Back in the day a buddy of mine bought a new 80 Citation about the same time I bought an 80 Rabbit.
We still argue about whose car was worse.
I always thought that GM chose the wring division for that "import fighter" thought. Pontiac would have been better. It still had a younger aged owner than an Olds. Using Olds was probably worse than starting from scratch.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
This is one girl who doesn't think Avalon is "too girly" a name; as for the car, if it weren't so large, I wouldn't mind having one, especially since it isn't half as ugly as it used to be.
Interesting about the American cars; it was brought up about the Buick car line. All their current sedans start with "L": Lucerne (a Swiss city, and an infinitely better name than Gstaadt), LeSabre, LaSalle, and LaCrosse, and the SUVs are Rendezvous and Ranier. But I remember they were on an "S" jag not too long ago, with Skylark, Skyhawk, Somerset.
Ford was just as bad, with their Fairlane, Falcon, Futura and, uh, Granada! LOL Mercurys have the "M"s covered, and the Chevrolets, until fairly recently, liked their "C"s.
It's interesting, the history of these names. Now to get back to the strange names.
Funny car names (or dumb, depending on POV): Scirocco - name had something to do with desert wind Touareg - named after the nomadic "blue people" of Northern Africa desert Pinto - kind of a bean-shaped car with a lethal gas tank problem Escort - ahem. Phaeton - can't possibly tell you what that one means, sounds like a spaceship Cortina - heard this in an Elton John song, reminds me of an accordion for some reason Scoupe - as in ice cream? Would we drive this? Peugeot - pooh-joe or piggot? One was never really sure... Miata - and for that matter, "Mazda" LeBaron - yet another car my cousin would name his kid after Aztek - ugly vehicle, ugly name as far as I'm concerned. Seems to me that there was a car called "Sigma", but I can't recall who made it. It's an odd enough name for the list, in my view.
Weirdest of all was the lowly Yugo. That beats Yaris to me.
GTS and really, to be honest, it wasn't the name that sold the car to me. It was the car and the carmaker. Thinking some more about it, I kind of like the name Lancer.
And with my car's new styling guise, all stealthy and menacing looking, Mitsu did well by keeping the name Lancer and not going for some hokey-sounding name. This new Lancer is an awesome car and it's not that expensive for what you get.
Early test drivers from the magazines have mentioned that it drives like a European sports sedan costing twice as much. You could say the new '08 Lancer cuts through it's competition well.
Well the new one looks better. Kinda a Honda/Acura look going on up front. Brings to car into the 21st Century for looks now. Do you have a local dealership? Will they be there tomorrow? Too bad things went downhill for Mitsubishi in North America, as they do come up with some interesting product now and then. The Lancer has too many cars to compete with. Loren
either Ideal Mitsubishi in Sierra Vista, AZ(about 90 miles from us)or Wildcat Mitsubishi of Tucson(about 80 miles away)for any necessary Warranty or covered repair work. I have signed an agreement that will give us maintenance(oil changes, tune-ups, tire rotations, etc.)coverage for the first 3 years of ownership at no charge(the cost of this plan was rolled into our financing...it struck me as being a great idea for us so I went for it). So, theoretically I could get my maintenance work on our Lancer GTS at any Mitsubishi dealership, including the two I listed and will most likely use.
No, this new Lancer blows away all past Lancer model years completely. We're thrilled with our '08 Lancer GTS purchase.
Taunus -- I drove one for a brief time, before trading it back to dealer in favor of a Mustang. I guess not a bad name. It is named for a mountain range in Germany. See link Don't know how I got a hold of one in Calif. but the parts were hard to come by, so thus I decided to go with a '65 Mustang for $1,100. Yeah, just a used car back in 1970 - 71. I guess around 1975 or so they went up in value. The Taunus was like maybe $300 for a '60 or '61,,, it was so long ago.
