What Happened To Car Hood Ornaments? The Reason Why They Became Obsolete

Human beings have always liked status symbols. Centuries ago, the pineapple was a rarity shown off in the mansions of European nobles, reportedly worth around $8,000 each in today's money. This now-humble fruit no longer has quite that much appeal or rarity. There's another famous sign of wealth and acclaim that is missing now, too: the hood ornament.

Auto enthusiasts will be familiar with the likes of the Flying B that proudly adorned Bentley hoods, the majestic Spirit of Ecstasy sported by choice Rolls-Royce models, and the Flying Goddess of Cadillac. These ostentatious ornaments haven't entirely disappeared, with a take on the latter returning to the charging port and a panel of the Cadillac Celestiq in 2022-23. Hood ornaments weren't solely eye-catching figurines and models for luxury brands, but it's very rare to find them on new cars outside of this context. 

As stylish and desirable as they were, hood ornaments are quickly joining the long list of classic car features that are gone forever. Let's take a look at some primary reasons why hood ornaments have essentially become obsolete.

The uninitiated might think that hood ornaments were just lavish extra touches with no practical purpose, but they're only half right. The earliest hood ornaments were called "motometers," and they were essential instruments. The hood ornament was actually a thermometer screwed directly into the radiator cap, giving the driver a means of checking the temperature in an era where overheating was a more common problem. After the early-to-mid 20th century, this was no longer necessary. The internals of the hoods of cars changed, and this great feature disappeared, making style the primary reason for having such an adornment. 

However, these purely stylish hood ornaments represented a significant danger for pedestrians. They can be heavy, after all, and those edges had the potential to cause awful injuries should a collision occur. Measures were taken to address this, with Bentley famously installing a feature that allowed the Flying B to retract inside the hood should such an accident occur. It isn't a perfect system, though; concerns over rust and weathering compromising the system led to 1,436 Bentleys being recalled globally in September 2010.

Sleek, aerodynamic features have increasingly become a primary focus of vehicle design, and hood ornaments can potentially limit performance in this way. One model that still features them, Rolls-Royce's Spectre EV, went to the extreme lengths of adjusting the standing position of the Spirit of Ecstasy's pose to improve airflow. 

Another major concern was the value of the ornaments themselves, leading to them being common targets for thieves. A Rolls-Royce ornament in good condition begins at a value of around $2,000. In June 1987, The Washington Post discussed teenagers who were stealing ornaments in the region of Mount Vernon. The Alexandria Police Department suggested they were imitating celebrities like the Beastie Boys' Mike D, who wore a hood ornament as a necklace. 

Whatever the reason may have been, it's entirely understandable that driving a vehicle with an ornate target on the hood became a less-than-tempting prospect. The solution from manufacturers was the same as the one for reducing the threat to pedestrians: hood ornaments designed to retract inside the car to deter theft.