A couple of us were talking about cool car names that weren’t used yet. It turns out they had been used, just that nobody remembers them. So a cool name doesn’t guarantee success (especially if the name doesn’t fit the car’s image). Some examples:
Dreadnought - turns out there was a 1912 Moline Dreadnought.
Stiletto - Hillman, a stodgy little British car company had one. So what I mean about not fitting?
Crusader - Some Lotus engineers formed the Clan Car Co and made a Clan Crusader. It used a Hillman engine. Hmm. Did they expect to sell a Clan Crusader in the US? I’m not sure we can even ***say *** “Clan Crusader” in polite company. It might have been a good addition to Dodge/Plymouth’s minivan lineup along with the Voyager and the Caravan.
Armadillo - yes, there is an Armadillo car. Yes, it looks like one.
Impaler - OK, it is a one off custom car but come on, “The Impaler”?
Electron - the Hyundai Electron. Electric of course.
Proton - Hell, there is an entire Proton Car Company in Malaysia.
Sledgehammer - Callaway is a company that made heavily modded Corvettes. Its full name was “Chevrolet Corvette Callaway Sledgehammer”.
We had a bunch more but I’m tired and that is all I remember. Carry on…
Carmudgeon - the prototypical old folks car. Only goes 35 mph, lane assist keeps it in the fast lane only, at least one blinker is on at all times. It’s a thing, now make it a car.
Carmmando - No undercarriage, blends in perfectly with its surroundings.
Flotilla - Honking big SUV that converts to small fleet of subcompact cars and back again.
I’ve been fond of the Marmoset as a name. Someone should make it.
There may be cool names out there, but there have been tons of odd ones. My favorite was the XR4Ti. Was there ever an XR3Ti? A YR4Ti? How can you have a name that sounds like a designation with no “context”? It looks like a pattern of one.
Plus, I always liked how, with the font they used it looks like it actually spells XRATI. Like some alien species from Star Trek. “Captain, we have engaged the Xrati craft!” (Pronouiced “zratty”)
I remember an old Isuzu commercial where a group of executives in a conference room are shouting out their ideas for names for their newest model:
“Woodpecker!”
“Squid!”
Then the CEO sternly shakes his head and states in a soft but authoritative voice:
“I-Mark.”
All the lesser executives smile and nod and enthusiastically agree:
“Ah! I-Mark!”
But when the CEO turns around, they all roll their eyes and shake their heads.
We very nearly had the Ford Futura until fairly late in the game. We lost the trademark dispute and now have the Fusion. We, as here in the USA. Everywhere else it’s the Mondeo.
There’s plenty of Floridian names untapped as well. While driving the Toyota Palatka or the Ford Altamonte sounds palatable, the Mazda Withlacoochee not so much.
My favorite was the XR4Ti. Was there ever an XR3Ti? A YR4Ti? How can you have a name that sounds like a designation with no “context”? It looks like a pattern of one./QUOTE]
Merkur actually borrowed the designation from Ford, where it was just a trim/performance level, the Ford Sierra XR4 and XR4i.
Ford lead up to that with the Falcon XR (not sure if it was the XR1), Fiesta XR2 and the Escort XR3i, and the Sierra later had an XR6 and XR8.
Merkur only had the XR4Ti and the Scorpio, not a bad name.
