# When (if at all) will we run out of new names for vehicles **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2025, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398 "2025-03-10T16:48:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [March 18, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398/81 "2025-03-18T18:29:13Z")
What is true is the mandatory name change for the Mitsubishi Pajero in (all? ) of the spanish speaking world… Here it became the Montero. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398/82 "2025-03-18T18:51:50Z")
Cars is nothing. There are over 2 million named living species, with many more probably yet to be named. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398/83 "2025-03-18T20:09:57Z")
Sure, but there’s massive duplication of names in taxonomy - think of how many plants have ‘sativa’ or ‘officinalis’ or ‘campestris’ as their species identifier. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398/84 "2025-03-19T16:42:35Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > And for a short time Fifth Avenue was a trim level on the Chrysler New Yorker before they made it a separate model, making what was probably the longest car name that was an actual name – Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue. The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque enters the chat. Shorter, but wait until the Mk II. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398/85 "2025-03-19T16:45:38Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > A quick google search said there are a little over 7000 car models that have ever existed. I don’t know if that’s true, but lets go with it. Probably correct. The Internet Movie Car Database lists 5965 models. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398/86 "2025-03-21T18:23:26Z")
[aside] > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > > [@commasense](#): > > > > Thoroughly debunked urban legend. > > Well phooey. Opinion busted by facts yet again. This one may be a retconned folk etymology — years later when the cars began displaying typical GM quality, sure, a bunch of us started saying it meant that. But by then millions had been succesfully sold. Plus the phonetics are wrong — in Spanish “nova” is stressed on the O and “no va” is equally stressed (besides the pause in the middle). [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398/87 "2025-03-22T14:39:04Z")
I think Volkswagen has demonstrated the ability to name models in unexpected ways. Tiguan is a German portmanteau (hard to imagine running scarce on those) while Touareg is a variant spelling of a N. African tribe. Both of course are easy for Americans to pronounce at a glance! And if you are diving into words from African tribes, maybe someday you’ll land on a click language and the fun begins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-if-at-all-will-we-run-out-of-new-names-for-vehicles/1015398.md?page=4)