Chrysler’s iconic Pentastar logo is being phased out as the company introduces a new logo in keeping with the newly formed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
"From the perspective of most consumers, this really is a non-issue," Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management,
told the Detroit Free Press. "Consumers know Chrysler, they know Jeep, they know Dodge. The name of the corporate parent normally doesn't mean much."
Still, the move has sparked a backlash among some, including Jack Bowen of Brentwood, California, who created a “Save the Pentastar” Facebook page.
"I started this page out of a pure feeling of true loss," Bowen said, according to the Detroit Free Press. "This cause just seemed like one that needed to be started."
Fiat became the sole owner of Chrysler in January, beginning the logo transition. The company changed the sign at the entrance of its headquarters on May 6, the Free Press said. The new company name and logo became official on Oct. 12.
The Pentastar logo was created in 1962 by ad agency Lippincott & Margulies.
The logo largely disappeared after Daimler AG acquired Chrysler in 1998 but reemerged in 2007 when private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management bought 80 percent of the company.
There are no plans to remove the Pentastar from the company’s Auburn Hills headquarters building.
Twitter users were unhappy with the decision.
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