Car Brands Quiz

Warm-up
10 questions
About 3 min
Up to 3 stars

A friendly warm-up. Great for all ages and family game night.

Timed mode 15 seconds per question

From Detroit muscle to Italian supercars, this car brands quiz covers the names you see in every parking lot and dream garage. You'll answer ten friendly questions about famous badges described in words, where carmakers got their start, the people behind them and the models that made them household names. It's a quick warm-up for car fans, road-trip passengers and anyone who has ever played the logo game on the highway.

Where car brands and badges come from

Every car brand on the road today traces back to the same starting line. In January 1886, German engineer Karl Benz filed a patent for his three-wheeled Motorwagen, often called the first practical automobile. Two years later his wife, Bertha, drove an improved version about 65 miles (105 km) to visit her mother, a bold trip that proved a horseless carriage could handle real roads and gave the young invention some priceless publicity.

Within a few decades, hundreds of small companies were building cars, and most disappeared or merged. The survivors often carry a founder's surname, like the Dodge brothers, John and Horace, or Soichiro Honda in Japan. Others borrowed words from mythology, local landmarks or foreign languages, so a little curiosity can crack a name that seems random at first.

Badges tell stories too. Designers pull from city flags, family crests, racing history and even the founder's personal superstitions, which is why so many emblems feature shields, wings and animals. When a question has you stumped, picture the badge on the grille or the trunk, then think about the country it hails from and what that company is best known for. Car fans tend to ace this topic, but casual drivers often surprise themselves with how many logos they already know.

Car Brands questions and answers

Show all 10 questions with answers (spoilers!)

Which carmaker's badge shows a prancing horse?
Answer: Ferrari
The horse was a World War I Italian flying ace's emblem; his mother urged Enzo to use it for luck.
The name Volkswagen means what in German?
Answer: People's car
The original Beetle stayed in production until 2003, with more than 21 million built.
How many interlocking rings make up Audi's badge?
Answer: Four
Each ring stands for one of four German carmakers that joined forces as Auto Union in 1932.
Which carmaker introduced the Mustang in 1964?
Answer: Ford
It debuted at the New York World's Fair and sold more than 400,000 cars in its first year.
Volvo was founded in which country?
Answer: Sweden
Volvo is Latin for "I roll," and its first series-built car left a Gothenburg factory in 1927.
Which American carmaker's badge is nicknamed the "bowtie"?
Answer: Chevrolet
The brand is named for Swiss-born race car driver Louis Chevrolet, who helped launch it in 1911.
Lexus is the luxury brand of which Japanese carmaker?
Answer: Toyota
Lexus launched in the US in 1989 with the big LS 400 sedan as its flagship.
Subaru's badge shows a cluster of what?
Answer: Stars
Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster, and the badge shows six of its stars.
Before sports cars, Ferruccio Lamborghini's company built what?
Answer: Tractors
His company's charging-bull badge is a nod to his zodiac sign, Taurus.
The three points of the Mercedes-Benz star stand for what?
Answer: Land, water and air
Daimler built engines for cars, boats and aircraft, and first registered the star as a trademark in 1909.

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