Looking for vehicle specifications? Compare cars or decode a VIN.

Compare cars brands

Explore their origins, identifying marks and logo archives side by side.

Origins and Logo Archive

What we compareAuburnAMC
Country in archiveUnited StatesUnited States
Founded1903May 1, 1954
FounderFrank Eckhart and Morris EckhartGeorge W. Mason
HeadquartersAuburn, Indiana, United StatesSouthfield, Michigan, United States
Name originThe company took its name from its home city, Auburn, Indiana, which was founded in 1836 by Wesley Park. Wikipedia says the community's name likely came from Oliver Goldsmith's poem "The Deserted Village," which begins "Sweet Auburn! Loveliest village of the plain." No source ties the automaker's badge to any part of that poem beyond the shared place name.American Motors Corporation took its name directly from its own description: a newly combined, all-American automaker formed on May 1, 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company merged. Unlike brands named for a founder's surname, "American Motors" was a descriptive, patriotic corporate name chosen for the merged company itself, and "AMC" is simply the initials the public and the company came to use for it. No more elaborate origin story for the specific wording appears to be documented.
Selected modelsAuburn 8-88, Auburn Speedster, Auburn Twelve 12-160, Auburn 851/852 SpeedsterRambler, AMX, Javelin, Gremlin, Pacer, Eagle
Earliest archived brand logo—1954
Latest archived logo19001969
Archived logo assets13

Logo dates are archive labels; symbols dated before a brand's founding are excluded from its earliest-logo date. Asset counts include all archived variants, not just redesigns. A dash means a value is unavailable.

Sources & editorial review

Auburn

Editorial review completed.

AMC

Editorial review completed.

More Brand Comparisons

Explore brand and vehicle rankings →