorry a 94-96 Impala SS could be considered a 4 door sports car but not the maxima.
I wouldn’t consider the Maxima, a sedan with a well-tuned suspension to be a sports car, but I don’t think a full-sized muscle car qualifies either.
+1 the “4DSC” thing was solely a piece of imaginative marketing, but if we were taking it seriously, the Maxima was much closer to a sports car than the body-on-frame, 4,000lb., automatic-only, land yacht Impala SS. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Maxima SE was faster in a straight line, too.
I’ve always loved the reverse script turbo badge mounted in the front, meant to be seen thru a rear view mirror. I think the BMW 2002 turbo was first with the idea. There are some early 1980’s Mitsubishis that had them also.
Best way ever to tell someone : “GET OFF MY LANE !”
I always wondered about the ‘Overdrive’ badges. Seemed like ‘cheapskate who wouldn’t pop for the automatic’ shaming.
I miss when everyone had a special name (and badge) for their all-wheel drive system.
Speaking of special names… “Bravda” is a very special name for sure! 🙂
I also remember the first generation Saturn SL2 advertised its “twin cam” engine in the rear taillights. That one was interesting.
Pretty much any badge that reads “LIMITED”.
Unless it actually is a limited-production vehicle, like the F-150 Limited is. Or maybe it’s “was” now–I know when the Limited package came out in ’08, it came with a “x of 5000” badge on the console.
I noticed picture number two is from a 90’s Buick Roadmaster Wagon. Looks just like the one in mine except mine is mounted on a Burgundy Dash. I think the Sedans had Dynaride emblems in that same spot. Have no idea what the difference is?
Actually the Gran Touring Suspension was an option on both the wagon and the sedan, it included heavier duty shocks and a bigger rear sway bar from what I recall, if you didn’t get the Gran Touring Suspension you got the Dynaride emblem.
If the rolled up windows on a hot day didn’t give it away, this would. And mine works.
Those were status symbols back in the day, especially in areas like the midwest where auto A/C was not as common as in the South and Southwest. Calibrick posted one of my favorites last summer:
Here’s one that’s a bit more rare here in the US (the car, that is):
What is it on? I noticed the sticker says Kookaire Miami on it.
Citroen DS.
I need to fix mine… it started cycling too much on the highway on sunday, and before I knew it, it had broken the clutch plate springs. Using the CCOT system on a 1958 design GM A-6 compressor is not one of the General’s best ideas in 1977. That little clutch doesn’t take cycling on and off very well.
You just have to love the “longbed” found on the tailgate of 70’s vintage Toyota pick-ups. It was in a quasi space age script. Cannot seem to find a photo of one, and mine was removed with a razor blade years ago
This badge on the back of my Ford Transit Connect is certainly the most useless one I’ve ever displayed …
Aka the “because nobody can figure out how to drive a rear-drive 5 ton SUV when it rains so we have to put traction control on the thing so we don’t get sued” badge.
Pretty much 😀
Actually the gov’t mandated stability control which is one of the reasons the Panthers went away and only those in other countries could get the 2012 version. So it does make it a pointless badge if it is on a 12 or newer. 55% of a given mfg’s 2009 vehicles, under 10K GVW had to have it, 75% of 2010, 95% of 2011 and all 2012. I guess the govt decided that not enough people ordered it when it was an option.
Growing up in the ’90s, my favorite were the “FUEL INJECTED” badges on late-80s GM products and the prominent “FRONT-WHEEL-DRIVE” emblems all over early K-cars. I remember asking my dad what ‘fuel injected’ meant and why it warranted such a proud emblem, only to have him respond “it doesn’t really, everything has it now”
The A-body and H-body GM sedans stick in mind for some reason, ALWAYS with this font on the front fender… supplemented nicely by that random ass “Stripe of World Flags” on Cutlass Cieras, not sure WTF that was about on such an obviously American car.
Ah yes the GM Fuel Injection emblems. I think the above one was on Buicks (such as the Skylark, Century, Lesabre). I am not sure if Oldsmobile had this badging on it or not. I know the Chevy Celebrity and the cavalier had a badge with the engine liter size and then the letters F.I (for example 2.8L/F.I)
GM seemed to keep EFI on their trucks until the mid 1990’s which were a good many years after the last carbed car came out.
My 1984 Oldsmobile Firenza s coupe had that on its fender.
