What do the emblems and names of car brands mean? What is the difference between the Fred Perry logo, emblem and trademark: laurel wreath.

Pipe of the bulk carrier "Galata Star" of the Pacmar Shipping company. It can be seen that the pipe previously had another emblem, which was erased or cut off and painted over - the ship previously belonged to another company. With a change of company, the emblem on the ship's funnel also changes.

Emblems must certainly be clear and simple, the viewer must see in them what they wanted to tell him; on the contrary, he puts content into the symbol, which can be completely independent of the artist’s intentions. A symbol is the embodiment of an idea, emblem- a conventional sign that replaces it, its hieroglyph. The symbol expresses a fluctuating, indefinite group of experienced impressions, which even for the artist himself does not exist in the form of an abstract generalization, for the artist thinks in images, and does not invent them for the allegorical expression of an idea. Where abstraction is translated into the form of a material allegory, we have emblem: this is not a symbol, but an allegory - a prosaic diagram, a ready-made idea, dressed in the shell of a real image.

Therefore, Michelangelo’s “Night” or the bas-relief depicted by Ivan Turgenev in the prose poem “Necessitas-Vis-Libertas” are not emblems, but symbols that give movement to thought and complicate it. The word έμβλήμα among the Greeks and Romans meant relief decorations on an object made of another material, for example, a silver figure on a bronze vase, then all kinds of typesetting artistic and craft works, such as mosaic floors, things made from heterogeneous and multi-colored materials, embroidery on the borders of clothes , decorative groups of objects in wall paintings, decorations on furniture, etc.

Its modern meaning is the word emblem received only in the XVI-XVII centuries, when allegories were very popular and when in emblems covered all areas of knowledge, from theology to physics, from politics to grammar. The bibliography pays special attention to the many collections emblems, usually excellently published and interesting for the history of decorative arts. They were especially popular "Emblems" Milanese Alziata (), which went through up to 130 editions in different European countries. We were successful" Emblems and Symbols” by N. M. Maksimovich-Ambodik, the role of which in the upbringing of little Lavretsky Ivan Turgenev speaks with such warmth. Collections emblems They are still published for various applications in the applied arts.

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Ebola (disambiguation)

See what “Emblem” is in other dictionaries: EMBLEM - (Greek emblema relief work). A material image of some abstract concept; symbol; eg anchor of hope, cross of faith. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. EMBLEM Greek. emblema, from... ...

emblem Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language - Cm …

emblem Synonym dictionary - y, w. emblème m., germ. Emblem, lat. emblem gr. emblema insert, raised decoration. An object or image of some kind. object as a symbol expressing what kind of l. idea, concept. BAS 1. Also against this theater a shield was made, on which... ...

See what “Emblem” is in other dictionaries: Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language - (from the Greek emblema insertion, relief decoration), the embodiment of a phenomenon, abstract concept or speculative idea in a visual image. In its function, the emblem is often close to allegory (often considered as its variety), but, in ...

See what “Emblem” is in other dictionaries: Modern encyclopedia - EMBLEM, emblems, women. (Greek emblema insert) (book). An object, an image, conventionally denoting some concept, some idea. Anchor emblem of hope. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ...

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary Emblem - symbolic designation of a concept, idea, social program or organization through a symbol or image. See also: Symbols Financial Dictionary Finam...

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary Financial Dictionary - (from the Greek emblema insert, convex decoration) conditional explanation of a concept, idea using an image (for example, a dove is the emblem of the peace movement). Political science: Dictionary reference book. comp. Prof. Science Sanzharevsky I.I.. 2010 ...

See what “Emblem” is in other dictionaries: Political science. Dictionary. - (from the Greek emblema, relief decoration) a conventional or symbolic image of any concept, idea (for example, emblems of various branches of the military) ...

See what “Emblem” is in other dictionaries: Big Encyclopedic Dictionary - (from the Latin emblema insert, convex image) a conventional symbolic image of a concept or idea; unlike a symbol, it does not embody the content of the concept, it only points to it. Raizberg B.A., Lozovsky L.Sh., Starodubtseva E.B..… …

See what “Emblem” is in other dictionaries: Economic dictionary - EMBLEM, s, w. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 …

Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary In 2010, the fashion house celebrated its 100th anniversary, and this year the brand celebrates the 40th anniversary of its signature greyhound logo. In honor of this event, the Italian brand in collaboration with a Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu and director James Lima released a short animated film The Sky Watcher with a purebred dog in the title role. website learned in detail the history of the logo In 2010, the fashion house and remembered other emblems of famous fashion brands.

