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According To You: The Best Automotive Easter Eggs
With the Easter holiday coming next month, we decided it was a good time to ask readers of Hagerty Media about their favorite automotive Easter Eggs. Your answers were enlightening, as I did not know many of these examples from a wide variety of automakers. Of course, there’s a good chance we didn’t get all the eggs out there, so please chime in the comments section with some Easter Eggs that you found in your automotive experiences!
Stellantis
John G: The Dodge Ram TRX (“T-Rex”) has an embossed image you can only see if you remove the engine cover. It’s a Tyrannosaurus Rex eating a Velociraptor.
George: I have lost count of the amount of Easter eggs found on modern Jeep products, but the outlines of each Grand Cherokee body change from start to current on the inner rear quarter window takes the cake.
Bill: The current Jeep Renegades have a Sasquatch on the back window along with the Jeep image on the windshield.
Ford
Rod: The American flag on the dashboard edge in my ’21 F-150 is pretty slick.
Marketplace
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Davidm0604: My 2024 Mustang GT convertible with Performance Package is full of Easter eggs, even inside the dual air filter housings!
Geo: I just purchased a new Bronco which has a bunch of Easter eggs…
- On the hardtops on the right side above the front passenger head are the coordinates of the mountain where the first Bronco was tested, along with an outline of the mountain range.
- The HVAC recirculation button is the silhouette of a Bronco.
- The gearshift selector has an American Flag engraved on it.
- The inside of the fuel door has the silhouette of every generation Bronco.
- If you look inside the removable fender flares “Lift me up” is embossed in the plastic.
- Bronco logo in the headlights.
- The outline of the start/stop ignition button is the same as the headlights.
Tim: I don’t know about being the best, but the current generation Bronco is absolutely loaded with Easter eggs. Some examples:
- “Congratulations on ponying up for a more capable bumper” stamped into the steel structure of the modular bumper.
- Inside the gas cap, the three versions of the original Gen 1 Bronco can be found.
- On the roll bar on the passenger side are printed the GPS coordinates of what is now known as “Bronco Knoll.”
- “Lift Me, Baby” is printed inside the wheel wells.
- The Bronco horse can be found inside the headlights.
There are many other locations where the Bronco horse, vehicle silhouette, or similar elements are used as clever design touches. For example, the push-to-start button is outlined with the iconic shape of the headlamp. A lasso is used as an icon at the tie-down hooks in the cargo area. Little Bronco horses light up where interior light switches are located.
Probably the coolest one I found was a QR code on the front windshield that appears to most closely approximate the birth date of my Bronco. 😁
General Motors
Davidm0604: My 2012 Cadillac CTS-V has more subtle Easter eggs (if they can be called that) with the V shape used throughout the design, from the third brake light to the design on the seat backrest among other locations.
hyperv6: The Corvette has had many hidden Easter eggs. A hidden one is the C4 Corvette. In the rear tub under the carpet is a Baseball Bat, Hot Dog, and Apple Pie molded into the fiber tub in the cargo area. The ZR1 in the C6 had a Jake Skull, the symbol of the Covette race team, molded into the intake bridge. Just recently we got Tadge Juechter’s face in the corner of the new ZR1 that is going to be built.
High Beam Indicators
SEVND2: The Indian head hi-beam indicator on 60’s Pontiacs!
DUB6: My ’66 GTO dash has a simple blue-dot indicator, maybe the size of a pencil eraser – apparently, the performance guys didn’t get the Indian head memo?
John B: Yep, My ’49 Pontiac had that and his cousin was on the hood.
Jake: In the classic Mustangs, at least in 1973, the high beam indicator is a little red Mustang under the speedometer. It’s one of my favorite things about my car.
Eggs of a different variety
DUB6: Probably doesn’t really count as an Easter Egg, but finding a Build Sheet under the rear seat of a lot of vintage cars is as thrilling (to many) as discovering any chocolate treat in the tall grass…
norm1200: Since DUB6 already mentioned build sheets, I thought I’d go the opposite direction: assembly line pranks, or rotten Easter eggs. You know, like when the assembly line tech put a marble in the frame rail that rolls forward when the new car buyer brakes, and rolls back when taking off from a start. Or a hose in an HVAC duct that rolls around making noise when the car makes a turn (and a note stuffed inside it says “How long did it take to find me?”).
