In 1931, sculptor and University of Michigan art professor Avard T. Fairbanks was commissioned by Chrysler to create a radiator ornament for Dodge cars and trucks. A few years earlier Fairbanks had designed the mermaid mascot for the 1929 Plymouth, for which he was paid not in cash but with a brand new Chrysler Royal 8—a luxurious car for a struggling art teacher.
“I took along my clay and an animal book and spent the next several days at their headquarters, Fairbanks would recall years later. “They brought in food and a couch and I went to work. I suggested a mountain lion, a tiger, a jaguar and other animals. Finally I started modeling a mountain sheep. When the engineers read that the ram was the ‘master of the trail and not afraid of even the wildest of animals,’ they became enthusiastic about the symbol.
“Walter P. Chrysler wasn’t as convinced. But I explained that anyone seeing a ram, with its big horns, would think ‘dodge.’ He looked at me, looked at the model, scratched his head and said, ‘That’s what I want – go ahead with it.’” From that point on the badging on both Dodge cars and trucks employed the stylized ram imagery until 2010, when it became the exclusive symbol for RAM Trucks.
https://blog.ramtrucks.com/history/ram/origins-of-the-ram/index.html
“I took along my clay and an animal book and spent the next several days at their headquarters, Fairbanks would recall years later. “They brought in food and a couch and I went to work. I suggested a mountain lion, a tiger, a jaguar and other animals. Finally I started modeling a mountain sheep. When the engineers read that the ram was the ‘master of the trail and not afraid of even the wildest of animals,’ they became enthusiastic about the symbol.
“Walter P. Chrysler wasn’t as convinced. But I explained that anyone seeing a ram, with its big horns, would think ‘dodge.’ He looked at me, looked at the model, scratched his head and said, ‘That’s what I want – go ahead with it.’” From that point on the badging on both Dodge cars and trucks employed the stylized ram imagery until 2010, when it became the exclusive symbol for RAM Trucks.
https://blog.ramtrucks.com/history/ram/origins-of-the-ram/index.html
It was nice to see you call them Mascots. My Grandfather was Harry Pulfer you may know of him. He sold original and reproduction mascots and emblems back in the day. I have 3 mascotes, one of my grandfathers reproductions of the flying lady. The other 2 are originals that I collected myself (at yard sales). One is a 35 dodge (which made me want to comment) the other is a 36 Hupmobile hot rod rocket. No I am not asking for their value.
ReplyDeleteI check your blog multiple times a day and appreciate your gift to all of us. Just wanted you to know I am out here.
Wow, did you know how cool it is to learn that there ARE people out there? I get it, not much warrants a comment, but it sure is cool to hear from someone for the first time, or someone that rarely comments, because it then hits me, that WOW, there are still some people out there who like the blog, and yet, hardly ever commenting doesn't mean they aren't happy with how this blog is going along.
DeleteI'm sorry, I haven't heard of your Grandfather, probably from the lack of digging into the many cool after market companies that sold thing to upgrade a car.
So much to learn, so little time!
Sorry the blog has gotten so little content for the past couple weeks, I've been absorbed in working on my family tree.
Little did I realize that most people don't know that this blog is only something I do in my spare time... and most of that is now focused on the ancestry .com research