Trussardi: English Greyhound

The history of the brand began in 1910, when Dante Trussardi opened a workshop for the repair and production of leather gloves in the Italian town of Bergamo. But the greyhound became a symbol of the brand only in 1973. My nephew decided to use it Dante Nicola Trussardi. The Greyhound, graceful, elegant, dynamic and sophisticated, perfectly symbolized the brand's style. In addition to gloves, Nikola began producing other leather goods stamped with the new logo.

« I saw many paintings and ancient Egyptian bas-reliefs depicting these animals, and was completely amazed by their beauty and incredible elegance.", - said Nicola about the logo he chose, which has become synonymous with Italian quality.

In the new video Trussardi The Sky Watcher, released to celebrate the logo's anniversary, a animated English greyhound statue chases a magical rabbit through the streets of Milan, bringing the city's monuments to life. But by morning the miracles end, and the bronze greyhound returns to its place - to the entrance to the boutique of the Italian fashion house.

“We wanted not to go into explanations about the history of the brand, and gave preference to emotions, beautiful pictures and music”, - admitted the creative director of the brand Gaia Trussardi.

Chanel: Intertwined "C"

Logo Chanel- one of the most famous in the fashion world. Two intertwined letters “C” can be seen on all the brand’s products, but the symbol first appeared in 1921 on a bottle of the legendary perfume Chanel No. 5. There are several versions of creating an emblem in the form of two “Cs”. According to the most popular - these are the initials of the most Coco Chanel, which she drew shortly before the opening of the first boutique Chanel. Adherents of the second, less common version, attribute the authorship of the logo to Mikhail Vrubel, who drew the symbol introduced by Coco in the 1920s, much earlier - in 1886. It is known that the ornament in the form of joining two horseshoes, symbolizing double luck, was fashionable at the end of the 19th century. Therefore, many researchers believe that the similarity of the emblem of the fashion house and Vrubel’s sketch is a mere coincidence. Although there is another version: this emblem is just a reminder of the forged ears that decorated the doors of the orphanage in which Chanel grew up. One way or another, Coco was right with her choice of logo; it brought good luck to the House.

Versace: Medusa

Symbol of a fashion house Versace- the head of a jellyfish - appeared in 1978, when a 34-year-old Gianni Versace opened his first boutique in one of the most prestigious areas of Milan, Via della Spiga. Legend has it that shortly before the opening, the designer was walking in the garden of his mansion in Reggio Calabria and noticed the marble figure of the Gorgon Medusa. The most famous of the three gorgon sisters with a woman's face and writhing snakes instead of hair, who could turn a person into stone with one glance, would be ideal for the role of the brand logo. Gianni had always been interested in mythology and classical literature and decided that in a new context, the head of a mythological creature would symbolize fatal attraction. It is in the role of a seductress that the fashion house Versace I saw my customer.

Burberry: Knight

English stamp logo Burberry appeared in 1901, when founded in 1856 by a young Thomas Burberry The brand has already become quite famous. From the very beginning the products Burberry distinguished by high quality fabrics, comfort and practicality. During the First World War, at the request of the British Royal Air Force, Thomas developed a waterproof raincoat (the same famous trench coat). And in 1901, when the founder of the brand received an order to produce full uniforms for officers, the question arose of creating a trademark Burberry. Then the brand’s emblem appeared - the figure of a knight-rider in armor and with a spear in his hands, who was depicted against the background of a flag with the inscription “prorsum”, which translated from English means “forward”. This motto reflected the desire for even more progressive inventions, and the spear was a symbol of protecting the traditions of quality.