GM placed many of those “Fuel Injection” badges on vehicles with Throttle Body Injection. While the system used fuel injectors, it injected the fuel upstream of the throttle plate, and only used one or two injectors, even on V6 and V8 engines.
I’ll take a TBI system over a carburetor, but they were designed to provide fuel injection on the cheap, rather than maximizing engine performance.
You can get plenty of performance out of a TBI the real advantage to port EFI and SEFI is a slight reduction in emissions. Since GM had so many problems with the injectors on the TPI SBC they stuck with the old reliable TBI which didn’t gunk up and leak since they didn’t get exposed to as much heat up there above the throttle body. The other advantage to being above the throttle body is you can run constant fuel pressure and get constant flow. None the less I’d rather have port EFI but for injecting my old rigs a GM TBI or Ford CFI can’t be beat.
In addition, many Buicks (the Century for sure) had “Dynaride” stamped into the dashboard right up until the mid-2000s, which as far as I can tell doesn’t mean anything beyond “Hella Soft Suspension”, engineering-wise
I always liked the DOHC emblems. One that I would love to see would be a 16 Pushrod emblem on every GM smallblock equipped vehicle.
I always wanted to get a “16-Valve” decal on a car with a small-block in it.
How about, “which detail feature badge did you LAUGH AT?”
The fake red “Type R” that was added willy-nilly by wannabes to their so-called street racers?
Only six bucks at Amazon.com…Let’s go put one on a Chevrolet Vega…
Those remind me of the tools who would put 5.0 badges on 4 cylinder Mustangs.
Then wander why they got beat by six cylinder cars.
I’m pretty sure the only thing a 4 cylinder LX Mustang could beat was badly tuned K-car.
My brother’s mate did the reverse of this and had an unusually fast Yamaha RD 250 which smoked any other 250 and a lot of bigger bikes.
Fun fact: early Fox Mustangs with the Cologne V6 actually came from the factory with “2.8” badges.
Ford’s no rhyme or reason use of the LX badge on various cars. It was never consistent. For instance on the 79-93 Mustang the LX badge meant base model and would have had the 4 cylinder engine in it(though you could get an LX with a 5.0). On the Ford Focus the LX version was the valve dropper 2.0l
By contrast in the Ford Taurus and Crown Victoria lineups, the LX was the top of the line high dollar model. In the Fox body LTD, the LX was “Performance” version offered in 84-85. in the Thunderbird line up between 83-97 the LX was the top of the line(not counting the Turbo and super coupes) while the Escort LX was a mid level trim option (above the Base but below the GT)
Talk about inconsistent
It was consistent within a given year across all models with the exception of the LTD LX getting the big engine and handling improvements instead of just getting the nicer interior and more chrome/trim on the exterior.
However it did fall victim to the periodic name debasement, and the dropping and/or consolidation of trim levels just as they did in the 60’s where a new name was added to the top model and the previous top model moved down a rung. The only exception was the Crown Victoria that never got the SE, SES, and/or SEL designations to go above the LX however by that time there really was only a single retail model of the Crown Vic.
Ford currently is overusing the “SE” trim level – the Fiesta has one and the Focus and Fusion two option packages for their SE trims that include different wheels and upholstery, in addition to the “regular” SE (not “base” since there is a true base trim below it). Why these aren’t separate trim levels, since wheels and upholstery basically make a trim level, is beyond me.
They actually had the “SEL” trim level for the Focus in 2012 and the Escape in 2013, but it was discontinued. My understanding is that the extra trim level just made it very confusion for everyone involved and it allows customers to customize their cars better, hence the number of options packages in the Focus SE level.
On the Ford Taurus, “LX” went from top-of-the-line dressed-up to the bottom-line El Strippo for fleet sales over a period of a few years.
IINM, LX was originally the highest trim level, with (I think) L and GL beneath it. In the Mustang’s case, the lower trim levels eventually went away, leaving just LX and GT.
I had a 84 Mustang Convertible, Fully loaded with 5.0, 5 speed and full GT suspension and wheels (yes the odd metric TRX wheels..good luck finding tires). Came from factory with LX on the deck lid. Never could figure that out. The LX badge did not slow it down noticeably.
How about a VW with a “syncro” badge? Even if people could figure out what a Quantum was, what the heck was “syncro”?
pic pinched from a CC post 3 years ago.
