Aug 3 (edited)

Discussion: What’s the Greatest Hood Ornament Ever?

Hood ornaments, hood mascots, radiator mascots… whatever you call them, some of these were miniature works of art.

From elegant and understated to completely wild, sculptural, and imaginative, automakers once treated the front of a car like a canvas.

Which one is the best? The most beautiful? The most creative? The most artistic? The one with the most personality?

🏆  Which one gets your vote for best hood ornament/mascot ever?
🎨  Which is the most artistic or beautifully designed?
🤯  Which is the most unusual or imaginative?
❤️  And which one would you actually want sitting on the hood of your own car?

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Aug 3, 2026

Reply to RumbleSeat…

Replies (38)

· Aug 3

Goddess of Speed on the Packard is hard to beat.

· Aug 3

I'm going with the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy. Highly recognizable and very elegant.

· Aug 3

Packard’s Adonis “sliding boy”, and Pierce Arrow’s “the Archer”. Are two I like a lot.

1 / 2

· Aug 3

Too easy. Stearns Knight.

· Aug 3

I forgot about that one.

· Aug 3

You are telling me I put the best hood ornament ever in a box?

1 / 2

· Aug 3

Can’t be too safe around some of your shady acquaintances……

· Aug 3

😂

· Aug 3

This was put on my Stutz in the late 30s. Mid 20s Minerva. Sitting on a shelf now.

· Aug 3

One of my favorites.

· Aug 3

Simple but iconic.

· Aug 3

Mercedes or Rolls Royce gets the most iconic tophy.

· Aug 3

That said. I like no ornament. I prefer the 1931 front end on the REO Royale.

· Aug 3

1935 Pontiac had a nice one. Simple, clean design that’s not too clunky.

· Aug 3

Cadillac heron was very nice but I’d never be brave enough to leave one on the car. Looks way too easy to either break or poke your eye out.

· Aug 3

On the tour I was on in June all the guys with ornaments took them off at night.

· Aug 4

It's got a real "marching into Poland" feel...

· Aug 4

Shawn, that is the ornament my dad tried to put on his 35 Packard. We had quite the battle over that. I won and it is sitting on a shelf.

· Aug 4

It's not actually my favourite but it certainly has presence.

The one I like the most is the early 30's Stutz mascot.

· Aug 4

I was thinking about that one too.

· Aug 4

I think my all time favorite is the Hispano Suiza flying stork.

· Aug 4

Good choice Dan!

· Aug 4

@Hupp31 Travis, I'm surprised you didn't post this one. I like it a lot.

· Aug 4

Well, I didn’t want to seem too biased, but who am I kidding. It is a nice one though. On those, it’s actually functional and rotates the latch to remove the entire base from the radiator.

· Aug 4

No idea what this is. Looks like she's holding an acorn.

(edited)

· Aug 4

H. Hoffmann by Lalique Uranium mascot circa 1930
uranium oxide added to glass glows under blacklight

· Aug 4

Glad my dad never saw one of those.

· Aug 4

YES... On the right car.
And maybe not green.

(edited)

· Aug 5

These are R.P.s, veddy good and veddy sub-Lalique prices. $180-280 mostly, in several colors. I hadn't heard of them until this year. Unsure how you'd fit them to an actual car.

https://www.artdeco1930.com/

(edited)

· Aug 5

I didn't want to bring up that it was a reproduction in case you might be the owner. lol.

· Aug 5

Aside from the fact that the company had gone more to plain radiator caps by 1930, do you think the chap with the recently-restored big green Custom Eight in Minnesota could pull this off if he had one?