More progressive (and symbolic) thinking from Detroit.

Which is the new Caddy logo? And which is the old? And how do they make you feel about the brand?


Of all American car companies including Ford, Cadillac seems to have done, to my untrained eye, the best job of reinventing and rejuvenating their brand. Since the days of the Sedan deVille and the Eldorado, they've come out with newer, hip models that seem to have created genuine interest. They're not something I would buy but Cadillacs no longer appear to be the last car wealthy people buy before they die.

Now comes this news from Cadillac. They have redesigned their logo so it now has “A new image was created in our design center to show off the detail and jewel-like quality of the Cadillac Wreath and Crest,” said Max Wolfe, a Cadillac designer.

There's nothing wrong with Cadillac's effort. If they think a bejewelled logo will help them compete with the likes of BMW and Mercedes, more power to them.

But personally, I am not a logo-ite. Undoubtedly a good logo can have incredible power. (We believed in the greenness of BP thanks to their logo.) But it seems to me that quite often more attention is paid to the cosmetic than the real. We're more about style than substance. We stress more about kerning than about the words themselves.

I hope Cadillac's new logo drives sales for the brand. I hope GM starts paying back its government loans with real money, not just government loans. But for me, I'd rather Cadillac were spending their efforts making a car that doesn't pollute or one that could kick BMW's ass.

That would make me look at the brand differently--regardless of how the logo looks.