Image Credit: BestRide.com

For 51 years, the Chrysler Pentastar served as the way to recognize the Chrysler Corporation. Times have changed since 1962, when the logo first was used, to today where Chrysler is now owned by FIAT. Now that there is a new logo, the Pentastar is no longer needed and alas was given the boot.

In 1962, Lynn Townsend, the Chrysler President at the time, asked for a new corporate symbol that would be easily recognized and could span generations with its classic and simple look. Robert Stanley is given credit for coming up with the design and the name. He had this to say about the symbol, “We wanted something that was not stolid. That’s the reason that we broke up the pentagonal form that became the Pentastar. It provides a certain tension and a dynamic quality. One of the execs called me up and asked, ‘What do I call this thing?’ And I said, ‘Call it the Pentastar.’ That’s where the name came from.”

The Chrysler Pentastar started to appear everywhere from keys, to owner’s manuals to tops of buildings. Most will remember the hood ornaments from the 1980’s that sport the design. The Chrysler headquarters building even has the symbol at the top, proudly displayed to all who pass by. The design stood out as a way to recognize the Chrysler Brands over the decades.

As we move forward with the new generation of the Fiat Chrysler Brand we also move forward with a new corporate logo, simply the uppercase FCA. Goodbye Pentastar, you served the Chrysler Brand well. We will forever remember that small symbol on the right fender of classic musclecars for years to come and never remove it under any circumstance.