IIRC Syncro is Volkswagenspeak for four wheel drive. I’d guess that Quantum used all Audi bits.
It did – in the case of the Quantum, “Syncro” was just a “quattro” re-badge… however Volkswagen also sold their own, completely different, AWD system under the Syncro name as well.
They probably would’ve been better served just sticking “4WD” badges on it in the U.S., since the only other Syncro-equipped model we got here was the Vanagon, a rare bird at that. But elsewhere, there were many different takes on “Syncro” and people would’ve been more familiar with it.
I love this one – and yes, this is (mostly) how it came from the factory!
MkII Golf Country:
My 77 Toyota Corolla proclaimed 5speed on the hatch.
My 81 Scirocco S has a fuel injection badge, which in 1981 was state of the art.
I was thinking of getting a badge for my Mercury that proudly proclaims that it is, in fact, equipped with Overdrive.
When people see it at a stoplight, they’ll know to back off.
Not really a feature, but my 98 Mitsubishi Magna has a big “Executive” badge. Because apparently all executives love wind-up windows and manual gearboxes.
When we bought our ’89, “Executive” just meant power windows and black paint on the window frames. Cheapskate me went for the base-level GLX instead.
Yet on a Chrysler Centura GLX meant all the fruit my one was crammed with the entire options list including large alloy bullbar
Speaking of Mitsubishi, a friend had a Cordia with a TURBO sticker on the side large enough to be seen from outer space.
My 82 Dodge Daytona beat the Cordia with it’s arogance. Red Turbo stickers on the door window trim , Chrome Turbo badges on the front fenders just behind the front wheel wells mid fender then just in case you didn’t know; HUGE TURBO lettering along the rocker panels. One on the grill and two on the back. Yep it has a Turbo!! I think it might have said something about Fuel Injection as well but who was looking by then?
I just loved looking for these things when I was a kid. Look, Dad, there’s a Chevy with PowerGlide! I was easily amused on car trips.
The badge on the front fender of every Ford F150 from 2004 to 2008 that called out the engine. While I liked that in and of itself, which “Triton” is being referred to – the merman, the moon of Neptune, or the town in Newfoundland? Why not just say “4.2”, “4.6”, or “5.4”?
Triton is the name of the engine.
If it just says “Triton,” it’s the 4.6. The 5.4 would say “5.4 Triton,” and any 4.2-equipped pickup would be blank, since the 4.2 was the Essex V6.
What I find more confusing is on the early Super Duty trucks, what determined the use of a “Power Stroke V8” badge in front of the fender vs. a “Power Stroke Diesel V8” badge on the door?
The power stroke is a V8 diesel. Why Ford used both badges is beyond me.
And isn’t “Power Stroke” a weird name for an engine? Any engine that works has a power stroke every rev or two.
Triton is the name Mitsubishi hangs on its pickups out here.
The gas-powered early Super Duties had either a Triton V8 or Triton V10 badge on the front edge of the fenders similar to the E-Series vans at the time. The diesels got the Power Stroke badge on the door.
See, it would make sense if that were true 100% of the time. But I’ve seen more than a few F-250s and 350s with a “Power Stroke V8” badge on the front edge of the fenders.
It’s funny how engine families have to be branded and named for trucks starting in the 90’s. You’ve got the Vortec for GM, Magnum/Powertech for Dodge and Triton for Ford. Despite the fancy tough sounding name, the Triton 4.6l was really the same as a passenger car 4.6l modular motor with the only real difference being a low rpm torque friendlier tall intake manifold for the trucks – the same 4.6l that had already been in the Mustang for a year, MN12s for 3 and the panther triplets for 6 years without a name*. The 5.4l is a tall deck mod motor with a matching larger intake – the heads and cams are identical to the 4.6l. The 6.8l V10 was a 5.4l with an extra pair of cylinders added on the front. For people buying a Grand Marquis, a little “OHC” badge was deemed good enough but I guess Ford needed to butch things up to make F150 buyers feel better about losing 21 cubic inches.
Or perhaps Ford just wanted to distinguish the new (for trucks) mod motors from the outgoing Windsor** smallblocks and get on the branding bandwagon. Interestingly, GM didn’t feel the need to distinguish between the old 1955 smallblock descended Vortecs and the entirely redesigned LS series Vortecs. Dodge pushes the Hemi so hard that I didn’t realize the Magnum OHC engine family was only recently discontinued. – I thought they died when those “that thing got a Hemi?” ads first appeared. GM applied their Vortec name across the board to 4, 5, and 6 cylinder engines in addition to the V8s with varying degrees of design and manufacturing relatedness where Ford and Dodge stayed more true to their engine families, keeping the name only for V10 and V6 motors derived from their V8 namesakes.
