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Dumb car names
Now there have been loads of really awful car names out tere but I won't take all the fun. I'll just start with the one that started me here. I stopped by the Hyundai dealership, mostly to peek at an Entourage (OK name) and they have in the showroom an Azera.
I don't know. This sounds like a Midlle Eastern terrorist group to me rather than a car. Too bad - I thought it was a nice car.
I don't know. This sounds like a Midlle Eastern terrorist group to me rather than a car. Too bad - I thought it was a nice car.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
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"Probe" always has been a strange one in my book; especially considering it's target demographic.
btw - welcome back.
Ah, the Probe! I can still remember Jay Leno (maybe as long ago as when he was subbing for Carson) talking about car names at the time and the headline "Celebrity Rear-ended by a Probe."..... Ouch!
Better than those stupid alphanumeric names -- not the old easily remembered ones like BMW's -- but the newer ones from Cadillac and Lincoln.
Probe wasn't such a good one, either. Makes me think of a trip to the doctor's office, which can't be a good thing.
Ciera, Achieva, Bravada, Alero...was it just me, or were names like Delta 88, Cutlass and Vista Cruiser (
Silly names can be lethal. I would bet that Ford lost thousands in sales just because people didn't want to drive a car called a Probe. I know for me a ridiculous name is like a hideous color. Doesn't matter how good the rest of the car is. You'll see tat every day and it will raise your blood pressure.
Aspire and Achieva were classic dumb names, though I think what killed Olds was this grand plan to be the import fighter, a period in which they put out some of the best looking things to come out of GM in ages, but without the mechanicals underneath. At the same time they offered nothing for their traditional base who either went to Buick or said "if I'm going to drive a car that looks like that I may as well buy a Toyota." And they did. In droves.
Saturn Relay struck me as odd. Are they implying that you'll need another one stationed up the road for when this one conks out?
There are just tons of nothing names out there. Ones that conjure up nothing but aren't classically dumb - Honda Accord, Civic (that comes close to dumb), Toyota Camry.
At least Subaru has named a couple of things that sound either desirable or evoke the image they are trying to market - Legacy, Outback, Forester. Of course then they blow it with a silly name like Impreza. Don't know who you are trying to imprezz.
I'll never figure out Sonata. It is not an awful name but it doesn't say anything either. It has become a serious car, however.At least you know why Hyundai dropped the Excel name - because the car didn't.
Nevermind what IS a Touareg; most of the salesmen when this thing came out had no idea how to even SAY it..... :confuse:
Better than the "S coupe" it replaced...
As far as Merkur, I thought Scorpio was a good name, but XR4ti was much worse than Sierra...jeeze Ford can't you ever leave the good stuff alone?
Has anyone here (car fans, I assume) ever either bought or not purchased a car because of it's name? Perhaps folks who aren't interested in all attributes perceive a car by how they are named, marketed and styled.
I'll take a poorly named but well-built car that fits my needs, and just laugh about it. This is a good place for it!
Aspire, really. Is that what you are thinking when you are behind one going up a hill (is it breathing hard)? Supra? Isn't that a little arrogant? Should have had a big "S" on the hood. How about Nova... (dumb for a car in more than one language). Motorcycles aren't immune... I have a Kawi "KLR".
While I wouldn't expect most people to do cartwheels over perfectly acceptable names, you might know that you have a problem if you feel a bit embarrassed about admitting it or if people respond with snickers or a hint of contempt, as opposed to interest or curiosity. Saying that you have a Probe just sounds a bit weird, while a name like Achieva could be the basis for a lot of bad jokes after a few drinks...
I think the Probe is a good example of Ia4mead's question about whether the name really matters...the Probe was a quite competent, good value-for-money sport coupe; I knew plenty of people who owned them. (Funny that back then, the Ford was the racy one while its Mazda counterpart the MX-6 was the demure one...how times and brands change)
2021 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe Granite Crystal over Saddle
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
Now, color is another subject. It falls right in there with design. You could have the best performing vehicle, the absolute perfect combination of fun to drive and practicality, quiet as a church and more powerful than a locomotive and gets 200 mpg, but if it looks like a mustard Aztek forget it.
Funny thing, a woman at work got a great deal on a Focus (an in between name) because it's that awful mustard color. She tried every trick to keep lowering the price and they finally brought out this perfectly fine car painted an awful color at several hundred dollars less than the same car in a decent color. She had the theory that she didn't have to look at much of the color when she was driving it so what the heck.
Same line of thought. I was in the Honda dealership the other day and actually sat in an Element (dumb name). From the inside it's fine. This one was actually silver with non cladding and didn't look half as awful as a normal Element.
And it's not like having a Focus in black makes it look menacing or serious or anything...
Chevy Nova: Nova in Spanish and French means "won't go".
Buick LaCrosse: LaCrosse in French speaking Quebec has a negative sexual connotation.
