I can think of the:
Sedona
Durango
Tacoma
Tucson
Santa Fe
But, no Chicago, Houston, Boston, or Washington DC. Although there is a New York-er.
And, for that matter, no Biloxi, Portsmouth, or Wheaton.
Big cities make you think of traffic, noise, and pollution.
All the vehicles you mention are SUVs or pickup trucks. Why are they named for western small towns you ask?
Because that’s where the Marlboro Man lives. And that’s the ethos, or the suburban echo of that ethos, that they’re selling. Wide open spaces, do whatever you want, no sissies here.
Not so much Tacoma or Tucson, but the other places also call to mind very pretty scenery. That you can go visit or camp or even just drive through in our powerful capable spacious SUVs & pickups. Get yours today!
This car is made in New York City.
New York City!
There’s the Buick Park Avenue, Subaru Tribeca or the Hyundai Palisade.
And the Ferrari California.
I don’t think buyers would be lined up to purchase an Oakland, no matter if it was made by Chevrolet or Ferrari.
ETA: My parents drove to Walnut Creek when my mom went into labor so my birth certificate didn’t have “Oakland” on it!
Big SUVs or pickups are marketed to a rural audience or those who would like to think they aren’t in traffic but out driving the wide open road.
Other cars are marketed for other audiences. Fast cars are named Sebring, Daytona, and Le Mans. Luxury cars are named for California towns - Bel Air, Pacifica, Malibu.
Most big gas-guzzlers are sold in the U.S. than anything else, so the open road wins.
Pontiac - American Indian Chief. Bonneville - salt flats, where it’s OK to see how fast that thing will go.
Modern names are kinda Meh. “Elantra” sounds like some pharmaceutical mood elevator.
I also suspect that big cities are more recognizable. I won’t say which ones, but I will admit there were a couple I didn’t know were city names before learning about them. So I don’t have any associations with them beyond what the name sounds like.
Pretty soon there will be an automotive/pharma joint venture, involving the Buick Skyrizi and the Ford Rexulti.
"I wasn’t progressing fast enough in my Toyota Trintellix, but the supercharged V-8 Rexulti has me on a fast-moving cloud!
Man, I have a memory of the residents of Tacoma being mystified at a truck being named for their town, including a comment about it being an industrial town (NB Toyota says it isn’t named for the town)
But I can’t find that article.
They should have named it Tillicum, just outside of Tacoma.
Tacoma is a traditional name for Mt. Rainier.
There actually used to be a car brand called Oakland.
Bel-Air & Malibu= Part of LA.
Torino and Milano are cities in Italy. Lucerne in Switzerland.
and there was the Ferrari California and the Chevrolet Colorado.
Don’t forget the Kia Telluride.
This is the first time I’ve ever heard Tacoma, population 219,000 and home to the sixth largest commercial port in America, described as a “small town”.
Ahem.
Obviously a composite picture-- They edited out the rain.
Hey, it doesn’t rain ALL the time!
And I’ll have you know it no longer smells bad, either.
A family I know has two daughters, Sierra and Savanna. I joked (NOT to them!) that if they had a son, they’d obviously name him Jimmy.