For the sixth post in my series on automotive badges, it’s all about ’60s horsepower. In the musclecar era, the marketing strategy was all about bragging and “track cred.” Badges boasted of brawn, speed, and winning races. While numbers were a major element, proclaiming engine size, or equipment (4-4-2 referred to a four-barrel carburetor, four speed transmission, and dual exhaust), swagger was the other element. Checkered flags were common, but sometimes there were nicknames from the street, like in the case of the Plymouth ’Cuda, the high-performance version of the Barracuda. Personally, I love the font on that one.
If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.
Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.
Top row, left to right: 1964 Pontiac Catalina 2+2, 1964 Plymouth Belvedere. Second row, left to right: 1965 Mercury Comet, 1966 Ford Galaxie. Third row, left to right: 1967 Oldsmobile 4-4-2, 1968 Chevrolet Camaro (modified), 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Bottom row, left to right: 1969 Plymouth GTX, 1970 Plymouth Barracuda ’Cuda.