My wife asked me an interesting question that I couldn't answer. Interestingly enough, a kid asked me the same question last week at a car run. Looking at the DeTomaso logo . . . what does it mean, stand for or represent?
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Got the answer to my question on the DeTomaso Archieves forum:
Alejandro De Tomaso was born in Buenos Aires to a powerful family with a strong ranching heritage; his mother belonged to one of the
oldest families which controlled Argen-tinian agriculture, and his father was an eminent
politician who had been appointed Minister of Agriculture in the 1930’s. The De Tomaso family had a very distinctive cattle brand used to mark the horses and cattle in their “estancia”, shaped like a stylized “T”.
During the early 1950’s, Alejandro became a political activist against the dictatorship of Juan Peron. It soon became apparent that his life was in jeopardy, and he was forced to flee the country. At the age of 27 he fled to
Italy, and armed with a reasonable amount of money, began devoting his life to racing automobiles. In 1959 he formed his own company, with the intent of manufacturing small racing cars.
Needing a corporate logo, he simply combined his ardent family pride (the “T”) with his staunch Argentinian nationalism (the flag of
Argentina), and that is how the DeTomaso logo was created. So the next time you hear somebody parroting the ridiculous story of “the Isis logo,” please take the time to straighten them out. I figure it should only take about 20 years or so before everybody gets it right!
Thanks to Mark McWhinney
Alejandro De Tomaso was born in Buenos Aires to a powerful family with a strong ranching heritage; his mother belonged to one of the
oldest families which controlled Argen-tinian agriculture, and his father was an eminent
politician who had been appointed Minister of Agriculture in the 1930’s. The De Tomaso family had a very distinctive cattle brand used to mark the horses and cattle in their “estancia”, shaped like a stylized “T”.
During the early 1950’s, Alejandro became a political activist against the dictatorship of Juan Peron. It soon became apparent that his life was in jeopardy, and he was forced to flee the country. At the age of 27 he fled to
Italy, and armed with a reasonable amount of money, began devoting his life to racing automobiles. In 1959 he formed his own company, with the intent of manufacturing small racing cars.
Needing a corporate logo, he simply combined his ardent family pride (the “T”) with his staunch Argentinian nationalism (the flag of
Argentina), and that is how the DeTomaso logo was created. So the next time you hear somebody parroting the ridiculous story of “the Isis logo,” please take the time to straighten them out. I figure it should only take about 20 years or so before everybody gets it right!
Thanks to Mark McWhinney
Good to know!
I had alway wondered what the logo stood for.
thanks for the info.
I had alway wondered what the logo stood for.
thanks for the info.
Dennis could not be more right. I have heard those stories, and more about Ms. D changing her name to Isabelle to sound more Italian. All of them are wrong. At one time, we sat down and went through the book, DeTomaso the man and the machine, and highlighted all the mistakes or just bold lies, there were a lot.
Denise McCluggage, a famous race car driver and automotive journalist who knew the DeTomasos since the 1950s, wrote a series of two lengthy articles about them for AutoWeek Magazine in 1980. It was reprinted in the PI Magazine of September, 1987. She wrote as follows:
The Logo. That eloquent, stylized T.
That T is called a “branch”, and has a long history. And sure enough, look at it again, it is a branch. It has been in the family for centuries. In each succeeding generation the right to the branch passed to the eldest son.
“But when Argentina became independent of Spain in 1806 that became illegal – all brothers are equal,” Alessandro said. For the past few generations a coin flip has been used to determine which child inherits the branch. The branch was his grandmother’s. Then his mother won. Alessandro beat out his three siblings with the necessary chance turning of a coin in the air.
“I took the branch and put it against the Argentine flag,” he said. And that is the logo – the historic branch against the blue and white of Argentina.
The Logo. That eloquent, stylized T.
That T is called a “branch”, and has a long history. And sure enough, look at it again, it is a branch. It has been in the family for centuries. In each succeeding generation the right to the branch passed to the eldest son.
“But when Argentina became independent of Spain in 1806 that became illegal – all brothers are equal,” Alessandro said. For the past few generations a coin flip has been used to determine which child inherits the branch. The branch was his grandmother’s. Then his mother won. Alessandro beat out his three siblings with the necessary chance turning of a coin in the air.
“I took the branch and put it against the Argentine flag,” he said. And that is the logo – the historic branch against the blue and white of Argentina.