# Whatever happened to hood ornaments? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 30, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787 "2013-01-30T06:01:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/1 "2013-01-30T06:01:36Z")
My Grandfather’s old Mercedes-Benz cars all had them. Spring loaded, so’s they wouldn’t break when hit. As late as 1980 or so, my dad’s Oldsmobile had one. Monte Carlos, Cutlass Salons - cars of the 80’s had them, but sadly they’ve gone away. Seems like every car maker had one from the 1920s until maybe 1990 or so. Only Mack, Mercedes Benz, and Rolls Royce still feature them, and the RR will [hide](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jo5g0t0a54)when there’s trouble. What gives? Cars use to have style and character. Now everything’s aerodynamic and boring. Did punks stealing them for necklaces prove too much for Detroit? Or are we just getting that boring as time marches on? I can understand why we lost knock-offs - thanks, Izzy - but not hood ornaments. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/2 "2013-01-30T06:08:44Z")
I wouldn’t want to buy a car with one if it was going to be stolen in a few days. Which, it would be. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/3 "2013-01-30T06:20:17Z")
It would be just so incongruous to have hood ornaments on a modern car that doesn’t also have . . . . . . humongous tail fins. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/4 "2013-01-30T12:52:33Z")
My WAG - combination of the thefts as mentioned above. Plus, I’ll bet that once upon a time someone got injured by a hood ornament, sued, and that’s when the car makers gave up. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/5 "2013-01-30T13:22:46Z")
Style, it comes and goes. It fell out of style with Mercedes owners when it became stylish for gang bangers to have one around there neck. Also, hood ornaments are expensive to make make serve no useful function. I believe that you can still get them on some [Rolls Royces](http://www.worldcarfans.com/113010752317/rolls-royce-introduces-three-new-flying-lady-hood-ornaments/lowphotos). Jaguar claims that it was[too dangerous for pedestrians and too tempting for thieves](http://autos.aol.com/cars-Jaguar-XK-2013/expert-review/). [Bentley even had a recall](http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1049571_bentleys-pedestrian-stabbing-hood-ornament-recall-affects-just-596-vehicles) on hood ornaments. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/6 "2013-01-30T13:50:36Z")
Automatic car washes also love to snag and snap off anything that sticks out. Of course, if you can afford a Bentley or Rolls, you should be able to afford a lackey to wash the car by hand. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/7 "2013-01-30T14:04:00Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > It would be just so incongruous to have hood ornaments on a modern car that doesn’t also have . . . > > . . . humongous tail fins. You’re being facetious, but it wouldn’t surprise me if baby-boomer car buyers came to associate them with their parents’ cars. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/8 "2013-01-30T14:14:24Z")
I’d bet that gas mileage had something to do with it. Cars are designed for the air to flow over them in a certain way, and a hood ornament would break that up. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/9 "2013-01-30T14:37:58Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > My WAG - combination of the thefts as mentioned above. Plus, I’ll bet that once upon a time someone got injured by a hood ornament, sued, and that’s when the car makers gave up. This was likely the case although I can recall the hood ornament on Grandad’s Buick having a spring mount so as not to gut the person as they slid over the hood. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/10 "2013-01-30T17:32:32Z")
Hood ornaments started out as a combined radiator cap and temperature gauge. As those became obsolete, they morphed into identifies/artwork for your car hood. Now, they seem to have been replaced with badges built into the grill. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/11 "2013-01-30T17:44:14Z")
Pedestrian safety has become an important design consideration for cars in recent years. Euro-NCAP has been testing and rating cars for [pedestrian safety](http://www.euroncap.com/Content-Web-Faq/3e957d49-6cd5-406f-a37b-764f9d22cf71/pedestrian-safety.aspx) since 1997. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/12 "2013-01-30T17:45:43Z")
I thought hood ornaments were removed because they kept injuring T.J. Hooker whenever he jumped onto the hood of a getaway car. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/13 "2013-01-30T17:52:23Z")
p.s. Apparently retractable hood ornaments are still OK, as [Rolls Royce uses them](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_Ecstasy#Modern_Spirit_of_Ecstasy). But I imagine it’s unjustifiably expensive for most cars. (If a retractable pedestrian-safe hood ornament costs $10 to produce, and GM put it on all their cars, that’s $2.5 million.) ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/14 "2013-01-30T17:55:35Z")
Do you also miss landau roofs and fake wire-wheel hubcaps? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/15 "2013-01-30T17:58:51Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > My WAG - combination of the thefts as mentioned above. Plus, I’ll bet that once upon a time someone got injured by a hood ornament, sued, and that’s when the car makers gave up. > [@DrumBum](#): > > This was likely the case although I can recall the hood ornament on Grandad’s Buick having a spring mount so as not to gut the person as they slid over the hood. > [@scr4](#): > > Pedestrian safety has become an important design consideration for cars in recent years. Euro-NCAP has been testing and rating cars for [pedestrian safety](http://www.euroncap.com/Content-Web-Faq/3e957d49-6cd5-406f-a37b-764f9d22cf71/pedestrian-safety.aspx) since 1997. **FOOLS !!** They were used as aiming devices FOR the driver at the pedestrians;) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/16 "2013-01-30T18:04:55Z")
Since I don’t see a real factual question in the OP, let’s move this over to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/17 "2013-01-30T18:42:53Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > (If a retractable pedestrian-safe hood ornament costs $10 to produce, and GM put it on all their cars, that’s $2.5 million.) Sorry, that should have been $25 million ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/18 "2013-01-30T18:44:47Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > **FOOLS !!** They were used as aiming devices FOR the driver at the pedestrians;) Isn’t that what racing stripes are for? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/19 "2013-01-30T18:48:52Z")
I removed mine and replaced with a flush mounted one. It’s lighter and improved the aerodynamics and shaved 0.2 seconds off my 0-100 times. Also, my mileage is significantly improved. (Everything after the first sentence is a bold faced lie… I just like the look of the flush mounted badge.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-hood-ornaments/648787/20 "2013-01-30T20:41:39Z")
In the game _LA Noire_ there’s a traffic case where the detective protagonist is surprised at a hit-and-run victims grisly wound; the coroner tells him to check for hood ornaments as ‘those things are killers.’ Sure it’s a game but as recently a 2010 Bentley had a recall notice due to safety concerns regarding a hood ornament; > [@](#): > > “On vehicles affected there is the potential for the retractable ‘B’ mechanism to become corroded,” said an announcement from the NHTSA. “In extreme cases, this may lead to flying ‘B’ mascot not retracting when struck. Such a defect may result in additional injury in the event of a pedestrian impact.” > **[Bentley announces recall of cars with 'Flying B' - Sep. 22, 2010](https://money.cnn.com/2010/09/22/autos/bentley_recall/index.htm)** > > Bentley Motors announced a recall of hundreds of cars with faulty hood ornaments that pose a potential hazard to pedestrians. Interesting blog article on the fall of hood bling; > [@](#): > > Adding to the hostile climate for hood ornaments were new pedestrian safety laws overseas. In 2005, the European Union forced carmakers to meet minimum standards for pedestrian safety, based on damage caused in frontal collisions. The removal of upright hood ornaments helped meet the requirements and rather than make different hoods for different countries, many international automakers—including Jaguar—removed the hood ornaments altogether. [www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/08/25/driven-to-obscurity.html](http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/08/25/driven-to-obscurity.html)