Lacoste: crocodile

Sports brand Lacoste was founded by a famous tennis player in his time Rene Lacoste. The Frenchman, whom his father sent to England to receive a prestigious education, became a 10-time winner of Grand Slam tournaments. But at the peak of Rene’s career, doctors discovered tuberculosis in the tennis player. His sports career was over, but Lacoste conceived a new project. In 1933 he, together with André Housing created a company La Societe Chemise Lacoste, which produced T-shirts for tennis players, golfers and sailing enthusiasts. The crocodile logo appeared even before the creation of the brand. The fact is that journalists have long called the tennis player nothing more than a crocodile. “I was nicknamed “Crocodile” after my argument with the captain of our team, - said Rene. - He promised to buy a crocodile leather suitcase that I liked if I won an important match for the national team.” Lacoste was not at all offended by the journalists and sewed an image of a crocodile onto his sports uniform. A small toothy alligator was painted by a famous artist and friend Rene Robert George. It was this famous crocodile that moved onto the brand’s items Lacoste.

Ralph Lauren: polo player

Ralph Lauren, once the son of Jewish immigrants Ralph Lifshitz, founded the company in 1967 Polo Fashions and already in 1968 he opened his first boutique. The brand's world-famous logo dates back to 1971, when Ralph first gave women a men's polo shirt.

“My wife has an excellent sense of style: she can choose such a shirt and jacket in a men's store that people then ask where we got these clothes,- Ralph told about his innovation. - Her image reminded me Katharine Hepburn in her youth, athletic and non-fashion, in the image of a horsewoman with hair flying in the wind».

The designer not only created a polo shirt for the ladies, but also placed a logo of a polo player riding a horse on the cuff. Lauren himself admitted that for him, playing polo has always been the personification of wealth, luxury and power. Coming from a poor family, he always dreamed of becoming part of high society, joining it. The designer's dreams came true, and the figurine of a polo player, which symbolized luxury for Lauren, is now associated with classic American style.

Fred Perry: laurel wreath

Fred Perry- famous English tennis player of the 1930s. He founded his company in 1952. It all started with a collaboration between Fred and a former Austrian football player Tibby Wagner, who came up with the idea of ​​selling elastic wrist bands under the name Perry. Soon the athletes expanded production and began producing sports shirts Fred Perry. Of course, buyers associated the name of the popular tennis player with the famous Wimbledon tournament, and they willingly purchased the brand’s products. It is known that Fred, an avid smoker, initially wanted to make a smoking pipe the logo of the brand. He did not think at all that such a symbol was not suitable as an emblem for sportswear. But, fortunately, Wagner dissuaded Perry with the words “the girls won’t like it.” The partner suggested an alternative:

"What about the laurel wreath you wear on your jacket and sweater Davis Cup?» .

Since 1934, when he won Wimbledon, Fred has always worn this symbol. Despite the fact that Perry’s relationship with the English club did not work out, Fred requested permission to use the laurel wreath directly from the director of the Wimbledon Club. He was very happy that their symbol would be used by the famous tennis player, and agreed. Subsequently, clothing brands Fred Perry with a recognizable wreath became the uniform of a number of subcultures of the twentieth century, in particular mods and skinheads.

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It is very important for every large company that its logo is not only easily recognized throughout the world. It must also convey some idea or information to the consumer. That is why designers try to fit as much meaning as possible into a small space.

We invite you to look at the logos of famous companies and figure out what original meanings these symbols hide behind their simplicity and minimalism.

FedEx

The logo of a world-famous transport company contains a hidden agenda. Upon closer examination, you can see the arrow resulting from connecting the letters “E” and “X”. It symbolizes the company's two main principles - accuracy and speed. Studies have shown that when people look at the FedEx logo, the first thing they notice is the arrow.

Hope for African Children Organization

A charity organization dedicated to helping little residents of the African continent has developed a very interesting logo. It depicts Africa, the outer contours of which form the faces of a child and an adult looking at each other.

Bluetooth

The history of the appearance of the logo of the popular wireless data transfer technology goes back to ancient times. A thousand years ago there lived a Danish king, Harald Blatant, who managed to unite many disparate tribes into a single country. He was often called "blue-toothed" because Harald's taste for blueberries gave him a bluish tint to his teeth.

Bluetooth is a technology used to connect multiple users into a single network. Its logo consists of a combination of two ancient Scandinavian runes. The first - "Hagal", is associated with the Latin letter H, the other - Bjarkan - with the letter B. Together these runes form the initials of the Danish king. Perhaps it was for this reason that the first Bluetooth devices were blue in color and shaped like a tooth.

Amazon

It would seem that the logo of the world-famous American online store does not carry any hidden meaning.

