# The Toyota emblem - what is it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 3, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808 "2004-12-03T00:20:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/41 "2004-12-10T04:20:20Z")
I’m looking through the web, and most websites seem to maintain that the intented look of the Toyota logo was that of two conjoining oval discs forming the letter ‘t’. Perhaps the symbolism is that of the customer, technology, and all that claptrap, but the immediate graphic inspiration for the logo is the letter “t”. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/42 "2004-12-10T23:13:36Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > [From the horse’s mouth](http://toyota.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/toyota.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=9wlisBsh&p_lva=&p_faqid=376&p_created=1015628931&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTImcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1sb2dvJnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9NCZwX3Byb2RfbHZsMT1_YW55fiZwX3Byb2RfbHZsMj1_YW55fiZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**&p_li=) Neener neener. Why are some so ready to believe a lawyer, in court yet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/43 "2004-12-10T23:24:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m looking through the web, and most websites seem to maintain that the intented look of the Toyota logo was that of two conjoining oval discs forming the letter ‘t’. > > Perhaps the symbolism is that of the customer, technology, and all that claptrap, but the immediate graphic inspiration for the logo is the letter “t”. Yeah, yeah. I’m sure the (probably) Japanese graphic designer was overwhelmed by the symbolism inherent in the letter “T”. So she/he snuck it in there among all that claptrappy elipse stuff. Face it, artistic people are weird. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/44 "2004-12-11T00:56:40Z")
Dudes, the artist was probably just _doodling around with his Spirograph._ It’s people like this, people who insist on the deeper meaning in a pile of junk, that have made artists like [Jackson Pollock](http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pollock/) rich and famous. Damn you. Damn you all to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/45 "2004-12-11T01:23:44Z")
I also thought the logo included all the letters in “Toyota,” like [this](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jago360/detail?.dir=/ae06&.dnm=4563.jpg&.src=ph) (warning: no photoshopping skills ahead). ---
**Author:** ![TheQuietMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@TheQuietMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheQuietMan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/46 "2004-12-11T01:35:00Z")
You are all missing the subliminal image. It’s actually an eye with a drooping eyelid! If you stare into the eye long enough, you will be put into a hypnotic trance and have an overwhelming desire to buy Toyota products. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/47 "2004-12-12T03:57:31Z")
heh. If you watch it backwards, it says “John is dead”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/48 "2004-12-13T01:58:27Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Yeah, yeah. I’m sure the (probably) Japanese graphic designer was overwhelmed by the symbolism inherent in the letter “T”. So she/he snuck it in there among all that claptrappy elipse stuff. > Face it, artistic people are weird. 😉 Well, interestingly enough, I asked my brother who is a graphic designer what the Toyota logo is. He said that in graphic design school they specifically discussed this logo and he was taught it stands for all the letters in the word “TOYOTA,” so those offering that theory seem to have some support. FWIW, when I asked him about the “ovals representing the heart of the consumer” explanation, he echoed my thoughts that it was a bunch of corporate bullshit added on afterwards, and that no way a graphic designer started with that idea for the final logo. Anyhow, that’s one random graphic designer’s opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Oat1957](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Oat1957](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oat1957)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/49 "2004-12-13T02:20:16Z")
> [@](#): > > In 1990, Toyota debuted the three overlapping Ellipses logo on American vehicles. The Toyota Ellipses symbolize the unification of the hearts of our customers and the heart of Toyota products. The background space represents Toyota’s technological advancement and the boundless opportunities ahead. [Toyota](http://toyota.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/toyota.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=yfPfZQsh&p_lva=&p_faqid=376&p_created=1015628931&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MTkwJnBfcGFnZT00&p_li=) ---
**Author:** ![Oat1957](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Oat1957](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oat1957)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/50 "2004-12-13T02:30:08Z")
I just saw Mr Blue Sky’s post. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/51 "2004-12-13T02:44:21Z")
