Short answer
What the Buick logo symbol means
The three shields are descended from the ancestral coat of arms of Buick's founder, David Dunbar Buick. A General Motors researcher, Ralph Pew, found a description of that Scottish coat of arms in an 1851 heraldry book in the mid-1930s, and GM used it for a single red shield on 1937 Buick radiators. Around 1959 to 1960 the single shield became three, in red, white and blue, one for each of Buick's three model lines, the LeSabre, Invicta and Electra. Which color went with which model is reported differently.
Quick read
Buick logo at a glance
- Symbol
- Three shields in red, silver or white, and blue
- Origin
- Ancestral Scottish coat of arms of David Dunbar Buick
- Found by
- GM researcher Ralph Pew, in an 1851 heraldry book
- First on cars
- Single crest on 1937 radiators
- Became three
- 1959 or 1960, depending on the source
- Hawk era
- Replaced by the hawk emblem in the mid-1970s, back as the main badge in 1990
Interactive logo decoder
The Buick Tri-Shield
The three shields
Red, silver and blue shields stand in a staggered row. Buick split its single 1937 crest into three in 1959, matching the three models in its range that year.
Highlighted on the logoThe checkered band
A diagonal band of checks crosses each shield. It comes from the description of the Buick family's Scottish coat of arms that GM researcher Ralph Pew found in Burke's heraldry.
Highlighted on the logoThe stag's head
A small stag's head sits in the upper corner of every shield, another detail carried over from the Buick heraldry.
Highlighted on the logoThe chrome ring
A polished ring frames the shields. Buick dropped it when the tri-shield was redrawn in 2022, leaving the three shields free-standing.
Highlighted on the logoLogo palette
Buick logo colors
Select a swatch to copy its HEX value. Values reference archived artwork unless official guidelines are cited.
#7A162DThe left shield of the classic 1959 tri-shield, sampled from the archived logo.
#A6A7ABThe center shield and the chrome ring.
#154E84The right shield, completing the red, silver and blue set.
From a surname to the Buick coat of arms
The brand is named for its founder, David Dunbar Buick, a Scottish-born Detroit businessman. The Buick Motor Company was incorporated on May 19, 1903, and the badge's theme is heraldry from that same family. According to Wikipedia, the tri-shield is rooted in the ancestral coat of arms of the founder. That crest was a red shield with a checkered silver and blue diagonal line, a stag above and a cross with a hole punched in its center below.
The founder lost control of the company early, and the badge only arrived decades later, so he never saw it on a Buick.
How a researcher found the Buick shield
In the mid-1930s, GM researcher Ralph Pew came across the design in an 1851 book of heraldry. The description had no picture with it. GM's stylists interpreted it and made it into the red shield first used on Buick radiators in 1937. A more pointed redraw followed in 1939.
Details such as the checks, the stag's head and the cross are carried over from that description. Our archive's later badges keep the checkered band and the stag in each shield, and the 2022 version replaces the diagonal band with a downward stripe.
Why the Buick logo has three shields
The three shields stand for models. Wikipedia says that when the single shield was replaced by a trio in red, white and blue, the shields denoted the LeSabre, Invicta and Electra, the three lines in the Buick lineup. SlashGear gives a color for each: red for the LeSabre, silver for the Invicta and blue for the Electra. Wikipedia does not map colors to models, and other sources reported the Invicta and LeSabre colors the other way around, so treat any exact pairing as uncertain.
The year is also reported two ways. Some sources say 1959, which is what our archive uses, while Wikipedia and Buick's own 2015 material point to 1960. And the popular idea that red, white and blue mean the American flag has no support in the sources used here. Buick has not published that reading.
Buick logo history, the hawk years and the 2022 redesign
The tri-shield did not stay put. Buick set it aside for a hawk emblem, nicknamed "Happy," that arrived alongside a redesigned Skylark in the mid-1970s, and the three shields returned as the main badge in 1990. In 2022 they were redrawn into a flatter horizontal row with the surrounding ring dropped. No designer is credited for the 2022 mark.
One more twist: Wikipedia notes the trishield turned monochrome in 2005, and the traditional colors came back in 2023.
Logo archive
Buick logo versions through the years
1937 The coat-of-arms crest 
1939 A sharper shield - 1959 One shield becomes three
1975 The hawk takes over 
1990 The tri-shield returns 
2022 A flatter, ringless mark
Frequently asked questions
Buick logo symbol questions answered
What do the three shields in the Buick logo mean?
They stand for the three model lines Buick sold when the single shield was split, the LeSabre, Invicta and Electra. The shield design itself comes from the founder's ancestral Scottish coat of arms.
Where does the Buick logo come from?
GM researcher Ralph Pew found a description of the Buick family's coat of arms in an 1851 heraldry book in the mid-1930s. GM's stylists turned it into a single shield used on 1937 radiators.
Do the red, white and blue mean the American flag?
No source used here says so. Buick has not published an official meaning for the colors, and the documented explanation ties the three shields to three models.
When did Buick change to three shields?
Sources differ. Some give 1959, which our archive uses. Wikipedia and Buick's own 2015 material give 1960.
Why did Buick drop the tri-shield for a hawk?
The hawk emblem, nicknamed "Happy," was introduced in the mid-1970s alongside a redesigned Skylark. The sources used here do not give a deeper reason. The tri-shield returned as the main badge in 1990.
Keep reading
More logo meanings
References
Sources for the Buick logo story
- Wikipedia — Buick
- Wikipedia — David Dunbar Buick
- Wikipedia — Buick Y-Job
- SlashGear — The Interesting Origin of Buick's Car Logo Explained
- The Truth About Cars — Abandoned History, The Current Buick Logo (Part I)
- GM Authority — The Origins of the Buick Badge
Buick logo and history. Logo images are an educational reference archive.