That was a lot more thinking about truck engine names than I thought I’d be doing today.
*not entirely true. Lincoln liked to call their aluminum 32v versions InTechs, which the nearly identical Mustang Cobra motors that followed did not share.
**not to be confused with mod motors built at the Windsor plant which are sometimes called Windsors in the context of mod motors to distinguish them from Romeos (from Romeo) built modulars – both of which imply an iron block, 2v mod motor.
Vortec for GM, Magnum/Powertech for Dodge and Triton for Ford.
Then there is Ecotec, Duratec, Ecoboost and more.
Just once, I’d like to see someone name their engine the “glassjaw”
The interesting thing is that the 4.6 in the Explorer/Mountaineer didn’t get called a Triton. Then again they didn’t get the truck intake and cams. They did get a proper 6qt oil pan though which also went on the Panthers with the new front suspension in 03.
The Marauder’s 32v 4.6 carries the InTech coil cover as used in the Aviator but it is buried under the intake duct so you can only see a part of it. The Marauder has an upper intake with the inlet on the driver’s side and the Aviator has it on the passenger side. However the Aviator has a huger nun’s hat so you really can’t see it on it either.
Ziebart/Rusty Jones weatherproofing stickers. I know it’s free advertising, but by the time you see it on someone else’s car it’s too late for yours, and God knows you’re not springing for the Trucoat from Jerry Lundegaard on your next purchase.
I remember Rusty Jones, we had a car with the sticker on the rear window, we also had a car later that had the “Polyglycoat” thrown in for “free”.
I remember some major fraud problems with the Rusty Jones franchise in Johnstown (centered out of the Chevrolet dealership that had been my father’s fifteen years earlier), which is one of the reasons they disappeared earlier than Ziebart. Little matter of billing Chevrolet Motor Division at full retail for the dealership’s cars, while doing other dealerships at a discount. The dealership went under rather quickly.
How about Flex Fuel? I can’t even get it here, why is it a feature?
The main reason that FFVs exist is the CAFE bonus for vehicles so equipped. It was there so peole know that you are allowed to use E85 since supposedly the fuel station can get fined if they allow you to put it in a non factory FFV. I did have a pump jockey in OR look for the badge before they would put E85 in my Taurus FFV. Another reason that FFVs exist is that by making the engine a FFV engine they can advertize higher HP. You’ll find that for a number of years Ford quoted the HP on E85 with a * and when you found the fine print * it stated that HP rating was only when operated on E85.
The “Liftback” badges on 1970’s Toyota Celicas. Because everyone behind you must know that the entire hatch back opens and not just a puny trunk lid.
The ABS center caps on the late 90s Pontiac Bonnevilles – this feature wasn’t worth bragging about by 1999.
GM was very proud of the fact that they had made ABS standard across the board in the early ’90s. Even the lowly and very obsolete J-body Cavalier and Sunbird had ABS as standard at a time when it was only standard on high-end models and a $500+ option on others, if it was available at all.
By the late ’90s GM (especially Pontiac) seemed to have forgotten that ABS was standard on nearly every new car sold in the US. My ’97 Grand Prix had ABS center caps, but the ’98s had the same wheels with the Pontiac arrow on a black background. More than a few ’97 model owners (especially L67 cars) swapped them out.
The whole time mom had her ’99 Bonneville, I contemplated painting the centers just to hide the ABS. Imagine how ridiculous it would be if every feature that’s been available for awhile (ABS, airbags, power steering, etc) had a specific emblem attached to the car
Sums up GM and the 1990s
Also this rather useless bit of info at my fingertips located on the dash bezel of my ’91 Buick Regal. Never really understood why knowledge of this feature was crucial to ones ability to drive the car.
My ute has a “Hydratrak differential” sticker on it, and I’m not sure too many people are interested that it has a viscous-coupling LSD instead of another type.
I didn’t own one and don’t have a photo, but does the “3=6” badge on DKW’s of the 1950s count? It meant that for a given number of revolutions, the two-stroke triple had as many power strokes as a four-stroke six.
