# The Toyota emblem - what is it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 3, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808 "2004-12-03T00:20:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/61 "2004-12-14T20:43:14Z")

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It’s a “T”.

> [@mangeorge](#):
>
> I had a teacher in my spanish language class, a man from Columbia iirc, who repeated in all seriousness the old urban legend about the Chevy Nova not selling well in Mexico because nova in spanish sorta means “doesn’t go”.

I can top this! I had a marketing textbook in college which actually used this as a little one page case study! Truth be told, I didn’t know it was an untrue urban legend until I discovered the SDMB and Snopes.

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**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/62 "2004-12-15T00:17:11Z")

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> [@Debaser](#):
>
> It’s a “T”.
> 
> I can top this! I had a marketing textbook in college which actually used this as a little one page case study! Truth be told, I didn’t know it was an untrue urban legend until I discovered the SDMB and Snopes.

Having grown up in a place where people tell and believe bullshit stories about other people, esp those of other races, I was instantly skeptical.  
First off, I knew _plenty_ of Mexicans who drove Novas. Then I knew that they weren’t stupid enough to take one word that means one thing and split it into two words that _kind of_ mean something silly, and not buy a car for the literal meaning of those two words, which make an awkward statement anyway.  
When I confronted _Mi profesor_ about it in class, he blew me off. Later, when I noticed that he frequently made subtle cracks about the way Mexicans spoke Spanish, I understood. A :wally is a :wally.

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**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2004, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toyota-emblem-what-is-it/277808/63 "2004-12-15T11:47:41Z")

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> [@Pullet](#):
>
> What the heck does “may contain rice” mean? New term for browser cookies?

No, it was just a little comment on the forum I linked to. “Rice” is a derogatory term for the spoilers, VTEC stickers, tints etc etc that certain folk like to plaster over their (usually Japanese - geddit?) cars.

Hence “ricer” “rice boy”, “rice rocket”, and so on. [This page](http://www.riceboypage.com/) will give you a primer 🙂

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