What Is In A Name? A Big Al Rant

[BigAls87Z28]

After much inner-communitcation between several of the other staff memebers, we have ranted about a lot of things that bother us about the automotive industry. When this anger comes to a head, we sit down and write out our feelings. The following is an opinonated editorial about what some of us find rather disturbing about our passion. This opinion does not reflect the views of GMInsidenews or all of its staff...its just us letting off some steam so enjoy.

What Is In a Name?
By BigAls87Z28
www.GMInsidenews.com

What is in a name? A better question is, what is a name? We all have them, and we know other people who have them. In the automotive industry, some companies like to give cars names as well. It gives them a history and a life of its own. Many people gripe about the alphanumeric designations of cars now a days, saying it takes the soul and personality out of it. I could not agree more. My problem with names is when they get tagged to not only the car, but to platforms and engines. Like with cars, platforms and engines that are named also take on a personality...but it usually does not go in favor of the platform or engine, especially in GM's case.

Can anyone name me a platform or engine name of a Toyota or Honda? Not a number, but a name...a name like W body or Epsilon? Northstar or Ecotec? There is VTEC, yes...but VTEC is more of a technology then a name. GM, on the other hand, has hundreds of names from the classis B, F, and G bodies to the Delta, Epsilon and Sigma designations. Engines, there are even more!! Northstar, Ecotec, Vortec, and just plain Small Block Chevy brings to your mind vehicles and engines that you can see in your mind. Things with names tend to have personalities attached...and along with that, they have an age. In some cases, mostly enthusiasts, these names bring back dreams of cars they loved. But to the 95% of the driving world, the age is bad. When they shop for a brand new $50,000 Caddy STS, they see the name "Northstar" and they might think that why are they spending all this money on a car with an engine that dates back some 15 years?

What happens when people read about the new Impala riding on the Wbody, and they remember hearing about the Wbody back in the late 80's? Why would they buy a car that is 20 years old when they could get a "new" Camry? While there have been improvements with the Northstar engine, and a totaly different configuration from FWD to RWD, it still carries the name. It goes for the W body. Even though the W body Grand Prix from 1988 is about half the size of a 2007 Grand Prix or Impala, and probably share NOTHING from 1988, the name remains the same. Does anyone know how long Japanese platforms last? This same stuff is happening now with the new Greek-letter platforms, namely Epsilon. The Caddy BLS gets ripped for being on the same platform as the 9-3, Vectra and Malibu yet there are several variations of the Epsilon out there. Small Block Chevy, something near and dear to my heart, some people associate the LS7 Gen IV V8 with the 350ci V8 engines of yore because of the name. Everyone from car rags to the average consumer picks up on these things when they read them in car reviews or hear about them on tv commercials. Chrysler used this idea of names and age with the Hemi. They associated the monster Hemi V8 engines of the Muscle Car age with the Hemi they have now. Even though the current Hemi looks more like a Gen III/IV Small Block, they use the name of the engine to attain a certain image.

GM needs to stop giving names to engines and platforms and just give them alphanumeric designations. Don’t call it Zeta call it J12RD-9 or whatever. Change the numbers around with different variations. No one outside of the enthusiast’s community is going to notice. Your average car buyer will not know what is going on, and just think that a "new" car is a new car all around. Toyota and Honda have gone on forever sharing and reusing chassis for years. Not much separates a Honda from an Acura anymore, and all the FWD vehicles in Toyota's line up rides on one of two chassis. But as Honda wins Truck of the Year with a vehicle based off a minivan platform which is a modified version of the Accord, GM takes a punch in the face for its GMT900 trucks for not having 6 speed automatics out of the gate? The name game is good for cars to have a history and a reputation, but the naming of platforms and engines must stop!! They instantly date them and while give it some soul off the bat, Americans are always looking for something better and something new.

Thank You for your time

Big Al

[LAChevy24]

you bring up a very good point. i have never really thought about that.

[poncho1982]

Good point, but splitting hairs I think.

[skylark68]

Well, you make an interesting point about the general public, but there is a lot of the public that I think looks at names in a positive light. It wasn't too long ago (late 1970's) when people were furious that their Oldsmobiles weren't powered by a Rocket V-8 anymore. Maybe people don't think in that manner anymore, don't know... I personally like the naming of engines, although I don't think the general public knows about platform naming....

