Re: IML: Chrysler Pentastar

["Bill Watson" <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx>]

Your memory serves you right, except for "Of course, it also reflected the 5
automotive divisions of Chrysler."   The whole idea of adopting the
pentastar was to expand the public's knowledge of Chrysler beyond the
rubber-wheeled divisions.   Besides, Chrysler has NEVER had 5 automotive
divisions.  When the pentastar was approved in late 1962, there were but two
automotive divisons- Chrysler-Plymouth and Dodge.

The DeSoto division disappeared in 1959 when it was merged with the Plymouth
Division.  Then the Plymouth-DeSoto Divsion was merged with the
Chrysler-Imperial Division to form the Chrysler-Plymouth Division after the
DeSoto was dropped.

Like it or not, but the Imperial Division existed only on paper - it was the
brainchild of the marketing department.  Which is part of the reason
Chrysler was never able to completely separate the Imperial from the
Chrysler.  If you check the list of divisions and corporate excecutives of
the Chrysler Corporation over the years, you will not find any mention of an
Imperial Division.  All designing, engineeering and marketing of the
Imperial automobile fell under the Chrysler Division (1955-1959),
Chrysler-Imperial Division (1959-1960) and Chrysler-Plymouth Division
(1960-1975).    You will find Imperial Division only on advertising items,
etc.

One other important aspect of the pentastar is that it looks correct even if
it is looked at upside down or on the reverse.  Which makes it perfect for
rotating signs, etc.   In the 1960's Chrysler's pentastar became as well
known and noticed as Howard Johnson's roof.

Bill
Vancouver, BC



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Mark McDonald
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 7:30 PM
Subject: Re: IML: Chrysler Pentastar


In a box somewhere I have a publication that was written by the advertising
firm that created the Pentastar for Chrysler and there was actually quite a
lot of thought and research that went into the adoption of the Pentastar as
the new corporate symbol for Chrysler in the 1960's.

It has to do with what is now called "branding." At that time-- like today-- 
Chrysler Corp. did not just make automobiles. They had an aerospace
division, a boating division, a company that made air conditioners, a
company that made tanks, etc., etc. I can't remember right now what all they
made, but it was a very diverse list.

The point is, every single one of these companies had a different logo and
used different styles of lettering, different colors, etc., to identify
itself, and the result was the general public had no idea that company A and
company Z were all part of the Chrysler family, or Chrysler brand. So the
idea was to take all these different companies and products and bind them
together and create one unified concept of "the Chrysler Corporation" in the
public's mind. In other words, when John Q. Public saw the Chrysler logo on
an outboard motor he was supposed to think "Oh, that's a Chrysler. That's
made with the same quality and degree of engineering sophistication found in
an Imperial . . . or a Saturn 1 booster . . . or an M1 tank," or whatever.
I'm probably not explaining it very well, but the idea behind this was to
make the consumer associate certain positive qualities with your product,
such as "sturdiness," and to feel that they were getting those qualities, or
properties, whenever they purchased a product with your logo on it.

"Engineering excellence" was one of the qualities research had indicated the
public already associated with Chrysler, and that is one of the reasons the
shape of a pentagon was chosen, because it was sharp-edged and symmetrical
and seemed to suggest precision. (Of course, it also reflected the 5
automotive divisions of Chrysler.) The color blue was chosen as the
corporate color for similar reasons, and they even issued "style manuals" to
every Chrysler company to make sure that, not only was the Pentastar used
and displayed properly, but that the blue used in signs and on buildings was
the exact shade of "Chrysler blue."

In the end, it worked. You can show a Pentastar to just about anyone in the
world and they will say "Chrysler"-- just like if you show them a red square
with a swoosh through the middle, they say "Coca Cola," even if the words
aren't there. But it may have had an unintended effect in that it made the
Imperial seem like "just another Chrysler."

If I can dig this publication out I will try to scan it and get it posted to
the site. It's really fascinating reading (to me, anyway!).

Mark M

P.S.:

Regarding the emblem on the '69 LeBaron, I don't know any more about it than
anyone else has already mentioned, but I find it highly suspect simply
because the typeface used does not appear to correspond to any other
typeface being used on a Chrysler automobile in 1969 that I can recall, and
typefaces were very tightly controlled by designers at that time to be
consistent, year to year, model to model (still are). It appears to me to be
from the early 60's, when this kind of typeface was more popular (maybe
'63?-- total guess).


On Friday, November 18, 2005, at 12:12 PM, Douglas Nieblas wrote:


The Pentastar was adopted by Chrysler in 1963 because the corporate "brains"
felt that the Chrysler ribbon was outdated. Also axed was the Plymouth ship
in 1959 and the Dodge ram in the mid-fifties. The name Ram was continued on
the pick-ups. Though Dodge, Plymouth, and Imperial would adopt other emblems
throughout the 60's and 70's, by the 80's the Pentastar was used across the
board. Even the 1990's Imperials used an emblem bordered with a pentagon. It
was a relief when later in the 90's that Chrysler decided to resurrect their
old logos. Unfortunately, Imperial was not around to celebrate the
automotive renaissance that followed.
Doug
'58 Crown coupe



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