Ford is making a huge announcement as we speak, about a new electric car/truck platform that will be used for a wide variety of cars, but the thing that caught my attention was in the background, and was more than a century old: a logo. A Ford logo, of course, but one that hasn’t really been in use since the Model T-era. Which, based on what Ford CEO Jim Farley was saying, kinda fits.
The announcement today is essentially about a modular EV platform, which really isn’t that big news, since lots of companies use standardized modular platforms, EV and otherwise. But Ford is a little late to this, so it’s definitely a big deal for them, and, as is noted in our story about this, Ford is claiming theirs is even more modular.
So, why the different logo? Well, let’s take a look at what that logo has. It’s the winged one that you see here:
That triangle with wings and the traditional Ford script inside. At first glance, you might think this is some kind of Masonic thing, with a pyramid and mythic wings and all that, but it’s not, it’s actually a Ford logo from 1912:
Here it is in a newspaper ad from 1912:
Here’s where it fits in the Greater Fordic Logo Evolution:
So, this predates the Blue Oval we all know so well, which was not defined until 1927. I like how the 1909 one is in quotation marks, suggesting maybe it’s not really a Ford.
I think the key part here, why this old logo was revived, is the addition of the motto “The Universal Car.” This was referring to the Model T, which was very much a Universal Car. This was from an era long before deliberate modular platforms, but the Model T’s basic chassis and drivetrain did become something of a modular platform, with all manner of different bodies available for it:
Back in the separate chassis/body era, before the Rise of the Unibodies, this wasn’t that uncommon. Think about how many different cars Volkswagen built on the basic air-cooled Beetle platform, for example. The Model T, of course, did this really well.
So there’s Ford’s first Universal Car. And they want to try it again, only in electric form:
I get it, it’s a great concept. And, it makes sense that Ford was a master of this over a century ago. It’s very convenient that they even had a motto and logo that reflected this idea way back in 1912, so I’m not too surprised they’re using the old pyramid-and-wings logo today.
Sure, it’s been updated a bit, but notably, the way it’s been updated is surprisingly pretty minor. It’s mostly limited to the look of the material the logo is “made” of, now all slick and shiny, fitting in with the current “Liquid Glass” trends. The triangular section is also now more distinctly outlined, and the wing proportions have gotten longer. Oh, and the “Ford” script is the modern variant of that long-lived logo.
But more significant is the change to the motto, now “The Universal Vehicle” instead of the more limiting “The Universal Car.”
I doubt that it’ll replace the famous Blue Oval, though? I suspect it’ll mostly be used in the context of cars built on this new modular EV platform. I can’t see it on, say, a Mustang. But will the winged script design be used on the badging of these new EVs? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. It could be pretty cool!
Speaking of: EV platforms? Waste of time, they’ll never really take off, there just isn’t the charging infrastructure, the electrical network won’t support it, this is all a waste of time…
In 1912 there were about 200 miles of blacktop road in the US. What was probably the first purpose-built drive-up gas station would not be built for another year. There was not much point in building gas stations because there weren’t any cars, there was not much point in buying a car without paved roads.
This what systemic disruption looks like. The revolution will, eventually, be electrified.
The Paul Rand logo would have been more appropriate for electrification.
The triangle logo also fits because the platform is going to be using prismatic batteries. I doubt the battery prisms look like the Pink Floyd-style prism most think of, but it gets the idea across.
Put oval inside the triangle and you get all-seeing eye
Illuminati confirmed.
Have you driven a Fnord lately?
My parrot is pining for the Fnords
The pyramid definitely had me thinking of Nic Cage as well
I read a claim recently that Ford wanted to honor his friend and mentor Thomas Edison. The first two letters can be seen as a TE if you connect the little curlicue on the F’s crossbar with the o to make an E.
Of course, if you look at the script in a mirror (and you’re from Wisconsin), it says “brat.” Now I’m hungry.
> At first glance, you might think this is some kind of Masonic thing, with a pyramid and mythic wings and all that, but it’s not…
That’s not going to stop the weirdos, though.
Was Henry Ford a Mason? It wouldn’t surprise me, he had some weird ideas himself.
Apparently those ideas were only weird in public – and not for very long.
They’re back in style again.
I wish someone would make a standard cab truck again.
Regardless of the design, referencing the Model T is good stuff – one reasonable electric car model platform to suit all sorts of vehicles that hopefully will be attainable.
Why would you think there weren’t Masons in 1912?
Actually in 1909 the blue oval logo had the quotation marks because it was Ford written in Henry Fords signature. I originally thought it was the logo from a company back in the 20s that did the M treatment on the model T. That I thought I remembered from an American Pickers episode. But no 1909 Henry Fords signature in quotes
So sometime between 1909 and 1911 is when we switched timelines and got Mandela’d into believing that the curl on the F was always there?
You know it’s great that they’ve got a new platform coming up for electric vehicles and stuff but let’s not forget those people that have already bought what they currently were offering and just feel like we’re totally being screwed my personal story is 2014 Fusion energi 108,000 MI the big battery totally fried smoked smelled up the car and close to a 13,000 Bill to fix it from the dealership how about some Model T pricing on parts for that type of vehicle dealers cost $6,600 dealership price to me on their estimate 10 grand have and the things that need to be replaced are the same parts for the 2019 and 20 that are being recalled
Some punctuation would make your comment readable. Just sayin’.