[fp115]

It is a good point, but then GM, Dodge, Ford uses it to brag. Like when you have Dodge going on about, "This car is powered by a Hemi". I don't put much importance on engine names, but more the car... mainly because I have a general knowledge which is more than the typical buyer.

Good points though, makes you wonder what would happen if they try a system to which you suggested.

[mkaresh]

The names aren't the problem. Otherwise Intel, AMD, and nVidia would have abandoned "Pentium", "Athlon", and "GeForce" a long time ago. Going further, every time a car is redesigned it would receive a new name. Instead, redesigns only get new names when the previous design had a poor image.

The problem with the Northstar is that it makes virtually the same power it made back in 1992. Meanwhile, BMW's V8 has gone from 282 to 360 horsepower, Mercedes has gone from 315 to 382, and Lexus has gone from 250 to 380. The Cadillac engine simply hasn't kept up.

[guitarlix]

Other than auto enthusiasts, the general consumer doesn't have the faintest clue about platform sharing or engine codes.

I have no problem giving engines names. "Northstar", for instance, sounds great. However some of the names like "Ecotec" and "Duratec" sound like something out of 1950's marketing/ads.

[asim]

You know what, your point is very interesting. GM seems to have all these names for everything, Toyota and Honda has crap. So do you really think that this makes much of a difference, though? Just the name of an engine or a platform? I'm still debating this with myself. lol

[Slack]

Good point. I bet anyone on this board could list off every GM vehicle that shares a platform or engine. But I doubt many could name off the platform sharing of Toyota or Honda in all their details. Most of us could probably spout off the platform for every GM made, and I'm sure that Toyota platform sharing is just as prolific.

[CobaltSScrazy]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

The names aren't the problem. Otherwise Intel, AMD, and nVidia would have abandoned "Pentium", "Athlon", and "GeForce" a long time ago. Going further, every time a car is redesigned it would receive a new name. Instead, redesigns only get new names when the previous design had a poor image.

The problem with the Northstar is that it makes virtually the same power it made back in 1992. Meanwhile, BMW's V8 has gone from 282 to 360 horsepower, Mercedes has gone from 315 to 382, and Lexus has gone from 250 to 380. The Cadillac engine simply hasn't kept up.

Bulls Eye, this is very true. If the vehicle has a great image IE: camcord, then its fine to reuse the name and such, but when you tarnish it IE: grand am, cavalier, sunbird, beretta, etc. then it can't ever be used again, or 'reused' for the next gen b/c people associate it with crap.

Guitarlix, Ecotec is a fine name. Also BigAl, don't you realize that there is a distinction between Epsilon and Epsilon II? Thats going to happen across all platforms, so GM will benefit from the 'new' factor still also.

CobaltSScrazy

[rsbaker]

Points well taken!

[awalbert88]

I'd have to agree that certain names shouldn't be used anymore. The Northstar hasn't evolved enough that the name still carries a good stigma. OTOH, the Camry has continually evolved and so the name carries an air of quality and reliability with it (though it may not be as deserving of it as it once was). Naming a product or component isn't the problem. The problem is keeping that product or component current enough and good enough that the name carries some weight.

Windows is often thought of as a buggy, unstable operating system and is the butt of many jokes. Yet XP is now the most stable OS ever produced by Microsoft, and in many cases on par with Linux.

The Taurus was once a proud family sedan, but became so hopelessly ugly and outdated that a new name was needed for the replacement.

Keep the product fresh and exciting, and the name starts to work FOR you, rather than AGAINST you.

[GMFreak8]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

No one outside of the enthusiast’s community is going to notice. l

I think you kinda made your whole post moot with that sentence right there. Most don't notice the names on the chassis' and engines. Those who do notice, know that there have been advances made, and the name means little. When I see Northstar or Ecotec I associate them with Cadillac and GM compacts, not the engine design itself. If anything when the general public sees that Northstar logo on the engine or the Vortec logo, it makes them think it's "premium" and isn't just a faceless generic engine. It gives the car as a whole more character and a better feel. I highly doubt most link the name of the engine to the engines basic technology and what has changed and what hasn't over the years.

[stevecmh]

i still think the engines should have names... maybe they can just change the names of the platforms more often

[cadillac jack]

I think engine naming would work if Gm came out with an ad campaign for engines like the small block that have a lot of heritage. they could do the same think as what chysler did with the hemi. Names can be used positively or negatively.