# How in the hell do they come up with these stupid car names? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 19, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759 "2005-11-19T03:03:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/101 "2005-11-23T12:16:17Z")
> [@zagloba](#): > > The Civet is the diesel version. Actually, the Civet is the weasel version… ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/102 "2005-11-23T16:00:00Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Actually, the Civet is the weasel version… It would explain the smell. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/103 "2005-11-23T17:11:49Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > A [Touareg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuareg) is a member of the [Berber](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber) people and has a history of being nomadic. Great! How in the hell do you pronounce it? Tore-reg? Tow-reg? What?? Why couldn’t they call it the “Nomad” or the “Bedouin”? > [@](#): > > Then again, neither is [this '79 Cadillac](http://www.cadillacforums.com/cadillac/deville/phaeton.html), right? Hey - I was born in 1980. I didn’t start noticing car models for at least 12 years. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/104 "2005-11-23T18:18:46Z")
> [@PerditaX](#): > > I dunno. I’ll still take a car with a name, however odd or meaningless over the letter-and-number-combinations that so many cars have nowadays (RS-300, S-class, 5-series, J-30, etc.) I’m with Perdita on this one. I’d prefer the name Yaris over 320SEL or A6 or whatever the hell non-name. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/105 "2005-11-23T18:41:35Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > Great! How in the hell do you pronounce it? Tore-reg? Tow-reg? What?? Why couldn’t they call it the “Nomad” or the “Bedouin”? I believe it’s too-ah-reg. “Tuareg” is an alternative spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/106 "2005-11-23T21:35:22Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > You mean Lada? You can get _Russian_ cars in Alaska? Cool. Maybe Llada is a new brand from Wales? 😃 How about the [Ford **Ka**](http://www.ford.co.uk/ka)? That always struck me as a cop-out sort of name. Neat body design, though. Well, it was, seven years ago … ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/107 "2005-11-23T22:35:12Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > I’ve always thought that the 6000 SUX in _RoboCop_ was inspired by someone who owned a Pontiac 6000 and was less than satisfied with the car. The folks at Pontiac thought so, too, but whaddya gonna do? 😃 Speaking of _Robocop_ cars, I always wondered if the exclusive use of the Ford Taurus as a police vehicle was intentional. (“Bull” is criminal slang for “law enforcement officer,” and especially thuggish prison guards, possibly originating with the practice off beating on folks with pizzles – dessicated bull penises.) Anyway, another instance of an intimidating name being applied to a less-than-intimidating vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/108 "2005-11-23T22:40:32Z")
_Of_. “_Of_ beating.” Don’t ask why my subconscious insisted on putting “off” next to “beating” in a sentence about manual use of penises. No idea. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/109 "2005-11-23T23:20:07Z")
> [@Daithi Lacha](#): > > How about the [Ford **Ka**](http://www.ford.co.uk/ka)? That always struck me as a cop-out sort of name. Neat body design, though. Well, it was, seven years ago … If they ever make The Dark Tower into a movie, they have to have one of these in the background. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2005, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/110 "2005-11-24T06:44:56Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > We can all thank Pontiac for giving us the GTO, whose name inspired other car makers to simply slap combinations of letters and numbers on their vehicles. (Though Packard did refer to a number of their models by the wheelbase.) The GTO was popular, sure, but Ford had introduced the XL as a trim package for the Galaxie in '63. Olds has a long history of just using numbers for their cars and the big three have been using letters and/or numbers for their trucks even longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/111 "2005-11-25T08:16:55Z")
There are quite a few Latinesque car names here in Japan. I’ve seen the Mira (look!, in Spanish). Lately there have been some Engrish names like the Toyota Let’s. Let’s. . .do what? Or there’s the Honda That’s. Nothing else, just That’s. \ ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/112 "2005-11-29T05:57:51Z")
> [@Big\_Norse](#): > > OK, that makes some sense, but how many people think “Capital of French Guiana” when they hear “Cayenne.” Why not use Paramaribo, at least that doesn’t hold any other meaning to English speakers. Belmopan would be a nice name for a car. Hell, just about any Central American city would be a nice car name. Montevideo. Quito. Caracas. The South American governments could make a killing by selling their city names to car manufacturers. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/113 "2005-11-29T20:45:33Z")
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned the Suburu (?) ‘Tribeca’ SUV. Name a big SUV after an urban neighborhood full of old, narrow streets, where most sensible people prefer to go by foot, taxi, subway, or even bus. Yeah, that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/114 "2005-11-29T21:48:20Z")
I recall an incident from High School. We were learning about evolution and someone from the class asked why the ship was called the Beagle. After the teacher declined to give an answer the class turned towards me. I explained that the British had thousands of ships and it’s just impossible to give them all really cool names and that beagles were hunting dogs anyway. All of the good names are taken. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/115 "2005-11-29T21:55:07Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > Why couldn’t they call it the “Nomad”? [GM’s using that one](http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/040104-2.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/116 "2005-11-30T19:17:44Z")
> [@Daithi Lacha](#): > > How about the [Ford **Ka**](http://www.ford.co.uk/ka)? That always struck me as a cop-out sort of name. Neat body design, though. Well, it was, seven years ago … I always thought the Ka looks like a [vacuum cleaner](http://www.byttehnika.ru/img/goods/18845_54323.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/117 "2005-11-30T21:42:00Z")
I think the next UberSUV from Ford should be the **Escanaba**. a little Michigan humor for da Yoopers. **Ford Ka** is obviously from Boston. _Pahk the Ka in Hahvahd Yahrd._ The car that has always mystified me is **Avalon**. Its pretty, but …um…its a fictional place. What’s next: Brigadoon? Shang ri La? And hey, don’t besmirch the good name of the **Toronado** as it was not only my husbands first car but, I’m pretty sure, his first wife in the non-biblical sense. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759/118 "2005-11-30T23:58:56Z")
I offer the following trio of car names as sure-fire top sellers: The **Mitsubishi Isotope**. Mitsu already uses the radiation symbol, the public has been prepared for radioactive vehicles (i.e. the Chevy Cobalt), and you could market it as a model that is very slow to decay. The **Volkswagen Virion**. Infectious good looks in a subcompact car. The **Ford Cavy**. A mysteriously unused animal name. Small, cute, squeaks…well, maybe that one needs work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-hell-do-they-come-up-with-these-stupid-car-names/331759.md?page=5)