Chevrolet badge
We don't know whether the Chevy badge is supposed to represent a bowtie or a cross.
Certainly in the early 20th century when the badge first made its appearance, bowties with parallel edges were popular, as were the more familiar flared design. But we cannot find any example from that period of a parallelogrammatic bowtie; i.e. a bowtie made from a straight piece of material with diagonal ends.
Swiss flag
William C Durant partnered with mechanic and renowned racer Louis Chevrolet to start the Chevrolet company in 1911. Louis was born in Switzerland and there's a possibility the badge is a stretched version of the cross from the Swiss flag. But again, that lacks the distinctive diagonal ends of the crossbar.
The parallelogram might be an attempt to suggest something surging ahead at fast speed. Or simply a slip of the designer's pen.
Whatever the design's real origin, there's a rumour that when Durant was staying in a hotel in France, he was enchanted by some art decor wallpaper. So much so that he tore a piece from the wall to copy for the car's emblem.
Such vandalism is not to be condoned, though if the wallpaper was anything like the image below, maybe it encouraged the hotel to use something less wakadoodle in future.
See also:
and please tell us if you know any other car marque which includes a cross.