One of my favorites is a new 1983 Cadillac that stumbled and hesitated whenever stepping into the throttle a bit aggressively. The dealer replaced almost every fuel-related part, including the fuel pump, carburetor, fuel tank, plus distributor, ground cables, etc etc. Finally, a field rep came to the dealer and had virtually every replaced part replaced again…to no avail. He then decided to see how much fuel was getting to the carburetor. With the metal flared line disconnected, before having the engine cranked, he saw something inside the end of the fuel line: a cigarette filter. I’ve wondered if the line tech was bored, angry with management, or something else.
TG: For some of my finds, an engine that turns is a nice easter egg.
Japanese Brands
Gary B: There are a bunch on the new Prius I saw in a video that made me chuckle a bit.
Steve C: Older Suzuki 4WD vehicles (i.e. early 70’s LJ10/LJ20, also known as the Brute in the US) had the Suzuki “S” stamped into many parts, including brake parts (wheel cylinders, master cylinders, drums), crankcase, and hardened steel bolts. By the time the Samurai showed up in 1986, these were long gone, except for a few carryover parts.
John D: My 2025 Forester has a bunch of little outdoorsy / camping things molded in here and there, which I really like. A little lantern, a hummingbird. Dog prints and a little compass and some boot prints and topographic lines molded into the floor mats. And more I’m sure that will turn up in time. I actually do Subaru things in my Subaru. I like to go camping and I take my dog.
Andre V: The first-generation Honda CR-V came with a folding table that was hidden in the rear cargo area. By that logic, I think the ultimate Easter Egg would be the Motocompo inside a Honda City, followed by the umbrellas hidden inside the rear doors of Rolls-Royce automobiles.
German Brands
’02 Original Owner: Germans are way too uptight to put those previously described Easter eggs on their cars, but practically every part on my 2002–even those made by an outside supplier and not BMW–has a sometimes tiny BMW roundel logo either stamped or molded into the plastic or metal. Engine blocks, cylinder heads, transmissions, and differential housings have date codes cast into the metal.
In addition, things like instruments, tail light and parking light housings, heater housings–even seats–have day, month, and year stamped on ’em–with an ink stamp. Those date stamps predate the car’s actual assembly date anywhere from a few days to several months. They also confirm whether they were original to that car.
GLI48: Many Mercedes parts, even from the ’70s, have the Mercedes star molded in the metal or plastic.
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To hyperv6:
C4 Corvette. In the rear tub under the carpet is a Baseball Bat, Hot Dog, and Apple Pie molded into the fiber tub in the cargo area.
What year C4 and where in back?
If you rip up the carpet behind the passenger seat in a 1996 Chevrolet Corvette, you may stumble upon a set of all-American symbols that could make you “explode into a cloud of bald eagles.” And no, were’ not talking about the creepy symbols on the U.S. Dollar. We’re talking about baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.
These little Easter Eggs are said to be on every ’90-’96 Corvette, and of course, need some effort to discover. We wonder what other awesome unknowns done by GM’ stamp shop lay in wait for us to find.
Most Hyundai’s and Kia’s have “Attach Tow Strap Here” imprinted on the front and back…..
Just don’t apply tow straps to both ends and pull at the same time!
B^)
While stripping down a 67 Chevy I found a disposable paper drinking cup like you would get from a dispenser near the water fountain. It was pressed flat under the carpet and padding but otherwise perfectly preserved with the GM graphics still intact. I can just picture the assembly line guy getting a drink then tossing the cup in the car and throwing down the carpet. I still have the cup… it may be the only one still in existence.
The center brake light on the 1st gen Chevy Cruze is a subtle bowtie.
Our 2021 Jeep Cherokee Latitude Lux has the outline of the original Jeep on the lower part of the windshield on the driver’s side
I have said for decades that Porsche 911s look like an egg. And painted in different colors they r Easter eggs!