But as it turns out, it helps to understand the company’s philosophy. Thus, the arrow under the name is shaped like a smile, which symbolizes the store’s desire to make all its customers happy. In addition, an arrow connects the first and last letters of the alphabet - A and Z. With this, Amazon wants to show that you can buy absolutely everything from them.

Yoga Australia

The logo of a popular club in Australia, where yoga enthusiasts gather, also has one trick. If you look closely, you can see that the girl’s leg and arm form a closed space, repeating the outlines of the “green” continent.

Sony Vaio

The meaning of this logo is quite interesting. The first two letters merge into a wave, which symbolizes the analog type of signals, and the last two letters resemble the numbers “1” and “0”, which are used to encode digital signals.

Unilever

Unilever is a manufacturer of a wide variety of products. All of them are displayed on the company logo, which resembles the capital letter of its name. Moreover, each element of the icon has its own interpretation. So, the bird is a symbol of freedom and enjoyment of life, and the heart means care and love for others.

Formula 1

The logo of the most famous car races also carries a hidden meaning. Between the letter F and the red stripes, the space resembles the shape of the number 1, which denotes speed and the desire to win.

Power on symbol

This symbol is found on the body of almost all electrical appliances, but rarely does anyone think about its origin. In the 40s of the last century, engineers invented a binary system for data transmission. It consisted of 1, which meant on, and 0, which meant off. After some time, the two symbols merged together, and the resulting symbol began to be used to indicate nutrition.

BMW

Initially, the legendary automobile company produced airplanes, and its logo remained from those times. Contrary to the misconception that the badge shows propeller blades, it actually shows the Bavarian flag with its checkered pattern.

Apple

The creator of one of the most recognizable logos in the world, Rob Janoff, said that the idea for the Apple icon came to him completely by accident when he took a bite of an apple and put it on the table. At this moment, the artist saw that the bite site looked like a “byte” - one of the terms of computer technology.

For some time, the Apple logo was decorated with multi-colored stripes, symbolizing color monitors. However, in 1998 the company brought back a monochrome version of the icon.

Sun Microsystems

The software and hardware company's logo is an ambigram created by Professor Vaughan Pratt of Stanford University. The basis of the square is the English word Sun, meaning “sun”, and it can be read from each of the corners.

Continental

A company specializing in the production of car tires did not forget to indicate this in its logo. The first two letters merge to create a tire.

Big Ten

The Big Ten Academic Association, founded in 1896, was a union of the 10 largest universities in the United States. In 1990, after the annexation of the University of Pennsylvania, they decided not to change the name of the organization, but only redesigned the logo. There are now two white spaces in the center of the icon, shaped like the number "11".

Mercedes-Benz

This logo symbolizes the German car company's confidence in itself and in the future. A star with three rays symbolizes dominance in the air, water and land.

NBC

In the 50s of the last century, NBC began producing color televisions. This revolutionary innovation was also signaled by the brightly colored peacock tail depicted on the company logo.

Eighty 20

This small consulting firm has a very unusual logo, consisting of squares of different colors. As it turned out, if you take the dark squares as one, and the light ones as zero, then the top line in the binary code hides the number 1010000, and the bottom - 0010100. If you convert them to the decimal system, you get the numbers 80 and 20, taken from the company name .

Toblerone

The famous Swiss confectionery company Toblerone is located in Bern, which is often called the “city of bears”. It is for this reason that the company did not forget to put a bear silhouette on its logo

Baskin Robbins

Elements of the colorful logo of the famous ice cream company Baskin Robbins carry useful information. From the pink parts of the letters B and R, the number 31 is obtained. This is the number of different flavors and additives that this company uses in the production of ice cream.

Carrefour

The logo of one of the largest retail chains in Europe, based in France, is made in the colors of the local flag. In addition, the capital letter of the company name is highlighted in white.

Milwaukee Brewers

Sports team logos can also be very interesting. Thus, the badge of the professional baseball team from Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Brewers, is the letters M and B, which merge into the image of a baseball glove.

Greenlabs

In this logo, the tree's foliage closely resembles the human brain. Thus, the creators of the badge wanted to show the great mental potential of the company's employees.

McDonald's

The universally recognizable logo, shown in the main photo, is a rounded letter M. But half a century ago, the company almost abandoned its icon due to its incorrect interpretation. The fact is that some psychologists argued that this logo is associated in the imagination of many people with female breasts.