Better name than Fusion.... ? Of course Taunus is always mistaken as a Taurus, so I have to be ever so careful to point out the date and country. Loren
Say Buick a few times. Trouble getting it out through the lips and it sounds stodgy. Might have been an ok name 50 years ago, but sounds very dated today. Although Pontiac name probably just as old as Buick, it sounds good when spoken. Say it a few times. Seems strong and authoritative and could be exciting while Buick sounds like something that you are burping. If GM gets rid of a car line, it should be Buick. Not only does it sound bad, but the Buick offerings are redundant. Except for a few old people, no one would miss Buick (burp). I see a lot of Accords and Camrys in parking lots of senior complexes when visiting old relatives. Some seniors have already migrated from Buick to something else.
Why aren't there any good, East Coast names? Alguonquin, for example?
Or, Chappaquiddick?
About 1970, Mustang offered a hot-rod "Cleveland" engine.
Maybe east coast names are too stuffy, constraining, stifling.
Chrysler had the New Yorker years ago. But, Yorker by itself sounds dorky. Kind of like porker.
There was the Hudson many years ago, but today the name sounds old.
Earlier on this board, think that someone said that General Motors sounds not right, kind of too general. Maybe they need a new-age type name/makeover.
when rewriting a Security Policy Manual as a joke at my old workplace:
The Supplies Department hired a security guard named Harpjeep to keep an eye on their stuff, and make sure there's no break ins. Harpjeep will report any suspicious activity to his supervisor Cherokee, and his big boss Grand Cherokee who works for TJ. They will take an Excursion down there to make sure everything is under control.
They will also bring their dog Rover to sniff things out. Rover comes from the Yukon, and knows how to sniff good. Rover's handler's name is Jimmy, who is from Tahoe, and is a good dog trainer because he used to be a Tracker and a Mountaineer in the Rainer region. Now they live in Sunny Suburban areas of the city and take trips to the Outback together.
The security company used to have a dog named Trooper who used to be a Forester, because he lived in the forests of Santa Fe. He was a good Explorer and a Navigator, able to find his way home from anywhere, but he also liked to Escape and ended up being a Blazer after the big fire in Malibu. Now his Spirit Sundances around the Dakota region, helping Mustangs find their pastures.
Someone please end the alphabet soup names on Cadillacs.
OK.
Somebody on this board said not enough names from east are used as car models.
What if next Caddy model, perhaps the V16 if it is produced, be called the Cadillac Pittsburg? After all, Pittsburg is renowned as the big and strong steel city and home of 5-time Super Bowl champs Steelers. How about that for a name for a big, strong V16 car. People can relate to the strength of Pittsburg rather than an acronym like V16. And, GM could claim patriotism by naming their new model after a prominent US city rather than some goofy acronym.
I think a Cadillac Pittsburg be more midwestern or even western? (Pittsburg, Kansas and Pittsburg, California come to mind) However, a Cadillac Pittsburgh would indeed be eastern.
The Pittsburgh you say??? I don't know, a car would soon assume a shorter nickname, that of The Pits.
They did have a car called the Clinton, but alas, it would only make left turns.
The Rush car seemed like a great name for speedy car, but it too developed a problem on blowing its horn too often.
The latest disaster was the Terminator four wheel drive vehicle. It started out OK, but lost direction. No one can figure out which way it will steer next.
The newish practice of giving cars letter and number designations, rather than a real name irritates me. It's hard for me to keep all the numbers straight. 3, 6, 228i, C320, MKZ, IS. Blech.
I'll take that over a Hummer any day. I feel dirty just saying it. Think I'll go take a shower now.
I completely agree. There are two reasons why this trend toward letters is occuring.
1) The Europeans do it, and so that makes it ok. 2) If we were ever really to export our cars to other countries (besides South America, I guess), there is no translation problem with the names of our cars, if they are only letters. They become universal names.
The reality is, though, we will never export our cars to Europe en mass, and other than NOVA (No go in Spanish), there are rarely translations issues. (LaCrosse would be a problem in France). Anyway. I say Phooey to numbers. It's too hard to remember which 3 letter model Cadillac I drive, and I wish Lincoln would stop this trend.
Yeah Lincoln is bad, because there is no rhyme or reason to their names, and I think they changewd them twice on the SUV, and the Fusion car in the past couple of years.
