Bad & Odd Car Names

[MTI]

Luckily, the folks at Mercedes don't name the cars, but other makes cannot resist. We all know the legendary blunder of trying to sell a "Nova" in Mexico, but here's a list of some other name "facts."

The Buick LaCrosse, to be offered in Canada, was French-Canadian teenage slang for masturbation , so it's been renamed the Allure.

Volkswagen's Touareg, is named after a tribe of north African nomads that, it turns out, traded slaves well into the 20th century.

Lamborghini Murciélago is named after a bull by that name that gored a matador in 1879.

Toyota, in the 1980s was kicking around names like Celsius and Alexis. When someone on the team heard the "Alexis" proposal, the person didn't hear a woman's name but "a Lexus" instead. It stuck, but not before a battle with LexisNexis, the research company.

Toyota's Prius is Latin for "to go before."

Here are some old and new cars that aren't in North America, and would require a name change if they were:

Daihatsu Naked
Honda Life Dunk
Honda That's
Isuzu GIGA 20 Light Dump and Mysterious Utility
Mazda Bongo
Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear and Pistachio
Nissan Prairie Joy
Rickman Space Ranger
Rinspeed X-Dream
Suzuki Cappucino
Toyota Deliboy
Volugrafo Bimbo

Testarosa (Ferrari)-means "red head" in Italian. Sounds good in English though!

[Carleton Hughes]

I always wondered what mischievous impulse seized the FOMOCO design team when they chose the patently naughty "probe"

[boneheaddoctor]

Originally Posted by Carleton Hughes

I always wondered what mischievous impulse seized the FOMOCO design team when they chose the patently naughty "probe"

Would have said the famous South Park episode with the aliens..........but I know the probe predates that.....

[andersbenz]

AMC's Gremlin

[Kuan]

Originally Posted by andersbenz

AMC's Gremlin

Don't get it. That's appropriate.

[boneheaddoctor]

Originally Posted by andersbenz

AMC's Gremlin

It was appropriate......a very durable drivetrain in a car body that was built to biodegrade very quickly.

[brookspw]

Originally Posted by MTI

Luckily, the folks at Mercedes don't name the cars, but other makes cannot resist. We all know the legendary blunder of trying to sell a "Nova" in Mexico, but here's a list of some other name "facts."

Interesting irony. This is false. Link

[PC Dave]

Don't forget the Nissan Cherry and the Daewoo Maepsy-Na. On the American side, a fun one was the Studebaker Dictator, which was actually built in the '30s era of Hitler and Mussolini.

[Gilly]

I remember the name Berretta being on a gun and a Chevy.

AND a TV Cop/Detective show.

And THAT'S the name of that tune............

Gilly

[wbain5280]

www.engrish.com