In 2009, Citroen will honor its 90th year of existence by giving a new, modern update to its classic chevron logo. Although the new badge has already appeared on the GTbyCITROEN concept vehicle, which debuted at the Paris auto show back in October, the first production vehicle to bear Citroen’s new grin will be the C3 Picasso compact MPV. Intended to represent the herringbone pattern of the helical gear, unlike many other automakers, Citroen’s chevron applique is not applied in a uniform manner to each vehicle in the Citroen lineup. Rather, Citroen takes great pains to ensure each logo gels with the artistic lines of the car (which is not altogether surprising given the French preference for the frous-frous) while still maintaining enough similarity to serve its ultimate purpose.

Explained Vincent Besson, Citroen’s head of products and markets, “…we prefer to modify the chevrons so that they enhance the balance and harmony of the overall front-end styling. There are winged chevrons on the C4, C5 and C6, but that doesn’t mean you’ll see them on all future Citroen models. It might not be as easy and as appropriate to add chevrons like these to a later model.”

Source: Motor Authority