In the 1960s, Dodge Division of Chrysler had an emblem with an odd name. What was it.
Executive summary
The odd-named emblem was called the "Fratzog," a deliberately meaningless label that stuck to Dodge’s three-arrowhead, three-pointed-star badge introduced in the early 1960s [1][2]. The mark—meant to evoke delta motifs and rocket-age imagery—served as Dodge’s division symbol through much of the 1960s and 1970s and has seen occasional modern revivals [3][4].
1. Origin story: a nonsense name that became real
Designers at Dodge coined the word "Fratzog" simply because they needed a name for the new emblem; the name had no prior meaning and was chosen more from whim than etymology, yet it quickly became the accepted label for the badge [1][5]. Sources that trace Dodge logo history repeatedly record that a designer “came up with the meaningless name ‘Fratzog’,” underlining that the oddity of the word is part of its provenance [1][6].
2. What the Fratzog looked like and what it tried to say
The Fratzog is composed of three arrowhead shapes arranged to form a three-pointed star or triangular motif, a modernist graphic that designers pitched as a nod both to the original Dodge Brothers delta and to Chrysler’s contemporaneous fascination with rockets and the space age [1][3]. Descriptions emphasize the three-arrowhead construction and its flexibility—usable as a small line-art badge or a more detailed emblem on hubcaps and hood ornaments—making it a distinctive, easily reproduced mark across models [1][3].
3. When Dodge used the Fratzog: timeline disputes in reporting
Multiple histories place the Fratzog’s debut in 1962 and show it used through the 1960s and into the 1970s; one summary dates it from September 1962 through 1976 [1][2]. Some sources extend the era through 1981 when corporate branding shifts centralized Chrysler’s Pentastar—reporting differences that reflect how divisional and corporate insignia overlapped and phased out in practice [2][7]. Reporting does not converge on a single retirement year, so the safest reading is that Fratzog was Dodge’s hallmark across the 1960s and into the 1970s before broader corporate branding changes took hold [2][1].
4. Why the Fratzog is often mixed up with the Pentastar and other marks
The 1962 introduction of Chrysler’s Pentastar for corporate identity has created confusion in some accounts, since the Pentastar and the Fratzog both arose in the same era and were used in overlapping ways on Chrysler family products; Dodge’s later adoption and Chrysler’s corporate rollout blurred the visual record for some years [8][7]. Fan and dealer recollections note that by the 1980s and ’90s Chrysler’s Pentastar appeared on many items, leading enthusiasts and forums to contrast the two symbols and to explain why Fratzog fell from ubiquitous use [9][5].
5. Modern afterlife: revival, nostalgia and reinterpretation
Dodge’s Fratzog has enjoyed periodic resurgences in collector culture and in brand nostalgia; reporting and brand histories note announcements to revive or reference Fratzog in the 2020s—sometimes as a secondary badge tied to electrified models—while vintage parts sellers and reproduction vendors keep the emblem visible to restorers [4][10][3]. These modern references underscore how the name’s oddity and the symbol’s clean geometry have made Fratzog a favorite among historians and marketers alike [3][10].
6. Bottom line
The emblem with the odd name used by Dodge in the 1960s was the Fratzog—a three-arrowhead, three-pointed-star device whose whimsical name belies deliberate design aims connected to the Dodge delta and space-age motifs; it anchored Dodge identity through the 1960s and into the 1970s before corporate branding changes reduced its prominence [1][3][2]. Sources vary slightly on exact retirement dates and on the interplay with Chrysler’s Pentastar, so accounts that compress the timeline should be read against those differences [2][7].