Actually, there's a fairly logical reason why some manufacturers do this .. to promote the brand name of the manufacturer rather than the promotion of individual models.
Case in point: when Acura first came on the scene, their two cars were named the Integra and the Legend.
Fast forward a number of years ... more people recognized the name "Legend" than the name "Acura".
Like nvbanker stated above, most of the European manufacturers were already using alpha-numerics for models (325i, S500, V50, etc.) .. there was (and still is) more recognition for the names Mercedes-Benz and BMW than there were for individual models. Or, at the very least, there was recognition not for individual models within the brand, but for various levels of models (3-series, S class, etc.).
So, Acura changed the Legend to the RL; the Vigor became the TL, and the Integra became the .... well, Integra.
Not sure what the marketing folks at Acura were thinking on that one.
Fast forward some more years ... Infiniti and Lexus were introduced with alpha-numeric model names (LS400, Q45, etc.) and everyone began to recognize the brand rather than the specific models.
I think what you're seeing with Cadillac and Lincoln is roughly the same thing. By switching over models to (meaningless) alpha-numeric names (STS instead of Seville; MKZ instead of Zephyr), the marketing folks are trying to promote the brand rather than the individual models.
Names, such as Eldorado, just sound so rich - rich as a pot of gold! Sad to see the name leave us these days. I suppose in some cases, something simple like the 240Z just worked out so well, it made sense. And the RX-7 sounded kinda futuristic I guess back when. But really now, the Corvette could have been the C car or the CS Car Sports or something, if released as new in this day and age. I think Vette owners are glad they did not end up with a car name like C or CS. The CTS should be the Eldorado.... OK, maybe not Wish they had a coupe and brought the name back. Oh heck, any name back. Please, no more alphabet soup! Maybe the Chevelle name returns? Pretty sure Vega is retired. And it was a cool name. Loren
"But really now, the Corvette could have been the C car or the CS Car Sports or something, if released as new in this day and age."
I'm sure the Mustang would be called something like the "MST" if it were just coming out now.
It's all about balance throughout the auto industry IMO. Right now, there are too many alphanumeric designations used by too many manufacturers. Just like in the '60s and '70s, car companies went overboard on the names.
I was glad when Ford ditched the "FiveHundred" designation recently. Would make me happier still if it switched "Fusion" for "Falcon"...
I wondered why when the lost the trademark suit on Futura why Ford didn't pick up on Falcon. Talk about a traditional Ford name!
I kind of agree that Pinto and Vega were pretty good names attached to awful cars. At least Edsel was a lousy name on a lousy car.
Now this would be one for the perennial loser. The top of the line Edsel was called the Citation. If you did it exactly wight (well, exactly wrong...) you could have driven your Edsel Citation for 22 years and then buy a Chevy Citation! Oy!
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Futura is the name of the cheap Pep Boys tires. You can always tell the guy who's frontin' when he has an older Mercedes or BMW and it is shod with Futura tires.
I remember that about the tires. It amazes me that Pep Boys was able to force Ford to drop the name. It isn't like someone was going to confuse the two.
Of course I wonder about that crazy idea of having all the cars start with F. That certainly didn't last very long.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Now this would be one for the perennial loser. The top of the line Edsel was called the Citation. If you did it exactly wight (well, exactly wrong...) you could have driven your Edsel Citation for 22 years and then buy a Chevy Citation! Oy!
Hey, it could be worse. Edsel used the name "Pacer" for one of its cheaper models! They also used "Ranger" for the cheapest model, a name that at least wasn't run through the muck later in life like "Citation" and "Pacer"! There was yet another model, the Corsair. Sounds kinda like "Corvair", I guess.
As for "Pinto", even as a kid I just never liked that name. Made me think too much of the bean. And it just had kind of a nasty, cheap sound to it. I liked "Falcon", though.
I'm working from memory here but I think the range went from a base Ranger to Pacer to Corsair to Citation. The first two were reskinned Fords to a large extent while the others were Mercurys. At least that's where they got built.
