Hood ornaments

[trinacriabob]

I've looked though a hood ornament for most of the time I've been driving. I think my Regal coupe was the last model to have a hood ornament. It seems to go with the overall car.

Now they are gone. Even on most Caddies. Do you think they should have bitten the dust? Should they partially come back? What do you think?

[capriceman]

hell yeah

[Flybrian]

I've looked though a hood ornament for most of the time I've been driving.  I think my Regal coupe was the last model to have a hood ornament.  It seems to go with the overall car.

Now they are gone.  Even on most Caddies.  Do you think they should have bitten the dust?  Should they partially come back?  What do you think?

Yours wasn't the last, though it was the last of the Regal line to carry one. Cadillacs and Buicks had them until 2005 one base DeVilles and Park Avenues, respectively. Chevrolet's Caprice had them until 1996 when the line was dumped. For Olds, you'll have to go back to the '91 Custom Cruiser and for Pontiac even further back, probably to the RWD G-body Bonnevilles (final year of '86).

Actually, the only cars with a hood ornament for sale today are the Phantom, a handful of Mercedes sedans, Jaguars, and the Lincoln Town Car.

Fact is, traditional stand-up hood ornaments don't look right on today's cars which are far sleeker and lack the ornate grille and hood decoration cars of the past had. I've seen them screwed onto some Regals and even an LS and they look awful because they're not only mounted incorrectly, but they don't fit the lines of the car.

You would have to design a fascia with one in mind, not tacked-on like aftermarket ones or that cheesy one on the Chinese Buicks, and you'd have to do it right. Jaguar manages to keep 'em classy as does Benz, but they know when and where to use them - on more formal sedans and not sportier models. I sure wouldn't look toward the Town Car for any styling ideas.

[Variance]

I think it's a potential vandalism issue. Don't people like to steal hood ornaments? Unless they can make them hideaway like on the Rolls-Royce Phantom, I think it's best cars don't have them.

[CSpec]

The retractable ornament on the Phantom is a good idea, but it seems expensive and prone to breaking. I would much rather have hood-ornaments than ginormous badges in the grill, such as this:

[trinacriabob]

I think it's a potential vandalism issue. Don't people like to steal hood ornaments?

Good point. I've had one stolen.

I just like looking through them (sort of) at the center of the windsplit on the kinds of cars I've owned.

[Enzora]

The retractable ornament on the Phantom is a good idea, but it seems expensive and prone to breaking. I would much rather have hood-ornaments than ginormous badges in the grill, such as this:

I don't know about having a hood ornament on most models, but I definitely agree that the whole gigantic grille emblem thing is getting out of hand. It's especially troubling when the badge won't even fit in the grille:

Hood ornaments are nice on some select models these days, like Jaguar sedans. But I think you'd have to look all the way back to the 1950s to find the last time that the number of cars that looked good with hood ornaments wasn't a small minority.

Edited February 26, 2006 by Enzora

[PurdueGuy]

I like them as long as they work with the lines. I would think more modern cars would likely work better with ones that either point out forward (jag-style), or sweep a bit back. Straight up & down wouldn't look right on most current cars.

[Flybrian]

The ones that graced the old 560s and CLs were very obnoxious...

...though I'm sure we're close to surpassing it today.

Mercedes did go too far at one point...

[ToniCipriani]

My friend told me that these hood ornaments are actually useful. He says that it's easier to stay on the centre of the lane with it.

[Ravenfreak13]

they look good on PT Cruisers

[capriceman]

My friend told me that these hood ornaments are actually useful. He says that it's easier to stay on the centre of the lane with it.

Man when your wasted its awesome. just line that up with that yellow line and go straight down the road.

[Cory Wolfe]

On the right car, yes. Otherwise, no. Most cars today, though, also a no.

[Sixty8panther]

Love them. I think they should be on most cars. I dont mind the larger MB star on the grille either though. I do mind the retardedly ugly Toyota emglem that always seems placed in a very dumb spot/height on the car. Like the current & new Camrys, the placement of the Toyota emblems are horrible.

[ocnblu]

Well, there was a time when everyone thought the grille was on its way out, and look at us now, grilles have made a dramatic comeback because they are a powerful identifier. So... maybe hood ornaments will make a comeback someday as well, along with padded vinyl tops, fender skirts, and chrome bumpers. :AH-HA_wink:

[Camino LS6]

If done well, they really add to the look of a car and speak to the pride the builders take in it. The old stand-up Benz emblem is the best example.

[CARBIZ]

I remember driving a '74 Lincoln MkIV with the long hood and prominent hood ornament on the end - amazing! Quite the rush. You really felt like you were driving in a luxury car.

I remember when the Chrysler Imperial bragged about having real crystal pentastars on the hood - everybody was stealing them. So, yeah, they can be a target.

[thegriffon]

Don't forget the pedestrian safety issue. Under many vehicle design codes any protruding element such as a hood ornament is no longer allowed.

[Drew Dowdell]

I wish Cadillac and Lincoln would bring them back across their line. They have a measure of status to them that would be appropriat for these brands if done right.

Even the little C-Class looks right with a hood ornament.

[ocnblu]

Boss Hogg had the right idea with those Texas longhorns bolted onto his Eldorado.

[Sixty8panther]

Boss Hogg had the right idea with those Texas longhorns bolted onto his Eldorado.

I was just telling Ross yesterday of a '77-79 Cadillac CDV like his that was at a local cheesy used car corral wiht the horns bolted to the header panel. It was painted Barbie-pink with the Dealership name/logo across the side.

But still what's more shocking is that it got destroyed in a demolition derby by some guy who got it for free because he was at the right place at the right time. I gues the owner of the lot got "sick of looking at it" and just gave it away to be destroyed. The car was in fantastic condition, absolutely worth saving and this a$$hole has to give it away to be smashed up! WTF?

He said hos it needed a few things and he didn;t feel like fixing them... like a f**king windshield wiper motor or something equaly trivial & easy to fix.

[trinacriabob]

Boss Hogg had the right idea with those Texas longhorns bolted onto his Eldorado.

I swear ... I actually saw those planted on a Caprice on a humid Texas summer day. I was driving between Houston and Austin to check out UT-Austin for grad school and there it was....on a Caprice. The couple in the car looked straight out of American Gothic....identical.

Their license plate frame said:

MY DAUGHTER AND MY MONEY GO TO....

T E X A S

Whoever wants to get on my case for stereotyping, be my guest.