Unfortunately, the American flag on the dashboard edge of the ’21 F-150 is displayed incorrectly. The stars blue field on the flag should always be displayed to the left when hung horizontally or vertically.
Not necessarily on a vehicle. The stars on the right orientation mimics a a flag on a ship or vehicle in motion. I’m told the Navy does something similar. Don’t know if that’s true or the circumstances under which the display the flag that way though.
While that may be true on uniforms or ships, neither is true on a vehicle or the F150. As the Flag Code says, “On the US Military combat uniforms, where the flag is put on the sleeve of the uniform, the flag patch is displayed with the stars facing forward, in the direction the wearer is facing. This is done to give the impression of the flag flowing in the wind while being carried forward across the battlefield. This is known as the “Reverse Field Flag.””
As MPH302 says, it’s displayed correctly for the application. The “wind” is blowing the flag in that direction as the car moves.
While that may be true on uniforms, ships or military vehicles, neither is true on a car or the F150. As the Flag Code says, “On the US Military combat uniforms, where the flag is put on the sleeve of the uniform, the flag patch is displayed with the stars facing forward, in the direction the wearer is facing. This is done to give the impression of the flag flowing in the wind while being carried forward across the battlefield. This is known as the “Reverse Field Flag.””
Inasmuch as the “flag” in question has neither red and blue stripes nor white stars on a blue background in its union, it’s probably a moot point. Nonetheless, the union should be in the highest position of honor-the front-when flown, as specified in the flag code, on the passenger side front of a motor vehicle.
Mini Cooper. Secret glove box. If you know, you know.
My 2024 Ford F150 has a strange pattern around the interior door handles. It is such a strange pattern, I decided to look it up. Turns out it is a map of Detroit around the area of the Ford factory in honor of the 75th anniversary.
Second best Easter egg: A build date written on a tag tied to the springs of the rear seat cushion of my 56 Golden Hawk. Best egg: Every valve has the Packard script emblem in raised relief on the underside, next to the stem.
Datsun Roadster 1600’s have the Datsun emblem as well as “IN” or “EX” on the bottom of each valve, even though they are significantly different sizes.
83 DeLorean here. I have found several handwritten things. Scrawled in yellow crayon on the back bumper behind the license plate is “DMC39”, in black marker across the rear frame crossmember is “11440”, and most impressive is a bunch of build notes written in black marker under each gull wing door headliner, including the last 5 digits of the VIN. Interestingly, my VIN is 5,000 off because all 83’s are actually retitled late build 82’s and the factory added that to all of the 83’s to provide a gap between 82 and 83 model year VINs.
You’re correct that some 82 DeLoreans were given new VINs. Consolidated did that when they purchased all remaining inventory after DMC went into receivership. With 1983 right around the corner they thought they’d have a hard time selling ‘82 models, so they simply gave them a new VIN and voila “brand new 1983” models.
For high school graduation, in 1968, our neighbor’s son got a new 1968 Plymouth Satellite 2dr hardtop for graduation. He ordered it with the help of his father. After he had had it a few days, we were looking at it and he showed me something interesting. He walked to the back of the car and raised the trunk lid, then the trunk mat. In the thicker layer of body sealer, under the paint, on the trunk floor was finger-scrawled “Vote for Little Vic”. Must have been a union election in the plant?
Lance, by buddy had the same type of cup in a 60’s Mercury that he had. His was in the trunk on the side and was glued in by the trunk coating.
My first running car was a1936 Pontiac the had the Pontiac profile high bean indicator.
I also had a 1941 Packard 110 which had a speedometer needle that would glow green until around 35- 40 MPH; then it would turn amber………. when you got over 55 or so It would turn bright red.
I remember the 59 oldsmobiles (full size) also had that type of color changing speedometers
My first running car was a1936 Pontiac that had the Pontiac profile high bean indicator.
I also had a 1941 Packard 110 which had a speedometer needle that would glow green until around 35- 40 MPH; then it would turn amber………. when you got over 55 or so It would turn bright red.