My personal pet peeve stupid names:
Ford: FreeStar and FreeStyle. The names themselves they are fine, but to offer both models at the same time is very confusing. One is a Minivan while the other is a crossover SUV. They are completely different vehicles. I own a Freestyle and when I tell most people this they think I own a minivan.
Also, why do manufacturers update a vehicle by making a few minor changes and then change the name thinking we are all so stupid to think it is a completely new vehicle? Once again I have to bring up the Freestar. It used to be called a Windstar. Yes, a few changes were made but this is the same basic vehicle.
Lexus also drives me nuts with their stupid numbering schemes. Who the heck knows what a Lexus GS470C3POR2D2 is?
Then there's the Volkswagen Golf. That thing could barely even hold a couple of golf bags, plus it makes it sound like u drivea golf cart. Not cool, and now there reoplacing it with the rabbit, even better.
And last, Yaris. What the heck does it mean? It just sounds stupid...
I was one of those people that bought a MERKUR back in 1985, the XR4ti model. Thought it was going to be a great car, and when it ran, it really was a kick to drive....but seems like it wanted to visit the shop almost every month. Was happy when it was traded and probably ended up in the junkyard.
Right in Buick's target age bracket :P
True true. The Z has always been the Fairlady in Japan. The 240sx coupe was the Silvia.
And then there's Honda, whose cars include the Life (with the variants Life Dunk and Life Dunk Diva) and the That's.
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Every time one of these discussions comes up I have to point out, as a Spanish speaker, that Nova means the same thing in Spanish - a rapidly expanding star. It's pronounced NO-va, while "it doesn't work" is no-VA. So making a joke out of it is a stretch, and works only as well as those jokes that come on popsicle sticks.
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And from the sound of what we consider to be dumb names in this thread, I'm not surprised everyone's starting to use alphanumeric names.
I agree on tat Freestyle and Freestar. The only reason, despite Ford's protests to the contrary, that they renamed the Windstar the Freestar is that the completely new minivan isn't ready but the Windstar had such a bad reputation it was killing them.
I forget what Lucerne is in French but I know they call it something else in Canada.
Nissan has the kind of dumb name moves in their pocket which was dropping te Datsun name. At the time Datsun had the lead in Japanese cars in the US. They were a known quantity. Their cars didn't suddenly go bad but they had to start their reputation all over again. You see the same kind of move now in gasoline with "We're now BP but still sell great Amoco gasoline." Amoco was a trusted name. BP means nothing.
To me, that's a problem in itself. It was cool when a few European cars did that, but then the Asian companies copied it, and now even the domestics are doing it. :mad:
Alphanumeric goobledegook is easier to come up with than an evocative name, but a good name makes it easier to implant an image in the public's eye. I doubt the Ford Mustang would be here today if, when it was redesigned in 1979, it was rechristened the MST.
Well, just because you are not smart enough to figure it out doesn't mean it's a stupid system.
Actually, Lexus's numbering scheme is really easy to figure out. The first letter is to distinguish each model, the second letter using the following system:
'S' stands for sedan. For example, the IS, GS, and LS.
'X' stands for crossover/SUV. For example, GX, RX, LX.
'C' stands for coupe such as the SC.
The 3 numbers represent the engine displacement. For example, IS350 means it's an IS sedan with a 3.5 liter engine and IS250 stands for an IS sedan with 2.5 liter engine.
'Nuff said. :shades:
That's a very common urban legend (I was even taught this as beingfact in a marketing class), but it's not correct. This link from Snopes explains it in detail. But basically:
-"Nova" does not have the same meaning as does "no va" ("not going")
-You would not use this form of the verb "to go" to describe a functioning or non-functioning vehicle.
-The Nova sold well in Latin America.
In Spain you would, but not in Mexican Spanish (and I don't know about other countries' Spanish). But even in Spain, the sounds aren't the same (NO-va vs no-VA) and Nova is the exact same word as in English anyway.
Golf in German is the equivalent of "Gulf" in English. As in Gulf of Mexico. I know, still doesn't make a lot of sense.
My all time dumb name was the Charade by Daihatsu. What marketing genius thought that name up? No wonder they failed in the US market. "I drive a Charade".
With all of GMs problems, their names are often stupid as well. Let's appeal to the midwest blue collar worker and the non-academic teen - "I drive a Firenza". Like putting Fire in the name is supposed to evoke a muscle car feel?! "I drive a Fiero". Remember the flame decals on the cars?!
GM has so many more names partly because they're big and have (tons of models x rebranding per division), and partly because they have so many vehicles that end up with lousy reputations that they need to trash the previous name because of the negative connotation. Vega. Cavalier. Now we have Cobalt (which I actually think is pretty cool).
Isuzu had a pretty dumb name - the I-Mark. What is that?
To me, that's a problem in itself. It was cool when a few European cars did that, but then the Asian companies copied it, and now even the domestics are doing it.
