Meaning and History
In 1908, John Willis bought the automobile division of the Standard Wheel Company and in 1912 renamed it Willys-Overland Motor Company. From 1912 to 1918, Willys was the second-largest automobile manufacturer in the United States after the Ford Motor Company. For its long history company has changed plenty of different logos.
1913 – 1915
The first emblem of the brand appeared in 1914. It was quite simple and represented a red horizontal oval with the name of the brand ”Willys” colored in white. The inscription is located obliquely in the Italic style. Under and above could be seen a tagline “The Utility”
1916 – 1919
The next logo was adopted in 1916 and represents a blue circle with a red number “6” on the background. In the foreground, can still be noticed the tilted company name
1917 – 1928
The logo was adopted in 1917 and existed till 1928. It represented a black circle with a smaller red one in it. Inside the black rim is located a capital wordmark “Willys-Knight”. Inside the red, the designers placed the combined first two letters of these words “W” and “K”.
1929 – 1931
In 1929, the company changed its logo again. Now he was an image of a black knight on a gold background. Also on the bottom of the emblem, you can see a narrow strip with the brand name also colored in gold.
1948 – 1963
The last and at the same time the most popular logo of the brand was adopted in 1948. It represents a capital black letter “W” inside an orange, gold, or white circle (the logo has several different variations).
Emblem and Symbol
Indeed, the company has a fairly long history associated with many ups and downs. The rich life of the company is fully reflected in many of its logos. Each of which represents a unique piece of the history of an American brand “Willys”.
