# Car companies with "themes" to their model names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336 "2025-10-27T18:33:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/21 "2025-10-27T21:46:36Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > **Ford:** “Horses” – Mustang, Bronco, Pinto And the “Maverick,” one of which pieces of shit I once owned. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/22 "2025-10-27T21:48:02Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > IIRC because people got the idea that “bigger number = bigger, better, more powerful car”. And that did correlate with engine displacement in the old days, i.e. the the 325 was bigger than the 318 and positioned higher in BMW’s lineup. But with the advent of smaller displacement turbocharged engines that no longer holds true. So they made all those exceptions so that the number correlates with the cars position in the model line but not necessarly the engine displacement. It’s been a quarter century, at least. I had a 1999 323is with a 2.5 litre engine. That generation of the 3-series started with the 318 and 325. After a while they increased the size of the larger engine and it became the 328. Then they changed the base engine to the 2.5 litre inline-6. My guess was the they didn’t want to piss off the buyers of the earlier 325, who had ponied up the bucks for the bigger engine, so they called the new version a 323. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/23 "2025-10-27T22:12:27Z")
Is a maverick a horse? I thought it was an **[unbranded cow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maverick_(animal))**. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/24 "2025-10-27T22:20:30Z")
MG used letters. After Z they started over again. The MGC was the last model sold in the States, but I think there was an F, or higher, in England. They occasionally broke with tradition and used names, always starting with M, like Midget. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/25 "2025-10-27T22:22:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Then here recently they just started spraying Ms all over the product line for the hell of it. That’s when the **M** BAs took over at BMW… (50% joke, 50% not) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/26 "2025-10-27T22:24:30Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Is a maverick a horse? I thought it was an **[unbranded cow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maverick_(animal))**. “Unbranded range animal,” which is usually a cow, yes. The logo on the 1970s Maverick had the stylized head of a longhorn. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Maverick_%2814836390669%29.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Maverick_%2814836390669%29.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/27 "2025-10-28T04:28:27Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Studebaker also used military / political ranks for a while. They had cars called the Commander, President, and even Dictator. Then they went for birds: Hawk & Lark. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/28 "2025-10-28T04:54:40Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > **Toyota:** “Crowns” – Crown, Corona, Corolla, and arguably Camry all mean “crown” (“Camry” is pronounced like the Japanese word for crown) Dodge also had a Royalty/Nobility theme in the Forties & Fifties: Coronet and Royal in the US; Kingsway, Mayfair, and Viscount in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/29 "2025-10-28T05:29:42Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Volkswagen names are all over the place, Then there’s their early days, when they used Types rather than names. For example: Type 1 (“Beetle”) Type 2 (“Transporter”, “Kombi”) Type 3 (“Fastback”, “Notchback”, “Squareback”) Type 4 (same nicknames as the Type 3) Type 181 (“Thing”) Type designations were still used, at least internally, as late as the Eighties: the Golf Mk 1 was Type 17. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/30 "2025-10-28T12:25:10Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Type designations were still used, at least internally, as late as the Eighties [Porsche](https://pca-chicago.org/porsche-model-and-type-codes/) still uses 3 digit codes that some small percentage of the general public is aware of. I believe all car manufactures have some internal designations for their platforms. [GM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_General_Motors_platforms) has had a few naming schemes, including Greek letters. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/31 "2025-10-28T12:40:12Z")
Jeep models have a very vaguely Western theme: - Wrangler (basically a ‘cowboy’ for horses) - Compass (hey, Lewis and Clark used compasses) - Gladiator (the only one that really doesn’t fit) - Cherokee / Grand Cherokee (Ok, the Cherokee were mostly in the SouthEAST, but who’s keeping track? ‘Cowboys and Indians’-- what’s more Western than that, right?) - Wagoneer / Grand Wagoneer ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/32 "2025-10-28T12:40:40Z")
Hyundai has the Kona, Santa Fe, Tucson, and Santa Cruz. So…warm U.S. cities? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/33 "2025-10-28T14:36:25Z")
It looks like all current Skoda SUV/Crossover names start with an ‘E’ or ‘K’ and end with a ‘Q’. - Enyaq - Elroq - Kamiq - Karoq - Kodiaq - Kylaq - Kushaq All their other models end in ‘A’ except for the Superb. - Octavia - Slavia - Scala - Fabia ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/34 "2025-10-28T17:00:32Z")
Surprised that I’m the first to post this (maybe because the brand doesn’t exist any more…) Pontiac had a lot of “race” names - LeMans - Grand Prix - Grand Am - Trans Am - Bonneville (OK, not an actual race, but the Bonneville Salt Flats have had a lot of speed records set there) Hmm. Now that I’m actually looking, there ain’t that many “racing” names. No wonder no one else mentioned it. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/35 "2025-10-28T17:42:16Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Pontiac had a lot of “race” names > > - LeMans > - Grand Prix > - Grand Am > - Trans Am > - Bonneville (OK, not an actual race, but the Bonneville Salt Flats have had a lot of speed records set there) Plus, GTO (an acronym for a particular race car certification). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/36 "2025-10-28T20:01:49Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Dodge also had a Royalty/Nobility theme in the Forties & Fifties: Coronet and Royal in the US; Kingsway, Mayfair, and Viscount in Canada. Didn’t Ford in England use titles for a while? I know of the Ford Consul and Ford Prefect; were there others? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/37 "2025-10-28T20:11:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I know of the Ford Consul and Ford Prefect… So decades after first reading the _Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_, I finally understand the origin of [Ford Prefect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Prefect_(character))’s name. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/38 "2025-10-28T20:16:34Z")
You see, nicely inconspicuous! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/39 "2025-10-28T20:18:56Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Didn’t Ford in England use titles for a while? I know of the Ford Consul and Ford Prefect; were there others? Checking Wikipedia, it looks like there was a [Squire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Squire) as well. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336/40 "2025-10-28T20:45:14Z")
Ford sold the Country Squire deluxe station wagon in the USA through much of the 1960s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-companies-with-themes-to-their-model-names/1024336.md?page=3)