Yes, This Is a Real Hood Ornament

The French carmaker Citroën was named after its founder, André-Gustave Citroën. But it's pretty close to citron, which is the French word for "lemon." This custom hood ornament up for auction by Bonhams was made in 1923. It shows a Citroen 5CV Torpedo erupting out of a lemon. 

-via Marilyn Terrell


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His (Dutch) father's name actually was Citroen (which is Dutch for lemon) pronounced "see-troon".

From Wikipedia: Born in Paris in 1878, André-Gustave was the 5th and last child of Jewish parents diamond merchant Levie Citroen from the Netherlands and Masza Amelia Kleinman from Warsaw, Poland.

The Citroen family moved to Paris from Warsaw in 1873. Upon arrival, the diaeresis was added to the name (reputedly by one of André's teachers), changing Citroen to Citroën (a grandfather had been a greengrocer and seller of tropical fruit, and had taken the surname of Limoenman, literally "lime man," his son however preferred Citroen, Dutch for "lemon")
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