I’m sure most people don’t even know what the emblems on cars symbolize. This article provides information about the origin and meaning of the logos of the world's major automakers.

There are many interpretations of emblems on the Internet. Almost all of these versions are fictional. On the pages of one automobile forum, I came across an opinion that the Toyota emblem is a stylized image of a bull’s head. Of course, it is incorrect and does not even have anything to do with the history of the company. What was surprising was that the person who presented this version was completely confident that he was right.

In the process of writing this article, more than two hundred different sources were analyzed (including official data), so you can be confident in the reliability of the information located on this page.

Audi AG (Ingolstadt, Germany)

The Audi emblem consists of four metal rings. The interweaving of these rings symbolizes the unbreakable unity of the four founding companies: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. In 1932, these previously independent firms were united into a union - "Auto Union".

The automaker was named after its founder, August Horch. The fact is that the word Horch (German Horch - “listen”) translated into Latin sounds like “Audi”.

This naturally raises a question. Why didn't the company get the founder's last name? The fact is that August Horch opened his own car manufacturing company (A. Horch & Cie) in 1899. After 10 years, he was eliminated from his own company, and he founded a new one, in a different city, continuing to use the same brand - Horch. His former partners sued him and sued the brand, so August was forced to come up with a new name for the company.

Bayerische Motorenwerke (Munich, Germany)

There is a misconception that the Bayerische Motorenwerke emblem is a stylized image of a rotating airplane propeller. But in fact, the BMW logo is based on the Bavarian flag (this is how the National Geographic channel interprets the origin of the logo).

BMW was founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp in 1913 in the Bavarian lands near the Flugmaschinenfabrik aircraft plant. Initially, the company produced aircraft engines. In 1923, BMW produces its first motorcycle. Later, in 1929, it produces the first car under the name Dixi.

Citroen (Paris, France)

The Citroen emblem is a schematic representation of the teeth of a chevron wheel. A chevron wheel is a gear with V-shaped teeth (this tooth structure solves the problem of axial force; when using chevron wheels, there is no need to install shafts on thrust bearings).

The company was named after its founder, Andre Citroen.

In 1913, Andre Citroen launched the production of such gears, which were in many ways superior to the products of competitors. This explains the choice of the emblem.

Few people know that PSA Peugeot Citroen is the parent company of Citroen. The automobile company PSA Peugeot Citroen (formerly Peugeot SA) bought a 38.2% stake in Citroen in 1974, and by 1976 increased this share to 89.95% (at that time Citroen was on the verge of bankruptcy). After which this company was created, producing Peugeot and Citroen cars.

The two brands, owned by PSA Peugeot Citroen, have independent marketing structures and retail networks, but model development and production are carried out by common divisions.

Infiniti (Tokyo, Japan)

At first, the designers wanted to use the infinity symbol - the Mobius loop - in the logo. But then they decided to display in the emblem a symbol of a road going to infinity, a symbol hinting at an endless path to perfection in everything.

The name of the brand translates as infinity, limitlessness.

Infiniti is a subsidiary of Nissan and its history is quite interesting. It all started in the distant sixties of the 20th century. At this time, the Nissan auto company entered the US market. Americans sensed the benefits and began to buy the company’s inexpensive and reliable cars. Nissan soon established itself as a manufacturer of economy cars, and therefore it was not practical to launch higher-end cars under the same brand. This is why the Infiniti brand was created.

Mazda Motor Corporation (Hiroshima, Japan)

The emblem of this car company features a stylized letter “M” depicting outstretched wings. The company was named after the Zoroastrian god of Life named Ahura Mazda (aka Ormazd). Also, the word “Mazda” is consonant with the surname of the founder, Jujiro Matsuda (1875–1952).

The company was founded in 1920, and began its activities with the production of building materials from balsa wood. In 1927, the company began industrial production of cars.

And now about what the famous Zoom-Zoom is. Look at how children play with cars, listen to what they say at the same time - “vzhzh-vzhzh.” Well, children in English-speaking countries do it like this - “zoom-zoom” (zoom-zoom). This is how Mazda shows the image of a brand with a sporty character that can lead the buyer to childlike delight.

Mercedes-Benz (Stuttgart, Germany)

The emblem was created in the form of a three-pointed star, symbolizing the brand's superiority in the air, on water and on land, since Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (which is the parent company of Mercedes-Benz), in addition to cars, produced engines for aircraft and ships.

