CHRYSLER AUTO PARTS ONLINE AUCTIONS 2007 - 2008 - FIND CHEAP CHRYSLER AUTO PARTS ONLINE

The design shown at the top of the page is an adaptation of the original winged logo which Chrysler used on its cars at its inception in 1925. The logo was revived for the Chrysler division in the mid-1990s, and was surrounded by a pair of silver wings after the Daimler-Benz merger in 1998.

In 1963, the company had switched over to a star design which became known as the Pentastar (right) and was extensively used on dealer signage, advertisements, and promotional brochures. Contrary to popular belief, it was not designed to symbolize the five divisions of the corporation at the time, Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler, Imperial and Dodge Truck. By 1963 there were only two auto divisions in the United States, . As well there were over a dozen other divisions in the Chrysler Corporation family, and management were after a symbol that all divisions could use.

Then Chrysler head Lynn Townsend was looking for a symbol that could be used by all divisions, on packaging, stationery, signage, advertising, etc. He wanted something that would be universally recognizable as "Chrysler" to anyone who saw it, from any perspective, from any culture. Chrysler's trademark symbol, the pentastar, was simple and easily recognizable from any perspective, even in motion on revolving signs. The symbol also facilitated Chrysler's expansion in the international market by removing the need to translate any text that is commonly used on logos.

Thus all divisions of Chrysler adopted the Pentastar. All car brands (Valiant, Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler, Imperial, Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam, Singer, Simca), truck brands (Fargo, DeSoto, Dodge, Commer, Karrier), and all the other Chrysler divisions (air conditioning systems, heating, industrial engines, marine engines, outboard motors, boats, transmissions, four wheel drive systems, powdered metal products, adhesives, chemical products, plastics, electronics, tanks, missiles) and services (leasing and finance) were identified by the Pentastar. It united the firm's various products and services in the public's eye as no other auto firm has done.

The Pentastar appeared consistently but inconspicuously on the lower passenger-side fender of all Chrysler products, including foreign brands from 1964-71. It was placed on the passenger-side fender so it could be viewed by passers-by, a subtle method of getting the symbol ingrained in the public's mind. A nameplate has to be read, but a symbol is recognizable even to the illiterate. Thus North American and French cars had the Pentastar on the right fender and British on the left. The practice was revived in the 1990's. Beginning in 1981, the Pentastar replaced individual logos that had been used by Plymouth, Dodge and Chrysler and had in some cases identfied individual models, such as the Chrysler New Yorker in uses such as hood ornaments and decklid badges.

By 1993, Chrysler started to phase out the Pentastar, with Dodge getting its own "Ram" logo, and by 1995, Chrysler revived the rosette symbol it had used prior to the Pentastar; Plymouth was given a new sailboat logo. The Pentastar's last badging appearance was on the steering wheel and keys of the Chrysler minivans produced from 1996 through 2000.

Currently the only remaining traces of this motif are a large, star-shaped window at DaimlerChrysler's American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Pentastar Aviation, a former DaimlerChrysler subsidiary which reverted to its original name after being purchased, ironically, by a member of the Ford family. It is also likely that many dealerships still have signage and other traces still visually apparent to the Pentastar. Today, glass on Chrysler Group cars and trucks still have the Pentastar on them, however, its days appear to be numbered.