Grace and Style: Packard Mascots and Hood Ornaments
What are Mascots and Hood Ornaments, and What is the Difference?
A "hood ornament" is a decorative piece placed on the front of a car, typically on the hood, while a "mascot" is a symbolic character representing a group or brand. Technically, if anyone can identify a hood ornament with a specific brand, it is a mascot. Today, mascot and hood ornament are used interchangeably, and for the ease of use, this page will use the term mascot.
Early motorists relied on Boyce MotoMeters (like the one pictured here), a thermometer device mounted on the top of the radiator, which itself stuck out of the hood, to monitor engine coolant temperature. Car manufacturers license-built MotoMeters and added their own branding with mascots. By the 1930s, radiator caps were placed under the hood and dash gauges showed temperatures, rendering functional mascots obsolete, and they became completely decorative.
The Figure 6
In 1911, Packard wanted to distinguish the four-cylinder cars from its six-cylinder cars. Company President Henry B. Joy is credited with designing the Figure Six mascot, and advertised it in the December 27, 1911 issue of Horseless Age magazine. Packard’s advertising of the period quicked dubbed the “Figure Six” as the “Dominant Six.” In 1917, the Double-Six mascot represented the new Twin Six models.
Packard MotoMeter
Packard built licensed Boyce MotoMeters from 1912 to 1928, in at least five styles. Thin vertical models, like this one, were for the Sixes, and a thicker model was for the Eights and Twin Sixes.
The Bail Cap
In 1929, Packard stopped using MotoMeters, and replaced them with a simple radiator cap furnished with a raised rib and bale wire. The wire held down the radiator cap which was hinged at the rear. The bail cap was functional until 1932.
The Goddess of Speed
Joseph E. Corker designed the Goddess of Speed, which was used on Packards from 1926 to 1950. The figure is based on Nike, the Greek divinty who drove a chariot but the Goddess went through a variety of stylistic changes. Packard used the original Goddess of Speed from 1926-1937. Packard used a new Goddess, designed by Werner Gubitz, from 1937-1939. A third Goddess, designed by John D. Wilson used from 1939-1942. A new sylylized Goddess, designed by Hooward Yeager, was on the 1946-1950 cars.
Adonis
Edward McCarten designed Adonis and Packard used it from 1929-1932 on the Sixth through Tenth Series. Other unofficial names include Daphne and Sliding Boy. Contrary to popular myth, it was not designed in France nor represents a young girl.
Pelican… or Cormorant
The most famous of the Packard mascots is the Pelican. That was the named assigned to this mascot when Packard introduced it in 1932 on the Ninth Series, reserved for the Super Eights, Twelves, and Senior Packards. The Pelican was a tribute to the bird on the Packard family crest. In 1938, Packard’s advertising department decided that Cormorant sounded more dignified name than Pelican, unleashing a number of complaints from customers who preferred Pelican. Finally, in 1949, Packard issued a memorandum stating the name was officially Pelican.
Among the rarest and most spectacular of all Packard mascots is the Pelican with special radio antenna accessory, used on the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Series cars.
For more complete information, see Beverly Kimes, A History of the Motor Car and the Company, pages 754-773.