I always thought the 5 speed callouts were silly, even when 5 speeds were somewhat novel.
BMW still uses “i” on their nameplates……”still bragging bout yo fuel injection and yo limousine?”
Good point – what DOESN’T have injection these days? I guess the “I” suffix for BMW is sort of like the old Buick portholes – buyers won’t be able to find the right showroom without them?
I always loved the brake pedals that said “POWER BRAKE” on them.
Oldsmobile put a little metal plate on the top of the steering wheel @53-54 that said “Power Steering.” You’ll see it on this one – zoom in to read.
I have “DISC BRAKES” written on my ’79 Caprice’s brake pedal.
I still wonder if it’s some kind of bragging.
Or maybe it’s a warning to the user that he has so overwhelming and fantastically powerful brakes that he might get rear-ended if he’s not cautious enough…
(Funning thing is that only two weeks after I bought my Caprice, I managed to ram it into an another car because of a late braking at a traffic stop. Well, actually, I discovered later that I wasn’t entirely responsible for it : my brakes were almost dead because of a brand new but faulty brake master cylinder)
I think that “disc brake” pedal was around until like the mid 1990’s on some GM cars.
My ’64 Impala has “Power Brake” embossed on the brake pedal, and both my ’91 Sedan de Ville and ’01 Seville had “Anti Lock Braking System” embossed on theirs.
Did the Japanese ever put “Disc Brakes” on the pedal in any of their cars?
Wow, pretty cool. Never knew that. As you indicate, that was gone on the 55’s. I loved that rocket emblem on the Super 88 trunk lid, though, indicating the larger engine. I pestered my dad to buy that model, but no dice :>) Had to settle for the plain 88.
I used to get such a kick out of the automatic transmission badges that were on 50’s era cars. Fordomatic and Merc-o-matic come easily to mind.
Mid-to-late 50’s these emblems were disappearing as so many cars were equipped with these features that they were no longer “special.”
They would re-appear here and there – I seem to recall that our 65 T-Bird had a disc brake emblem on the pedal as that was the first year for that feature.
Even semi-autos had emblems. It’s amazing to think how we kept our eyes peeled for this stuff:
And let’s not forget GyroMatic…
Honda Accords still had a “Power Steering” badge in the center of the steering wheel up until 1985, maybe even later. It was so overboosted that you really didn’t need any other reminders!
For some odd reason, Ford put a small decal that read “3.0/AC” on the rear quarter window on certain wagons early in the Taurus production run, I always thought those were strange.
I liked emblems that bragged about “Front Wheel Drive” in the 80’s. I remember that buckets seat K-cars with a floor shifter would sometimes get a “Front Wheel Drive” plate where the quadrant would be on a column shift automatic car.
First generation Altimas had a tiny little “Stanza” badge that I recall Nissan used for a year as a way to get around some sort of certification rule. They did the same later with the Pathfinder Armada.
“Handling By Lotus” was another interesting one.
I always liked the GM special audio ones, like Buicks “Concert Sound” with emblems on the speakers, and the sequels, Concert Sound II and III-the trilogy! Cadillacs Delco-Bose and “Symphony Sound”, Oldsmobile had “Dimensional Sound” which sounds like something Rod Serling would advertise.
As a side note, Nissan used “Altima” as a model series name in Japan going back to at least 1986.
I think that was just like the Japanese that put the air con and other stickers in the window, to help the salesman when they were looking for a vehicle with particular equipment on the lot.
I’m not sure how the small Altima badge would have allowed them to get around any regulations it was just a way to slowly introduce the new name just like the Nissan by Datsun they used during that transition period.
I propose that new cars with touchscreen interfaces get “Touch Screen” badges like these. It’s relevant to other drivers insofar as it indicates that the driver of the car so equipped will probably be both distracted and irritable…
‘course, someone could put a badge on their car proclaming the “Power Option System”, abbreviated, of course, to save on decal material.
I always found it humorous that the driving computer interface on GM vehicles is called the “Driver Information Center”, with the unfortunate acronym DIC.
Ah yes…my second car – a ’50 Buick’ 52 sedan’ – thru college…Race me !!
My father was so cheap with new cars, we would always get strippers.
Would there ever have been an “AM radio” badge?
Or “AM Delete”
What about this on the back of a 20s Sunbeam warning of four wheel brakes
Of course, by the time you get close enough to read it, it’s too late to matter.
