Initially, hood ornaments were not meant to be ornamental at all. They were simply radiator caps that incorporated temperature gauges so a driver could keep an eye on the water temp and keep the engine from overheating.
The day came, however, when engineers figured out that moving gauges to the dashboard was a bit more practical than having them mounted clear at the end of the hood, and radiator caps became simpler, though manufacturers early on recognized the importance of keeping brand identity front and center.
So, as part of brand identity is usually a readily identifiable symbol, many of the early manufacturers jumped on the chance to enhance brand identity by incorporating the company name and symbolic element into a icon of sorts that could be mounted on the hood of the car as part of the radiator cap where the temperature gauge once stood.
This practice continued for decades, even though some of the ornaments had become quite elaborate and made removing the radiator cap a tad difficult.
Eventually some engineer decided to put the radiator, cap and all, under the hood, leaving the top of the hood as blank as a fresh canvas. Car designers being artists were not about to have any of that, and thus was born the purely decorative hood ornament.
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