Maybe I'm weird, but a name pretty much doesn't matter to me. The name is just an attempt to get my attention intially. It doesn't have to mean anything as far as I'm concerned. True, I'm not likely to consider a car called the Oxidation :P but then again, nobody is going to be silly enough to manufacture one with that name so I don't have to worry about that.
(Obi Wan voice ON)... give them time Luke...(Obi Wan voice OFF)
I know people who won't have certain paint colors because they don't like the name. They like the color, but the name doesn't fit to their mind. I don't get that. If you like the color, what does the name matter?? I'm going to be looking at the Versa when it comes out. What do I care what the name means. Sounds sorta like a car for poets if you ask me
Me? Okay, "offended" is too strong of a word and not quite accurate, but I most definitely do not like the trend toward alphanumeric names on so-called "quality" cars. Mercedes and BMW can get away with it because they were first, maybe a couple of others as well, but now it seems like any expensive brand is engaging in me-tooism and using alphanumerics because they sound prestigious - I'm talking to you, Lexus/Infiniti/Acura Porsche and Mazda seem to be partial exceptions to the cheap car - name/expensive car - alphanumeric rule.
I heard the Click and Clack guys on NPR use this joke just the other day. (Something about the Aspire aspiring to be a real car.)
Maybe that should be another marketing test: the Car Talk test. If those guys would have an easy time of mocking the name of your car, then it may not be such a good idea.
I think "Tornado" is a great name for a car. There was a "Hurricane", but it is pretty unknown...of course, the "Storm" was pretty lacklustre.
I can't believe a focus group didn't mock the name "Aspire"...that leads me to believe the marketing bozos didn't do their work at all. From the first time I saw that tin can I mocked the name.
It really makes you aspire to have a better car. Actually it wasn't that bad. Great gas mileage, so other cars now days might aspire to get 45 mpg on the highway.
I think Pontiac should run with the vibe idea. They could also have the "groovy" and the "cool" :shades: . And for today's teen drivers, they could have like the "like".
One that seems a bit strange to me is the new Honda Fit? Do they mean in the sense of fitness? If so it looks to me like it needs some more time in the gym. Or does it make you want to have a fit. Perhaps with all that cargo space they talk about it has room for your 3 year old to throw a fit. Or is the car the perfect fit?
Another one that cracks me up is this new Chinese company, Geely. Wouldn't you love to spin a wheelie in a Geely?. If they come out with a hulking 4WD pickup they could call it the Geely Monster. :P
Speaking of questionable names, the VW Rabbit is back... :surprise:
As for great names for cars, I think "Fury" needs to come back, preferrably on a rwd car with a decent engine. Uplevel version can be the Gran Fury (though I'm sure DC will call the best version an "SRT-something") :shades:
"Remember when the Washington Bullets changed their name to the Wizards so they would not be associated with anything violent."
Worst part was that they chose the dumbest possible name out of all the choices (with the exception of the inexplicable "Seadogs".) I always favored the "Washington Monuments."
Lumina. Horribly bland. It's got the patented formula of consonant, vowel, consonant for six letters, but misses the mark completely. Decent car with the 3800 engine.
On that note, there is something unacceptably lame about any dishwater-dull GM sedan with a "Euro" or "Eurosport" badge.
My brother had a Lumina Euro with the 3.1. Awful unrefined dull cheap car - transmission failed, rough engine with a horrible exhaust note, playskool interior, ugly styling. I always used to say 'that's one crappy BMW'. "Euro"...who do they think they were fooling...
I've owned two. The name is bad though. Lumina is actually the plural of lumen. One of the definitions is "The bore of a tube". And , "The cavity of a tubular organ". There's another word for that :P . Not a good car name. Others, The Mitsubishi Cordia and Tredia twins. I never heard of them either. The Plymouth Cricket?
My mother-in-law just got rid of her late 80's Celebrity Eurosport. It had been well maintained, but had a 4-cyl. and an automatic. Slow, crappy-driving car.
2012 Mustang Premium, 2013 Lincoln MKX Elite, 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander.
I always thought the "Gremlin" was a bit odd. When the thing broke down... well blame it on those horrible little gremlins. The AMC Pacer reminded me quite a bit of the spaceship Jupiter 2, in the old tv series "Lost In Space". Circular shaped vehicle with so much glass it had to make the driver paranoid of getting into a accident.
I owned the AMC Concord, which at the time reminded me of,well... a bunch of grapes. The AMC Spirit?...marketed towards the patriotic inclined.
I think they chose it because Crossfire sounds athletic and lively, plus the alliteration factor - Chrysler Crossfire.
I always thought it sounded cool... it's just one of those names you don't think about too much. But then, I like Rendezvous and Avalanche, so maybe I'm not the best judge. :P
I was thinking P.T. Barnum when early Cruisers were going for just shy of 30K, you know, a fool and his money, the misattributed sucker born every minute, and all that.
What bugs me about the PT Cruiser name is the name of the performance variant...the PT Cruiser GT. Woulda been much cooler if it simply were the "GT Cruiser".
One that bugs me is the Subaru Impreza "TS". I always think of my mother saying "TS" whenever any of us would whine about not getting what we wanted...kind of a bad car acronym.
Whenever I see this car name in print - the WRX - it looks to me like an abbreviation for "wrecks." Not really the connotation I want to have with a car!