In 1926, the Mercedes emblem began to display a laurel wreath for victories in auto racing.

It is also interesting that the Mercedes brand got its name in honor of the daughter of one of the founders of the concern, Emil Jellinek.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (Tokyo, Japan)

The emblem of this concern is a fusion of the family coats of arms of the founders: the Iwasaki clan (three diamonds) and the Tosa clan (three oak leaves growing from one point).

The company name Mitsubishi consists of two Japanese words: Mitsu and Hishi. Mitsu, translated from Japanese, means the number three. The word Hishi translates to chestnut, water chestnut, and is also used to refer to the diamond shape.

I would like to note one fact - the emblem of this company has never changed and, to this day, has its original appearance.

Also, I think you will be interested to know that Mitsubishi's activities are not limited to the production of cars. This is an entire corporation, the range of activities of which is very wide: from the production of paper (Mitsubishi Paper Mills) to the production of tanks, ships and even spaceships (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries).

Opel (Rüsselsheim, Germany)

The Opel logo features a lightning bolt.

The word Blitz first appears on bicycles and sewing machines (at that time the company did not yet produce cars) by Adam Opel in 1890. Blitz (translated from German - lightning, fast) symbolizes lightning speed and speed.

Renault S.A. (Paris, France)

The Renault emblem, since 1925, has the shape of a stylized diamond. The modern version of the logo was introduced by Victor Vasarely in 1972. And the first Renault logo was drawn in 1900, it contained the initials of the three Renault brothers: Louis, Ferdinand and Marcel.

At the age of 21, Louis Renault designed his first car in the courtyard of his parents' house. He soon began receiving orders for cars and in 1898, with his brothers and friends, he founded the Societe Renault Freres company in Boulogne-Billancourt (a western suburb of Paris).

Škoda Auto (Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic)

The Skoda emblem depicts an arrow, on the arrow is the tip of a bird's wing with a circle (eye).

Symbolism of logo elements:

• The wing symbolizes the scope of the company's car production and sales program around the world, the versatility of production;
• The circle (eye) on the wing indicates precision of production and open-mindedness;
• The arrow is a symbol of advanced production methods and high productivity;
• The large circle (ring) symbolizes the perfection of products, the versatility of production, the globe, the world;
• The color black indicates age-old traditions;
• Green indicates that the company cares about the environment.

Subaru (Tokyo, Japan)

In the constellation Taurus there is a cluster of stars called Subaru (this is the Japanese name, in the west it is called the Pleiades). In this constellation, 6 stars are visible to the naked eye, which we see on the company’s logo, only they are located differently than in the cluster.

A little history: the Subaru auto concern is a division of Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), which is engaged in aircraft manufacturing. The head of the company, Kenji kita, was an ardent supporter of automobile production and was very passionate about it. He held a competition to choose a name for the P-1 car (the first passenger car prototype produced by the company in 1954), but none of the proposed options interested him. Then he gave it the name that he had nurtured in his heart for a long time - Subaru. This name, in Japanese, is consonant with the word Mitsuraboshi, which literally means six stars. Another interesting fact is that FHI was formed by the merger of exactly 6 companies.

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota, Japan)

According to official data, the Toyota Company emblem is an image of a stylized weaving loop. There is also a misconception that the emblem is an image of a sewing needle with a thread threaded through it.

It's hard to make the connection between the world's largest auto company and weaving loops without knowing its history. The fact is that Toyoda (Toyoda Automatic Loom Works - that’s what the company was previously called, it got its name from the surname of its leader Kiichiro Toeda) began its activities as a company producing automatic looms.

Toyota Motor Corporation was founded as an independent company in 1937. As you already noticed, its name has been changed. There were three reasons for this, namely:

• Ease of pronunciation;
• The word Toyota, written in Japanese alphabet, consists of 8 strokes (toyota hieroglyphs). According to the heads of the company, this name turned out to be more successful, since the number 8 is believed to bring good luck;
• If you divide the word Toyota into toyo (abundance) and ta (rice), you get the expression “zoom-zoom”, and in the east it symbolizes prosperity. Some sources have another translation option for the word toyo - eastern ocean (to - east, yo - ocean).

Volkswagen (Wolfsburg, Germany)