You could find this one at the rear of american Jeeps running in UK during WWII.
The “no signal” warning should be mandatory today for anyone driving behind someone who doesn’t use his turn signals…
Still seen today on road sweepers and drain cleaning vehicles.
This is easier than to say or write “Quadrifoglio Verde”.
nice.
And I loved the Pinin farina badges…
Had a cool ‘FE3’ badge on my trofeo.
Got this on the back of my W124 E220. Apparently Mercedes did this when they wanted to shift overstocked models that were soon to be replaced. Other names they use is ‘Avantgarde’ and ‘Classic’. It did come with some upgrades, but the badge itself is plastic…cheap buggers!
I haven’t seen running in please pass in a cars rear window since the early 70s
L at one time meant luxury but by the mid 70s it may as well have been miser’s special and became the lowest model on the rung
Oh yes ! A Ford Taunus L or Fiesta L. You had a seat and a steering wheel but for the rest it was as spartan as Ben Hur’s chariot. And Mr. Hur was probably also faster.
The L wasn’t the base model, though. It was initially second from the bottom of the Fiesta and Taunus line, although at least in the U.K., Ford subsequently added lower-line Popular and Popular Plus models, making the L the third tier.
G for Gargantuan, as in 420G Jag
What did the G stand for?I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a Jaguar 420 A – F
Gross?
I think ‘Grand’ might be it. Just caught a Mk10 in the wild, so CC submission coming up in near future.
No, but there was a non-Grand 420 (the car formerly known as the S-Type 4.2).
420 nonG had a different front end to the S type
No Honda parts were used in the construction of this vehicle
How about that, a Honda Clio with the famous Horizon V6 and Swedish plates.
Theres the whole thing Honda Horizon with Handling by Lotus LOL. Underneath all the bullshit from Honda is an Isuzu Trooper. Kiwi plates it belongs to a workmate
Mate, don’t you know a Holden Jackaroo when you see one. Hehehe.
CC effect. Caught today…
Did the Nissan Tramp replace the Vagabond?I can’t say I’ve seen one but not many drivers want a car named after a dosser
My thoughts exactly. Which marketing genius came up with this? Can’t remember it from back then, so here it is recorded for posterity. Or whatever.
Vauxhall used the Vagabond name for their EIP Convertable of the early 50s though not available in UK, OZ only worth gold in the UK despite the dosser conotations
I’ve just googled the Vauxhall Vagabond,great looking car not so great name.Never seen one in the metal yet
You’ll probably be looking for a while, they only built about a thousand of them
Theres a white one in the UK the guy paid like 30k pounds for it as a wreck, However if you can get a CA Bedford chassis a EIP Vauxhall ute and sedan you could stitch one up thats all GMH did.
I once worked with a woman who drove a mid-’90s Mercury Villager minivan with decals along the side that proclaimed, “MULTI SPORT.”
I always thought that sounded like a label more befitting of a jockstrap…
“Multi-sport” makes sense in minivan terms.
One kid plays baseball in the summer and hockey in the winter, the other runs cross-country in the fall and track in the spring…
The “Police Interceptor” badges on the left rear of some of the Crown Vics are so cool. A lot of yellow cabs are still running around with those things on them.
+1
+2
Mine has SAAB Airflow on the left and Turbo on the right.
I remember the “RTS” (radial tuned suspension) tags posted on certain Pontiac’s in the late 70’s. Radial tires were becoming standard to raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) numbers.
“Nissan Full Automatic” on an early 1970s Datsun 1200. At 12 years old, I thought a car was either manual or automatic – what was a “half-automatic?”
If you’re among the few with a CIVILIAN Ford Crown Victoria, these can be yours for about $15 for a genuine Ford one; somewhat less for a reproduction.
Now put that on Bajan Dave’s “Full Automatic” Datsun 1200…..
I remember when US manufacturers would make a “sport” model of just about anything by painting the word SPORT on it somewhere, and maybe also a body-colored grille. A minivan, a pickup, a little white sedan…it didn’t seem to matter.
Was very impressed as a little kid with my uncle’s ’55 Dodge with “Full time power steering”.
None of that slacker lackadaisical “part time” power steering. No sir.
