From BMW to Kia: Car logo rebrands that left us scratching our heads

Carmakers probably spend as much money on marketing and brand awareness as they do on the development of products.

A great deal of cash is inevitably splashed on committees whose job it is to name new models, for example. Obviously that's a little easier if you're Audi or BMW, where the simple alphanumeric arrangement cuts the mustard. But what about a brand like Hyundai? Yes, people were paid to pick titles like Sonata, Venue, Tucson and Palisade.

Not to single out the South Korean brand - there are many peculiar car names out there - but the automaker does make for a good reference point.

Some car makers have opted to rebrand, as the motoring world forges ahead into electrified, autonomous territories. But in some cases, the attempt to refresh an identity comes across as a misstep.

If something is not broken, why fix it?

Take Volkswagen, with its new monochrome 2D logo. It looks clean and uncluttered on the advertising material and adorning the entrances of dealerships, but on the vehicles it looks cheap compared to the chromed 3D emblem being phased out.

BMW also redesigned its blue-and-white roundel, with a clear background instead of a black one. It errs on the flat side - and although the emblems affixed to the current crop of cars thankfully remain unchanged, the new design is likely to be introduced in forthcoming models.

American giant General Motors (GM) also went back to the drawing board recently. And the stylised pair of letters that had been penned are … interesting, to say the least.

The bold, dark blue, upper-case setup has been ditched for a softer, cursive-type font in a lighter colour that puts one in mind of the former Intel computers' swirl logo.

Okay, maybe the move is appropriate, giving the impression of that shift from serious, monolithic automobile conglomerate to friendly provider of "mobility solutions" for an ever-changing planet. A good symbol has to communicate such subtleties, I suppose.