True Stories Behind Car Company Logos
Did a wallpaper pattern in a Paris hotel room inspire the famous Chevrolet Bowtie emblem? Does the blue and white BMW roundel really symbolize a propeller and sky? And was the Porsche logo first sketched on a napkin in a New York City restaurant? In the world of automobile logos, truth can be stranger than fiction—though a good story can go a long way toward embellishing a brand’s corporate identity.
2012 Ford Focus Starting at $16,270 … “Great bang for your buck! The coupe is priced well also.” – Funk Flex
The car won’t officially go on sale until early next year, but when it does, the cost of entry in the U.S. will be $16,270 for the base S sedan (*not including a $725 destination charge).
R.I.P to Four U.S. Car Brands
1. Pontiac – In theory, it was GM’s performance brand. We’ll miss cars like the G8,GTO and Solstice GXP; we wish we could erase the Aztek from our memory (as did Pontiac, no doubt). 2. Mercury – Founded in 1939 by Henry Ford’s son, Edsel, Mercury most recently served as an example of poor badge engineering. 3. Saturn – Originally known for its plastic-bodied cars and “no-haggle†dealer model; severely held back by a lack of new and unique product. 4. Hummer – Thrust into pop culture by a muscle-bound Austrian-born actor/governor, these off-road-biased trucks proved far too bulky and inefficient for the times.
Government Wants Vehicles Up to 62 MPG By 2025
The federal government is looking to raise corporate average fuel economy requirements to something between 47 and 62 miles per gallon by 2025, according to documents released Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. Currently these requirements, known as CAFE, call for an increase in fuel economy to an average of 34.1 mpg by 2016. The requirements proposed Friday are for the next round of fuel economy increases scheduled to begin in 2017. The government’s proposed 2025 goal would reflect annual increase of 3% to 6% per year from 2017 to 2025, according to a Notice of Intent issued by the agencies.
