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Autoextremist: naming rights

1K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  Mr.Buttons 
#1 ·
Here PDL AE rant of the week www.autoextremist.com
NAMING RIGHTS.
DateTUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020 AT 03:02PM
By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. There is much hand-wringing going on in this business at this very moment – yeah, I know, how is this different than any other day? – and this twisting consternation concerns the fact that Cadillac is going with all-new vehicle names for its electric future. Cadillac is setting sail in a completely new naming direction, and the public will get the first glimpse of the new strategy on August 6th, when GM’s luxury division unveils its first fully electric production vehicle, a crossover called the Lyriq. And that is just the beginning – a hand-build ultra-luxury sedan called the Celestiq is coming down the road.

Vehicle names ending in “iq” will define the new generation of all-electric vehicles from Cadillac. This shift from internal-combustion engines (ICE) to full battery electric vehicles (BEV) will mark a complete transformation for the Cadillac brand by 2028.

What does it all mean? Vehicle names have been a signature part of this business from Day One. Some brand names revolved around the names of the founders – Bentley, Bugatti, Buick, Chevrolet, Daimler, Ford, Ferrari, Oldsmobile and Porsche, to name just a few – while other names happened organically and were powered by word of mouth, like Ford’s Model T or the Duesenberg Model J and its variants. There have also been names that earned their spurs over time, like Aston Martin, Audi (which sprang from Auto Union), Honda and Jaguar.

And, of course, other names became famous individual models of existing brands. Like the Chevrolet Corvette, Corvette Sting Ray and Silverado; BMW 2002; Datsun 240Z; Ferrari Testa Rossa and GTO; Ford GT, Mustang and F-150, Mercedes-Benz 300SL; Jaguar XK120, D-Type, XKSS and E-Type; Jeep Wrangler; Pontiac Bonneville, GTO and Firebird; Porsche 911 and Speedster. And the list goes on and on.

(At one point, Oldsmobile, which was in the throes of one of this industry’s most historic sales runs with its Cutlass model, started adding the Cutlass name to almost everything. There was the Cutlass S, Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Salon, Cutlass 4-4-2, Cutlass Vista Cruiser station wagon, Cutlass Calais, Cutlass Ciera, etc. Don’t laugh, Oldsmobile sold over a million Cutlass-named vehicles a year at its peak.)

The German manufacturers – Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz – went all-in for the alphanumeric names, which were loosely based on the vehicle architecture and engine size. And that was fine until the American manufactures started copying it – and screwing it up – but the Germans still do it for the most part, although Audi has gone completely off the rails of late in trying to distinguish the various engine sizes on its vehicles. What a mess.

Alfa Romeo has refreshingly stuck with names for its Giulia sport sedan and Stelvio crossover. It fits perfectly with its “march-to-a-different-drummer” product vision too. And Dodge has homed in on its high-performance muscle niche with its Charger and Challenger, to great effect. And last but not least, the Ram truck has bulled its way into pickup truck contention.

And case you’re wondering, the naming merry-go-round continues unabated to this day. Ford is dusting off its “Mach” moniker and attaching it to its new BEV crossover, which will be named the Mustang Mach-E, and that in and of itself is shocking (especially when you see how mundane the Mach-E is in the flesh). And shades of Cutlass, Ford is going to develop a herd of vehicles with the name Mustang attached, just in case you missed the point of Ford hammering the Mustang name hard into the market beyond its iconic pony car. And unless you’ve been submerged for a while and hadn’t heard, Ford has resurrected one of the iconic names in this business – Bronco – and plans on going after Jeep with a corral full of Bronco-based SUVs beginning late next spring.
 
#7 ·
I don't know - they do seem to be fine with iPhones and anything else beginning with an "i". They are as susceptible to marketing as any other generation, but it has to be the right kind of marketing, maybe this is it (or maybe not). I find it a little annoying, but not something that will alter my perceptions of the brand.
 
#9 ·
Once they go 100% electric will they change the name to Cadilliq
 
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