Why Saab Killed Its Griffin Logo

Saab is losing a key feature of its classic logo: The griffin is out of here.

The Saab was introduced with its iconic griffin in 1949.

Then the car was switched from parent company to parent company like it was in a game of hot potato.

It went from Saab AB to Scania to GM to Spyker Cars,

a Dutch manufacturer. Shortly after the 2010 buy, however, Saab went bankrupt.

Enter Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) — a partnership between China's National Modern Energy Holdings and Japan's Sun Investment — which bought Saab Automobile, Powertrain, and Tools. The thing it didn't buy: The rights to Saab's griffin logo.

According to Brand New, the transition won't be too tough since Saab has been leaving the griffin out for a while. But the griffin isn't completely extinct. Saab planes and trucks, which aren't owned by NEVS, will still get to use the mythical beast.