So it’s _both_ the letter “T”, _and_ all the letters in Toyota? I had a teacher in my spanish language class, a man from Columbia iirc, who repeated in all seriousness the old urban legend about the Chevy Nova not selling well in Mexico because nova in spanish sorta means “doesn’t go”. A lot of you probably believe that, don’t you? 😛 Does that mean my car, an Audi, means “hello” in Texas? I’m sticking with the claptrap. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![oh\_s](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b38774/32.png) [@oh\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oh_s)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/52 "2004-12-13T10:49:12Z")
> [@Hail Ants](#): > > Always looks like a bull with horns to me. Not that I ever thought it really was that (until now I had no clue), that’s just what always pops into my head when I see it… ``` Toyota dealers in N.S.W say it'sa bull's head, probably because of the large number of 4wds they sell here, but who in their right mind ever believes what a car dealer tells them? ``` ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/53 "2004-12-13T14:45:10Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > So it’s _both_ the letter “T”, _and_ all the letters in Toyota? As a graphic artist myself (though not a designer), my gut feeling is the “T” is the primary inspiration for the emblem. I’m not totally sold on the all-the-letters-in-Toyota bit, and I’ll bet the house that the three-ovals-as-hearts explanation is after-the-fact. The whole point of a logo is to be distinct, memorable, reproducable at many sizes, and somehow connected with the company or image of the company. But this has to work at some basic real level that the average consumer will understand, not some high-art garbage. Your average consumer is not going to look at a Toyota logo and say, hey, that looks like a symbolic representation of the consumer’s heart, and yaddayaddayadda. They’ll say, “Hey, it looks like a ‘T’. I get it! T…Toyota.” And that what a vast majority of people here on the Dope have said when looking at the logo. It makes absolutely no sense to design a logo that communicates abstract nonsense that nobody knows unless they have read Toyota’s company handbook. That’s not the point of corporate graphic design. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/54 "2004-12-13T15:42:04Z")
I’ve never seen it as anything else. It’s just an over-stylized “T” and it’s bleeding obvious that that’s what it is. All that “heart” gobbledygook is just ex post facto corporate nonsense. I recall a Toyota commercial several years ago, in which three revolving circles or hoops were shown forming the encircled “T.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/55 "2004-12-13T15:56:48Z")
That history of car logos page also misses the obvious fact that the Mazda logo (whether or not it is a stylised tulip), is also a stylised “M.” See [here](http://www.mazda.com/mnl/200402/mark.html). What I want to know is what the heck was the pre-Ford Mazda logo. It looks like an uneven circle with lines coming out of the top and bottom and for some reason it’s not on the Mazda logo chart at that link. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/56 "2004-12-13T16:56:58Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > What I want to know is what the heck was the pre-Ford Mazda logo. It looks like an uneven circle with lines coming out of the top and bottom and for some reason it’s not on the Mazda logo chart at that link. Do you mean the one on the car on [this page](http://www.geocities.jp/oki37210/revue/mazda121/mazda121.html)? I believe it represents a candle or lamp (Ahura Mazda was the Persian god of light, I believe). The only thing I could find on Google to back that up was a [forum](http://www.msprotege.com/vbb230/showthread.php?t=8170) thread… (warning: may contain rice). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/57 "2004-12-13T17:29:23Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Do you mean the one on the car on [this page](http://www.geocities.jp/oki37210/revue/mazda121/mazda121.html)? Yeah, that’s the one. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/58 "2004-12-14T01:31:20Z")
You guys are _no fun_. Not at all. I’ll bet you’re mostly men, too. I hope none of you ever try to direct a movie or write a novel or anything like that. Gobbledygook works for me, though. Claptrappy gobbledygook. Yeah. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/59 "2004-12-14T20:26:38Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > (warning: may contain rice). Pullet=no0b. What the heck does “may contain rice” mean? New term for browser cookies? thnx Oh, and I’ve changed my mind. The Toyota symbol is an alien artifact used by the founders of the company that just happens to look like a Roman letter even though every other letter in the alien alphabet is distinctly unearthy. Like Superman’s S. Soon our alien overlords will control every car company and electric cars will be forever abolished from this planet! \ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/60 "2004-12-14T20:41:01Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > heh. If you watch it backwards, it says > “John is dead”. > 😛 There is a billboard right outside the Lincoln Tunnel with big simple letters spelling out T O Y O T A. I first saw it from the back and wondered what the hell a “A T O Y O T” was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808.md?page=4)