Re: [Chrysler300] origins of Mopar name?

["Terry & Andree Hoeman" <tehoema@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Happened to remember this write-up inside the original parts binder logo
glass set which was issued by Chrysler in the late 80's as I remember.

Some interesting additional trivia but bottom line is that Chrysler thinks
that they started using the MoPar logo in 37.  Would have sworn it was a
few years before that but---

Sounds like the origin of Mr.. tech is included here but not stated as such.

 Here is the official Chrysler write-up which was inside volume I.


---------------------------------------------

The Evolution of a Trademark

>From 1933 to 1937 Chrysler Motor Parts featured a logo with the letters C,
P, D and D, for Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and Desoto.  This led to the Mopar
trademark becoming one of the most familiar trademarks in automotive
history.  However, we'll bet you didn't know that it evolved from a group of
unlikely characters that included a genius, a camel and a robot.

The genius was Nelson I. Farley, Chrysler Division's sales promotional
manager in the 1930s.  Farley had established a "think tank" called the
Activities Council, whose purpose was to brainstorm new merchandising ideas
and report them to him.

In the spring of 1937, this activities council was working on the creation
of a product name to put on cans of Chrysler Motor Parts antifreeze that was
being used in their cars.  The group, after many suggestions, came up with a
simple name that would be easy to remember: a combination of the words
motors and parts - hence the word.MOPAR.

Now Chrysler needed a logotype for the trade name.  The first attempt,
created by a man named Burke Bartlett, was a bright purple logo arranged in
a vertical arrow.  Farley immediately rejected it because he didn't like the
downward pointing arrow or the use of the color purple.

The next design became one of the most famous and distinctive trademarks of
the century, the unique signpost of the Chrysler Parts Division.

The Activities Council then came up with a way to introduce the new acronym
to the public.  They created a character named "Mr. Mopar" who made his
first debut in the form of a camel.

In 1937 the Shriners national convention came to Detroit, and Chrysler
Corporation's Parts Division was creating a corporate float for the opening
parade.  A camel seemed to fit right in.  The float was made up of piston
rings, cylinders, push rods, oil pans, etc.  Of course, the camel needed
someone to lead it.

A year or two earlier, a man named Vern Dupuis had made a small "mechanical
man" fashioned out of parts.  The group found this mechanical man, named him
"ACCY," an abbreviation for accessory, and put him in front of the camel.
An employee in full Moslem dress sat atop the camel and the float was a big
hit.

Eleven years later when Dupuis was in the Merchandising and Development
Department he modified "ACCY" into a moving and speaking robot and renamed
him "Mr. Mopar."  A later version of this robot made television appearances
from coast to coast.


Today, the familiar Pentastar and Mopar signature in process blue is seen on
the package designs and labeling of more than 40,000 quality-engineered
original equipment replacement parts.

So what's in a name?  An entire history.  If the name is "Mopar," it stands
for "Motor" and "Parts" and quality engineering.  The color of the name,
like Chrysler, is always blue.

(source:  inner cover of box that looks like a "MoPar Passenger Car Parts
List" and contains Chrysler logo glasses from 1933-1958.)








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