My the second model year I think they stripped it down to two lines. And the third and last year were hardly any at all.... Oddly, the decision to quit was made with the 59s still selling but they had orders for the 60 MY and retooled and built enough to cover. There were only ever 76 1960 Edsel convertibles made.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
I assume they are still selling the Cooper line of tires. Avon is their top of the line tire. Hummm, or is that all cosmetic That is what a BMW should be wearing instead of cheapo Futuras.
Down under, in Australia, they still use the name Falcon. Loren
The Aussie Falcons are pretty impressive, esp. that twin-turbo sedan. Falcon XR6 I think it is. :shades:
What's esp. cool to me about Ford Australia's use of "Falcon" is that it's not just one car, but rather a long-running entire line of vehicles, including those crazy "Utes" (modern verion of the El Camino/Ranchero concept, for those who haven't seen pics).
Ford North America could learn a thing or two about brand equity from that...
Comments
Sounds girly to me. For some reson reminds me of "feminine tissues" or some kind of a face cream.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
We still argue about whose car was worse.
I always thought that GM chose the wring division for that "import fighter" thought. Pontiac would have been better. It still had a younger aged owner than an Olds. Using Olds was probably worse than starting from scratch.
Interesting about the American cars; it was brought up about the Buick car line. All their current sedans start with "L": Lucerne (a Swiss city, and an infinitely better name than Gstaadt), LeSabre, LaSalle, and LaCrosse, and the SUVs are Rendezvous and Ranier. But I remember they were on an "S" jag not too long ago, with Skylark, Skyhawk, Somerset.
Ford was just as bad, with their Fairlane, Falcon, Futura and, uh, Granada! LOL
Mercurys have the "M"s covered, and the Chevrolets, until fairly recently, liked their "C"s.
It's interesting, the history of these names. Now to get back to the strange names.
Funny car names (or dumb, depending on POV):
Scirocco - name had something to do with desert wind
Touareg - named after the nomadic "blue people" of Northern Africa desert
Pinto - kind of a bean-shaped car with a lethal gas tank problem
Escort - ahem.
Phaeton - can't possibly tell you what that one means, sounds like a spaceship
Cortina - heard this in an Elton John song, reminds me of an accordion for some reason
Scoupe - as in ice cream? Would we drive this?
Peugeot - pooh-joe or piggot? One was never really sure...
Miata - and for that matter, "Mazda"
LeBaron - yet another car my cousin would name his kid after
Aztek - ugly vehicle, ugly name as far as I'm concerned.
Seems to me that there was a car called "Sigma", but I can't recall who made it. It's an odd enough name for the list, in my view.
Weirdest of all was the lowly Yugo. That beats Yaris to me.
Concertina? That would be the accordion.. Which EJ song?
Scoupe - as in ice cream? Would we drive this?
I think this was supposed to reflect S-Coupe..
Seems to me that there was a car called "Sigma", but I can't recall who made it
Mitsubishi, I think..
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Yeah, I caught the Cortina/Concertina thing. I think I'd rather have the Concertina.
For dumb make names I always thought Citroen took the prize. Why don't you call it a lemon in English and be done with it?
And with my car's new styling guise, all stealthy and menacing looking, Mitsu did well by keeping the name Lancer and not going for some hokey-sounding name. This new Lancer is an awesome car and it's not that expensive for what you get.
Early test drivers from the magazines have mentioned that it drives like a European sports sedan costing twice as much. You could say the new '08 Lancer cuts through it's competition well.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Loren
No, this new Lancer blows away all past Lancer model years completely. We're thrilled with our '08 Lancer GTS purchase.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Actually I had Lumina rentals a couple of times, They were a perfectly acceptable rental - a Taurus without the style.
HeHe - you are so right....however, either of them are better than the Grand Prix backbreaker....my least favorite rental of all time.
Actually, the song "Made in England", from the excellent album of the same name, mentions a blue Cortina.
BTW, How do you quote people with this forum??
Good one!
Loren
The Taunus was like maybe $300 for a '60 or '61,,, it was so long ago.
Better name than Fusion.... ? Of course Taunus is always mistaken as a Taurus, so I have to be ever so careful to point out the date and country.
Loren
Not a bad-looking compact, but terrible name. Was that the only "way out West" name that wasn't taken?