Well, it works for Boeing and Airbus. The A320. The 747. Can you imagine if GM marketing renamed Boeing's aircraft to names?:
Old - New
727 - Fieroliner
737 - Aerocruiser
747 - Oceanspanner
757 - Dependair
767 - Activator
777 - Grand Luxohauler
I was about to say how much I despise the name "Toyota Kluger", but I didn't think many on the boards would have heard of it. Toyota had to roll over down here all because what?... Hyundai wanted to release a crappy mid-size SUV based on an old Mitsubishi Pajero platform? The Terracan is ugly as sin (check out the shape of the plastic moulding up on the front fender... tell me that doesn't bug you) and a horrible, plasticky interior. Hyundai wants to raise its reputation... how about ditching the old crap?
Oh, and I saw a Trajet at the motor show. Hopefully it's last year. The interior's the same, all cheap plastic and no frills. But they tried to dress up the exterior. IIRC, they have a new grille and... clear taillights. Oh, what a nice look for a minivan
I've wondered though... how come there aren't more starsign cars? We've had Taurus, Aries...
The Golf, Passat, Scirocco and Bora (badged as a Jetta in North America) were all named for types of winds around the Mediterranean. (In this context, the Golf is referring to the Gulf wind.) VW used to refer to US-market Golfs and Passats as Rabbits and Dashers, but those cars developed such awful reputations that they swapped those nameplates for the European names.
Why they never offered cars badged as Boras here, I don't know. (Perhaps they thought it was too similar to "boring".) In an odd role reversal, they are now selling these sedans in Europe under the North American Jetta name, instead of moving US consumers to the European names as they have before. This might reflect the market, as the Jettas tend to outsell the Golf here, while Europeans usually turn their noses up at the sedans in favor of the Golfs.
I doubt many people would want to drive a Chevrolet Cancer.
:P
Something that flopped :P
Well, Vega is a star, too. And we know how well that one worked.
Is it pronounced Hiundie or Hundie?
Golf is pretty dumb, tough given the wind explanation makes a little more sense anyway. What makes no sense is that they are renaming it the Rabbit in the US and CAnada. Rabbits sucked. "Let's bring back those great memories people have of our really screwing up."
Maybe Ford will bring back the Edsel.
Aspire = Aspiring to be a car
Achieva = Underachieva
I have to wonder about the competency of the execs who approved such idiocy.
Some trim level acronyms are stupid too.
ZTS = Zits
TRD = Turd
Worse:Charade,Jimmy,Golf,Gremlin,Lucerne,Escalade,Odyssey,Civic,Accord,Sonata,Si- louette,
Worst:Probe,Touareg,Justy,Tribeca,Torrent,Vibe,Cimmaron,Citation
And I'm sure there will always be more to come.
Actually I think a lot of minivans have decent names. Odyssey works for me because it ekoves a journey. One would hope not just to teh grocerty store of soccer practice. Vebture, while a lousy van, isn't a bad name.
Not all make the grade by any means. Dums minivan names - Windstar - what thw heck is that? - Freestar - frees you from being in a Windstar. Silouette - huh? MPV. Quest.
I do admire the creativity (or at least the justification of on-the-clock time wasting by committee) that must be summoned in creating a new car name. It's more interesting than just slapping on a moniker based on body configuration and engine size, though at least those are fairly neutral (could anyone be offended by 'ES300'?).
In Latin and English, we have:
Aries/Ram: both used by Dodge
Taurus/Bull: the first is quite familiar; isn't the bull on the Lamborghini emblem?
Gemini/Twins: Didn't an Isuzu (possibly made by Opel) use the "Gemini" name in the 70s? Twins - not so hot.
Cancer/Crab: These are right up there with "Charade."
Leo/Lion: A car named after a no-longer-popular male name? Would anyone name a car a Fred or a George? Lion: surely in the annals of car history, there must have been one, either a make or model. In any case, Peugeot's emblem uses a lion.
Virgo/Virgin: No one's going near these with a 10-foot pole!
Libra/Scales: The English word is particularly bad, like fish scales?
Scorpius/Scorpion: We did have Scorpio and Scorpion -- wasn't the latter a Lancia?
Sagittarius/Archer: Latin, forget it. Archer I guess is passable.
Capricorn/Goat: Latin, dumb, but the Goat is the GTO's nickname!
Aquarius/Water Carrier: I suppose a new-age car could be called the Aquarius, but Water Carrier? :P
Pisces/Fishes: maybe for a boat, but not a car!
And don't forget, technically there is a 13th constellation that the moon and planets pass through: Ophiuchus/Serpent Holder. Just think, a (Latin) name more unpronounceable and unspellable than Touareg. Serpent might work; we've had Cobras of course. But Serpent Holder?
On the other hand, I can't say Probe without thinking about the word. That might be the only counterexample I can think of...