… as well as an elderly woman in the neighborhood with a stripper ’54 Chevy 210. Only two options, which were:
The increasing availability of power steering and automatics had to have been very popular with women, I can’t imagine how hard to drive some earlier cars must have been if you were a small/petite woman.
And marketing these features to women went on for a very long time. I was surprised to find this ad from the late 60’s – feminism would soon eliminate much of this marketing.
and …
The pininfarina logo on the front fender was always a nice sign – even if no other motorist knew (or cared) what it meant. Also the chrome “Iniezione” (fuel injection) on the back of old Alfas was cool. At that point in the early 70s, it was actually a feature worth boasting about, but I’m sure most outside Italy didn’t know or care about its meaning either.
The aftermarket “Rabbit Injection” badge for the early watercooled VWs was entertainingly subversive. It looked just close enough to the stock badge that you wouldn’t notice it immediately, until you looked more closely and realized what the one rabbit was doing to the other.
Coolest badge implementation ever has to have been the “quattro” logo on the back glass of some 1980s Audi sedans. It was made of the same material as the rear defroster lines, and it was functional, so in frosty conditions the word “quattro” would appear in large print across the bottom of the rear window.
Hmm.. my 1986 Pontiac 6000-STE was the king of badges…
the 14″ long 6000-STE badges on each front fender, and trunk lid, the 4 wheel Disc Brakes center caps on each wheel, the ERC badge on the glove box for the self-adjusting air shocks, the Special Touring Edition badges on the grill and trunk lid, and the Extended Range Sound speakers (two way speakers). Strangely enough the steering wheel controls for the radio didn’t have a fancy acronym.
Sounds like a case of Malignant Scriptitis.
I seem to remember first generation Taurus, around 1990 onwards, having “V6 A/C” etched on the back window or one of the cargo area side windows. I could be crazy, but it sticks in my head.
“4 Speed Automatic” on the back of 1985 Buick Electras/Park Avenues. That seemed odd. But I guess was pretty wowee at the time for GM.
Mgillis knows of what he speaks. My 1986 Taurus L wagon (red…”The Tomato”) was thusly labeled. I carefully cleaned around it when doing the insides of the windows.
The early symbols and decals for factory installed air conditioning interest me and I was always on the outlook for them. The Airtemp logo, Chevrolet bow-tie with the words “Air Conditioned”, Buick, Pontiac A/C logos, Studebaker logo were proud indicators of an expensive option. AMC and Ford got into this with door mounted, chrome badges. Here is the Ford Selectaire – equipped cars (57-59) got this emblem mounted on the right front door only.
I guess when you were spending this kind of money back during the day, you wanted and expected some type of badging to indicate it.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one of those on a Ford – they must be pretty rare.
What about Mazdas? I’ve seen “Skyactiv Technology” in their ads, but do they put Skyactiv badging on the cars?
Just saw a Mazda CX-5 with a Skyactiv badge on the rear. First time I’ve seen one. If I hadn’t been stopped behind it in traffic I wouldn’t have noticed it.
Right here! The ‘4 wheel drive’ declaration may not be a ‘badge’, but I love how it looks like an ‘action statement’ on an old horror movie poster. Easily one of my favorites!
This V8 doesn’t suck….
How about the “Lambda Sond” grille badge on late 70s Volvo 240s? Just a fancy name for “oxygen sensor” and every car with OBD has at least one…
My favorite in huge letters across the side was “SPORTRUCK”. Did it come from a meteorite that burned through the atmosphere?
I’m a week late getting here, but my favourite pointless badge is this one which Nissan located somewhere on all of my Nissan Laurels:
Any GM car of the 80’s or 90’s with a Bose badge.
Talk about badge engineering personicified!
New to CC so I find myself commenting on old posts.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned were the badges available in your local auto parts store that could help you lie about what your ride had under the skin. In the ’80s, “TURBO” appliqués could be stuck on the back of any car for dime store prestige. The best use of them was for cheap laughs: you could show up the whole sham and get comic points by slapping one on a utility trailer or golf cart.
The king of fake stick-ons, however, was the “simulated cell phone antenna”. Remember when cell phones were the size of bricks, and people had them installed permanently in luxury cars so they could make executive decisions on the road for their venture businesses?
These handy self stick snobberies were just the thing to upgrade the status of the guy with a 7-year-old Sentra.
The one in this picture is even cheaper bow than when it was new in the ’90s. It’s advertised for 77 cents.