Photo: DARTZ
Before World War II, swastikas were an innocent religious symbol. Although the word means "conducive to well-being" in Sanskrit, it began to suggest an entirely different thing after Adolf Hitler decided it would be a good element for his party’s flag, tainting it forever. We’re seeing something similar happen to the letter Z, stamped in Russian tanks invading Ukraine. Anyone and anything that uses it may avoid it from now on, including in the automotive world.
The first evidence of that is DARTZ. Its 2014 logo already had a Z right at the center, standing for Zavod (factory, in Russian). Leonard Yankelovich – the company’s founder and CEO – was developing a new logo for it that would reproduce the Z inserted in the helmet of a stylized soldier when the war broke. He had to change his plans and ditch the Z from the new logo.
In a Facebook post, the company announced it replaced the Z with a diamond, a symbol of opulence that lasts forever. Yankelovich is now rushing to warn his clients and fans that DARTZ has no relationship with Russia: it is a Latvian company.
It will be more complicated to do that with the RussoBaltique vodka he also sells – the most expensive in the world. For the record, it is made in Latvia just like Stoli, a vodka that used to be called Stolichnaya. It recently announced the name change to detach from any confusion about it being a Russian product.
Yankelovich is not the only one with his plans affected due to Putin’s war against Ukraine. Nissan may soon be on the same boat with its 2023 Z. Lawrence Jesterton recently joked on Twitter that the Japanese company may soon announce the car will be called Fairlady instead. Given the current circumstances and the bad luck Z had to be chosen as Putin’s symbol, it may be a wise move. Zorro would be in a dire situation now if he was for real…
In a Facebook post, the company announced it replaced the Z with a diamond, a symbol of opulence that lasts forever. Yankelovich is now rushing to warn his clients and fans that DARTZ has no relationship with Russia: it is a Latvian company.
It will be more complicated to do that with the RussoBaltique vodka he also sells – the most expensive in the world. For the record, it is made in Latvia just like Stoli, a vodka that used to be called Stolichnaya. It recently announced the name change to detach from any confusion about it being a Russian product.
Yankelovich is not the only one with his plans affected due to Putin’s war against Ukraine. Nissan may soon be on the same boat with its 2023 Z. Lawrence Jesterton recently joked on Twitter that the Japanese company may soon announce the car will be called Fairlady instead. Given the current circumstances and the bad luck Z had to be chosen as Putin’s symbol, it may be a wise move. Zorro would be in a dire situation now if he was for real…
So, um, is Nissan going to need to start calling this the Fairlady? pic.twitter.com/RYP3WLciP3
— Lawrence Jesterton ???? (@LawrenceJester3) March 8, 2022
Operation Z
— Darth Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) March 9, 2022
Operation Ctrl-Z pic.twitter.com/S0weowhWRx
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