They could name a car Vegas. Or maybe not. Too close to Vega, most would think the name and the car would not work.
Loren
Santa Fe
Tucson
Durango
Aspen
Tacoma
Tundra
Sequoia
Tahoe
Silverado
Sierra
Avalanche
Montana
Mountaineer
Heck, even the lamented Pontiac Phoenix is named after a town out west.
Why aren't there any good, East Coast names? Alguonquin, for example?
Or, Chappaquiddick?
Portland? (no, wait, there's a town on both the east and west coast with that name)
Do people resonate with the imagery of the wide open spaces when they go to buy their truck/van/SUV?
Or, Chappaquiddick?
About 1970, Mustang offered a hot-rod "Cleveland" engine.
Maybe east coast names are too stuffy, constraining, stifling.
Chrysler had the New Yorker years ago. But, Yorker by itself sounds dorky. Kind of like porker.
There was the Hudson many years ago, but today the name sounds old.
Earlier on this board, think that someone said that General Motors sounds not right, kind of too general. Maybe they need a new-age type name/makeover.
Someone please end the alphabet soup names on Cadillacs.
Loren
The Supplies Department hired a security guard named Harpjeep to keep an eye on their stuff, and make sure there's no break ins. Harpjeep will report any suspicious activity to his supervisor Cherokee, and his big boss Grand Cherokee who works for TJ. They will take an Excursion down there to make sure everything is under control.
They will also bring their dog Rover to sniff things out. Rover comes from the Yukon, and knows how to sniff good. Rover's handler's name is Jimmy, who is from Tahoe, and is a good dog trainer because he used to be a Tracker and a Mountaineer in the Rainer region. Now they live in Sunny Suburban areas of the city and take trips to the Outback together.
The security company used to have a dog named Trooper who used to be a Forester, because he lived in the forests of Santa Fe. He was a good Explorer and a Navigator, able to find his way home from anywhere, but he also liked to Escape and ended up being a Blazer after the big fire in Malibu. Now his Spirit Sundances around the Dakota region, helping Mustangs find their pastures.
:shades:
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Sorry, but I just couldn't resist--would this model have a flotation device as standard equipment?
Some East Coast Names of the past:
Plymouth Cambridge
Chrysler New Yorker
Chrysler Newport
Chrysler Fifth Avenue
Kaiser Manhattan
OK.
Somebody on this board said not enough names from east are used as car models.
What if next Caddy model, perhaps the V16 if it is produced, be called the Cadillac Pittsburg? After all, Pittsburg is renowned as the big and strong steel city and home of 5-time Super Bowl champs Steelers. How about that for a name for a big, strong V16 car. People can relate to the strength of Pittsburg rather than an acronym like V16.
And, GM could claim patriotism by naming their new model after a prominent US city rather than some goofy acronym.
I think that was the Sapporo, which was a little hardtop coupe that was also sold as the Dodge Challenger, from 1979-83.
I think the Sigma was a fairly upscale car, sold only under the Mistubishi nameplate, and ultimately evolved into the Diamante.
I don't know, a car would soon assume a shorter nickname, that of The Pits.
They did have a car called the Clinton, but alas, it would only make left turns.
The Rush car seemed like a great name for speedy car, but it too developed a problem on blowing its horn too often.
The latest disaster was the Terminator four wheel drive vehicle. It started out OK, but lost direction. No one can figure out which way it will steer next.
Ahhhh, you understand, my brother!! The back surgery went pretty well, I'm ok now.
At least I only had to look at it. I actually one day drove a Plymouth Arrow. Ugh.
At least the Chevy Suburban is named properly, most are probably used in the suburbs.
I'll take that over a Hummer any day. I feel dirty just saying it. Think I'll go take a shower now.
1) The Europeans do it, and so that makes it ok.
2) If we were ever really to export our cars to other countries (besides South America, I guess), there is no translation problem with the names of our cars, if they are only letters. They become universal names.
