If You Love Fonts And Graphic Design, Go To A Classic Car Show

Photo: Daniel Golson/Jalopnik

It can be hard to convince the non-car enthusiasts in your life to spend a few weekend hours at a car show, especially if it’s one that starts before 9 a.m. (even I have trouble with that). As enticing as the boozy brunch with friends afterwards might be, the thought of spending even 30 minutes surrounded by cars you don’t care about and nerds being super annoying about them isn’t exactly appealing.

There is one way to get a friend or significant other to join you for a car show, especially if they are a fan of graphic design or art in general. Vintage cars are rich with incredible badges, fonts and logo designs, with every era and country of origin typically easy to deduce just by reading the nameplates. Tons of different cars even have special fonts specific to that model, and wonderful graphics can be found even on more modern vehicles.

I recently went to Macchinissima, a new car show in downtown Los Angeles that was focused on classic Italian cars, and there were myriad examples of fantastic typography. Let us know in the comments what your favorite automotive badges are, and if you can successfully convince your loved ones to enjoy cars through a different lens.