Hood ornament

A hood ornament (or bonnet ornament or bonnet mascot in Commonwealth English), also called a motor mascot or car mascot, is a specially crafted model that symbolizes a car company, like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood. It has been used as an adornment nearly since the inception of automobiles.

According to the author of A History of Cars written for youth, the first "hood ornament" was a sun-crested falcon (to bring good luck) mounted on the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's chariot.

In the early years, automobiles had their radiator caps outside the hood and on top of the grille, which also served as an indicator of the temperature of the engine's coolant fluid. The Boyce MotoMeter Company was issued a patent in 1912 for a radiator cap that incorporated a thermometer that was visible to the driver with a sensor that measured the heat of the water vapor, rather than the water itself. This became useful gauge for the driver because many early engines did not have water pumps, but a circulation system based on the "thermo-syphon" principle as in the Ford Model T.

The "exposed radiator cap became a focal point for automobile personalization."

Hood ornaments were popular in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, with many automakers fitting them to their vehicles. They also serve to differentiate cars and the ornaments were inspired by animals, mythological figures, and the automakers' logos. A common element on every Rolls-Royce since 1911 is the "Spirit of Ecstasy" on the hood that serves as a type of "calling card" and denotes the message of luxury. During the 1920s, advertisements for Mercedes-Benz emphasized their "star" hood ornament as representing the "world-famous product of the oldest automobile works in the world" and as the ultimate symbol of luxury.

A market developed supplying accessories to those who wanted to add an ornament or car mascot to their automobile. These were a way to express the owner's love of their car or customizing to express individuality. Most of these companies went out of business, with only Louis Lejeune Ltd. in England surviving. Sculptors like Bazin, Paillet, Sykes, Renevey, and Lejeune created detailed miniature sculptures, like figurines.

Hood ornaments were viewed as "objets d'art" according to Richard Teague, who served as styling vice president at American Motors Corporation (AMC). A sculptor described some hood ornaments as “certainly some kind of sex symbol—a symbol of virility." There were Art Deco stylized women’s forms serving as hood ornaments. After World War II, Nash Motors commissioned George Petty to design hood ornaments featuring female figures without clothing for their cars. Petty used his daughter to make the "Flying Lady" hood ornament which became a marketing coup for Nash and the 1950 "Airflyte" models in the Ambassador and Statesman cars. Nash had four different versions of this iconic ornament on its vehicles for ten years before designing non-anthropomorphic hood decorations.

Teague brought back a hood ornament for the top-of-the-line AMC Ambassador cars because of the "good feeling" they provide to the owners "or at least a reminder of the money spent on the car." Others in the auto industry, such as Dick Macadam, a chief stylist at Chrysler hold the view that hood ornaments provide an aiming point for centering, "possibly making for easier and safer car handling."