The reality is, though, we will never export our cars to Europe en mass, and other than NOVA (No go in Spanish), there are rarely translations issues. (LaCrosse would be a problem in France). Anyway. I say Phooey to numbers. It's too hard to remember which 3 letter model Cadillac I drive, and I wish Lincoln would stop this trend.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Case in point: when Acura first came on the scene, their two cars were named the Integra and the Legend.
Fast forward a number of years ... more people recognized the name "Legend" than the name "Acura".
Like nvbanker stated above, most of the European manufacturers were already using alpha-numerics for models (325i, S500, V50, etc.) .. there was (and still is) more recognition for the names Mercedes-Benz and BMW than there were for individual models. Or, at the very least, there was recognition not for individual models within the brand, but for various levels of models (3-series, S class, etc.).
So, Acura changed the Legend to the RL; the Vigor became the TL, and the Integra became the .... well, Integra.
Not sure what the marketing folks at Acura were thinking on that one.
Fast forward some more years ... Infiniti and Lexus were introduced with alpha-numeric model names (LS400, Q45, etc.) and everyone began to recognize the brand rather than the specific models.
I think what you're seeing with Cadillac and Lincoln is roughly the same thing. By switching over models to (meaningless) alpha-numeric names (STS instead of Seville; MKZ instead of Zephyr), the marketing folks are trying to promote the brand rather than the individual models.
Will it work? Only time will tell.
Santa Fe
Tucson
Durango
Aspen
Tacoma
Tundra
Sequoia
Tahoe
Silverado
Sierra
Avalanche
Montana
Mountaineer"
Don't forget;
Ranger
Wrangler
Cherokee
Grand Cherokee
Cherokee Chief
Wagoneer
Odie
Odie's Carspace
Sad to see the name leave us these days. I suppose in some cases, something simple like the 240Z just worked out so well, it made sense.
And the RX-7 sounded kinda futuristic I guess back when. But really now, the Corvette could have been the C car or the CS Car Sports or something, if released as new in this day and age. I think Vette owners are glad they did not end up with a car name like C or CS. The CTS should be the Eldorado.... OK, maybe not
Loren
I'm sure the Mustang would be called something like the "MST" if it were just coming out now.
It's all about balance throughout the auto industry IMO. Right now, there are too many alphanumeric designations used by too many manufacturers. Just like in the '60s and '70s, car companies went overboard on the names.
I was glad when Ford ditched the "FiveHundred" designation recently. Would make me happier still if it switched "Fusion" for "Falcon"...
I never got the name Focus. Thats what I tell my kids when they are no paying attention to their homework.
I guess the Fusion would be the Maverick in today's lineup.
I kind of agree that Pinto and Vega were pretty good names attached to awful cars. At least Edsel was a lousy name on a lousy car.
Now this would be one for the perennial loser. The top of the line Edsel was called the Citation. If you did it exactly wight (well, exactly wrong...) you could have driven your Edsel Citation for 22 years and then buy a Chevy Citation! Oy!
Of course I wonder about that crazy idea of having all the cars start with F. That certainly didn't last very long.
Hey, it could be worse. Edsel used the name "Pacer" for one of its cheaper models!
As for "Pinto", even as a kid I just never liked that name. Made me think too much of the bean. And it just had kind of a nasty, cheap sound to it. I liked "Falcon", though.
Maybe Pinto's and their gas related problems made you think of the bean.
I'm working from memory here but I think the range went from a base Ranger to Pacer to Corsair to Citation. The first two were reskinned Fords to a large extent while the others were Mercurys. At least that's where they got built.
My the second model year I think they stripped it down to two lines. And the third and last year were hardly any at all.... Oddly, the decision to quit was made with the 59s still selling but they had orders for the 60 MY and retooled and built enough to cover. There were only ever 76 1960 Edsel convertibles made.
Avon is their top of the line tire. Hummm, or is that all cosmetic
That is what a BMW should be wearing instead of cheapo Futuras.
Down under, in Australia, they still use the name Falcon.
Loren
What's esp. cool to me about Ford Australia's use of "Falcon" is that it's not just one car, but rather a long-running entire line of vehicles, including those crazy "Utes" (modern verion of the El Camino/Ranchero concept, for those who haven't seen pics).
Ford North America could learn a thing or two about brand equity from that...