dmcianfa

Ok, according to wiki, which is always correct, right?, I guess the last logo used by oldsmobile is supposed to be based on the rocket theme, but frankly I'm not seeing it. Am I missing something? Someone please explain cause I don't even think it even remotely looks like one. It looks more like a road going off into the horizon or something. But, then again I was never any good at those 3D thingies you looked at and eventually a sailboat (schooner) popped out at you after a couple minutes or so. So, i'm curious to see if someone out there can explain it to me?

66ninetyeightls

Possibly the exhaust of the rocket flying into space??

Bluevista

You don't see a stylized rocket with a con-trail behind it swirling into the stratosphere?
Ever since Olds changed it to that logo it always reminds me of this real rocket company corporate logo.
Coincidence???

Rockwell_International_logo.gif

wmachine

I'd be happy to explain it to you. The "official" explanation from GM is exactly what you read: a rocket.
So what was it really? It was GM showing the world that they already had a fork in Oldsmobile, and Olds was on its way out.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that emblem was approved by GM only because at 20 ft or more, it looks just like a Toyota emblem. The world class Aurora first wore it in 1994. Just a coincidence that the word "Oldsmobile" was nowhere to be found on the exterior of that car, too?
GM did everything possible to neuter and disassociate the Aurora from Oldsmobile.

rocketraider

Supposedly you can discern the letters O L D S in that emblem. I can see them, but S is hard to make out.

I always thought it looked too much like Lexus' emblem, but I'll give it credit- it does reminisce of the mid-50s Rocket Circle logo.

You can supposedly see T O Y O T A in that bulls horns-looking thing they have too. Or does it also remind you of a fat moth?

jaunty75

According to Setting the Pace, this last Oldsmobile logo was introduced in 1995. At the time, Oldsmobile General Manager John Rock wanted to distinguish Oldsmobile from its recent past, where sales had fallen so sharply, and he thought one of the images that people associated with the "old" Oldsmobile was the previous logo, the stylized rocket we're all so familiar with. (According to STP, the rocket logo was sometimes referred to as the "chicken track".)

According to STP, several new logos were proposed, readers of Automotive News and AutoWeek were asked to vote, and the choice was announced at the New York Auto Show on April 12, 1995.

It was described as "a soaring rocket with a gentle oval," although some people saw an abstract "L" in it, which they presumed stood for Lansing.


According to STP, another, lesser reason for the new logo was the introduction of the Aurora, which did not have an Oldsmobile logo or the word "Oldsmobile" anywhere on its exterior. It just had its own stylized "A", and the word "Oldsmobile" appeared only on the faceplate of the radio. Again, the idea was to distinguish these new Oldsmobiles from the past, as much as it might pain the rest of us to see Oldsmobile apparently abandoning the history that made it so great.

I remember reading an article about this at the time describing how this new approach worked too well. People would see a new Aurora on the road, be interested in it, and want to know who made it. But they couldn't tell if, for example, they were sitting at a traffic light and saw one in front of them because the name of the manufacturer didn't appear anywhere on the car. All they would say is, "Aurora? Who the hell makes that!?!"

wmachine

I see they didn't know how to spell "disassociate"

Just part of the execution process. Along the same lines as the marketing disasters like "The New Generation" and the most famous "This is not your father's Oldsmobile.

dmcianfa

I thought this image below is what the Aurora first sported on it's car's. Very similar to the "latest" olds logo, but clearly an "A" and not a "rocket". Now, if the design for the latest logo was fashioned with the aurora logo in mind as a "spin off", why would that constitute it being a "rocket", because it reminds me nothing of the 60's rocket logo that experts are saying the folks at GM said it was derived from. It looks like a spin off of the Aurora A maybe, but certainly not a rocket. These types of decisions probably led to their demise deciding to part from the old ways, which put them on the map and in the end distancing themselves from their true being, which made them who they were. I see relevencies in new logos no doubt, but to say it resembles a rocket is frankly the equivalent of looking at ink blotches and saying it looks like my mother and father on a picnic, just plain mad. . Just some food for thought and kinda getting away from normal olds discussions, but fun nonetheless. For reference, I used to see Auroras around town at stop lights and also say "who the hell makes that", except it was usually followed by the words "ugly **** pile of shat". I remember getting angry at the company cause I couldn't figure out who the heck produced them as it didn't state anything on the car. Why would I buy a car that doesn't advertise itself or it's company. If I were in marketing I don't think anger is a good emotion to associate with your vehicle your trying to sell. Or it could be reverse phsychology in advertising I don't know? More dumb decisions made towards the end I suppose.

joe_padavano

In fact, I remember this whole episode. The Aurora was released first, with the stylized "A" logo. Olds made a conscious decision NOT to put "Oldsmobile" on those first Auroras, since they were trying to dig out of the "Not your father's..." advertising campaign. The round Olds logo came shortly after and was supposed to show a resemblance to the Aurora logo.

Correct.

The other coincidence is that Rockwell doesn't exist anymore, either.

rocketraider

"Chicken track"? Well, it could be like that Fratzog thing Mopar had...