Tiguan. Yes, Tiguan. A new car from Volkswagon. It is the combination of tiger and the german word for iguana.I'm not making this up. I think maybe german car companies should'nt be allowed to use anything but numbers and letters when naming their cars. I used to think that was boring but now I see the sense in it. At least for the germans. :confuse:
Worst name ever award should go to Acura's new RDX. RDX is a chemical routinely used by Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups for bomb-making. Terrorists killed over 200 in Mumbai-India recently by placing RDX bombs in commuter trains. I don't understand the obsession with three-letter naming. Why name a cool looking car after what terrorists love? :mad:
Why stop there?How about Flood,rockslide,tsunami(sure to be popular in south asia),magma flow,wild fire,stroke,heart attack,brain embolism,aggravated bowel,toe fungus and leprosy?
Comments
(Obi Wan voice ON)... give them time Luke...(Obi Wan voice OFF)
I know people who won't have certain paint colors because they don't like the name. They like the color, but the name doesn't fit to their mind. I don't get that. If you like the color, what does the name matter?? I'm going to be looking at the Versa when it comes out. What do I care what the name means. Sounds sorta like a car for poets if you ask me
Me?
Okay, "offended" is too strong of a word and not quite accurate, but I most definitely do not like the trend toward alphanumeric names on so-called "quality" cars. Mercedes and BMW can get away with it because they were first, maybe a couple of others as well, but now it seems like any expensive brand is engaging in me-tooism and using alphanumerics because they sound prestigious - I'm talking to you, Lexus/Infiniti/Acura
Porsche and Mazda seem to be partial exceptions to the cheap car - name/expensive car - alphanumeric rule.
Sort of like the Audi allroad. Speaking of Audi, isn't it "quattro" also?
I heard the Click and Clack guys on NPR use this joke just the other day. (Something about the Aspire aspiring to be a real car.)
Maybe that should be another marketing test: the Car Talk test. If those guys would have an easy time of mocking the name of your car, then it may not be such a good idea.
I can't believe a focus group didn't mock the name "Aspire"...that leads me to believe the marketing bozos didn't do their work at all. From the first time I saw that tin can I mocked the name.
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Velvet Red over Wicker Beige
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
I think Pontiac should run with the vibe idea. They could also have the "groovy" and the "cool" :shades: . And for today's teen drivers, they could have like the "like".
One that seems a bit strange to me is the new Honda Fit? Do they mean in the sense of fitness? If so it looks to me like it needs some more time in the gym. Or does it make you want to have a fit. Perhaps with all that cargo space they talk about it has room for your 3 year old to throw a fit. Or is the car the perfect fit?
Another one that cracks me up is this new Chinese company, Geely. Wouldn't you love to spin a wheelie in a Geely?. If they come out with a hulking 4WD pickup they could call it the Geely Monster. :P
As for great names for cars, I think "Fury" needs to come back, preferrably on a rwd car with a decent engine. Uplevel version can be the Gran Fury (though I'm sure DC will call the best version an "SRT-something") :shades:
Unfortunately in today's PC society I'm not sure if anyone would want to hang their name on Fury. That might be considered mean!
Remember when the Washington Bullets changed their name to the Wizards so they would not be associated with anything violent.
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Velvet Red over Wicker Beige
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
Worst part was that they chose the dumbest possible name out of all the choices (with the exception of the inexplicable "Seadogs".) I always favored the "Washington Monuments."
Decent car with the 3800 engine.
My brother had a Lumina Euro with the 3.1. Awful unrefined dull cheap car - transmission failed, rough engine with a horrible exhaust note, playskool interior, ugly styling. I always used to say 'that's one crappy BMW'. "Euro"...who do they think they were fooling...
That could describe a 70's-era Renault. Maybe that's GM's idea of "Euro"!
Rocky
Others, The Mitsubishi Cordia and Tredia twins. I never heard of them either. The Plymouth Cricket?
I owned the AMC Concord, which at the time reminded me of,well... a bunch of grapes. The AMC Spirit?...marketed towards the patriotic inclined.
Who mentioned 70s French cars? Renault Le Car. Le dumb.
Fuego?
Or an Avalanche? I suppose we could have a real slow car called a Glacier.
Yep, you're right..."Tiburon" is Spanish for shark.
Rocky
I always thought it sounded cool... it's just one of those names you don't think about too much. But then, I like Rendezvous and Avalanche, so maybe I'm not the best judge. :P
According to this link, "PT" stands for "Personal Transportation."
(Yeah, I was unimpressed by that, too...)
Hey, why not just go the alpha route and call it a GTC?
I guess it's a good thing I'm not in the auto naming department......I probably would have called it the PT GT.
Seems an odd choice to name vehicles designed (in theory) for rugged use on the Earth's surface with names implying use above or below the surface.
Personally, I think 'Bombadier' would have been awesome but probably wouldn't have been approved by their focus groups...
I wonder how a Mercury Abrams or Bradley would sell?
Worst part about the Avenger name was: what was the car avenging? The previous Daytona? Jeeze...I'd rather have had one of those than an Avenger... :P
Stratus coupe was better though, in execution if not in name...
If I remember right they were;
1. Cyclone
2. Storm (Geo)
3. Typhoon (GMC)
4. Avalanche
5. Blazer (Fire?)
Now all they need is the;
1. Quake
2. Tornado
3. Hurricane
4. Monsoon
5. Blizzard
6. Volcano
I'm sure there are others that could be thought up. :shades:
Odie
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