[Ghrankenstein]

Borrego: sounds too much like Bodega to me.

Reasonable segue; I thought it sounded too much like borracho.

Far from worst, funniest, or most bizarre, I like the Matrix because mitochondria are instant comedy. I wonder if a fuel-cell Matrix would have cristae...

I think TopKick is a solid qualifier, though. And I'm surprised people caught the LUV, and not the P'up. Overall, though, the Asians and their language incongruities, have this one.

I'm also curious just how old this article really is. I remember reading something similar in one of my high-school Motor Trends. Along with Intelligent Bullet and Utopian Turtle suggestions came Pastelogram.

 

[oppositelock]

:fall: The Mazda Bongo-Friendee (Japan only)......no one beats that one.....:lmao: .....Eventually shortened to the Friendee, I wonder why????

"Bongo-Friendee"?!

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

 

[BlueMontreal]

There something weird in the current GM name. The Solstice is Pontiac, while the Equinox is Chevrolet. Those names are related, they should be in the same brand.

 

[rhett_oracle]

Bad names from foreign makes:

Honda: Civic (reminds me of city hall politics), Accord (this name does nothing for me), Prelude (pray lewd?)
Acura: Legend (in its own mind), Vigor (pronounced 'vig-ger' or 'vi-gore'?)
Toyota: Corolla (corrosion?), Camry (??), Celica (???), Matrix (worst movie tie-in since Mighty Ducks joined NHL)
Nissan: Sentra, Altima, Maxima (talk about meaningless fabricated names)
Subaru: Legacy (something you leave behind after you die)

 

[t-rex]

Yikes!

I haven't lived in Texas for years.... forgot about Lucerne milk!!

 

[Hudson]

The best, worst and weirdest car names

Go to a McDonald's in Paris and you will notice several cheeseburgers in the "Royal" line: the Royal Deluxe, Royal Cheese and Royal Bacon ("royal" means the same thing in French and English).
McDonald's France says on its Web site that the Royal Cheese wears a sesame-seed bun for a crown. "It looks, in fact, like a king," the site states.
Folks, it's just a cheeseburger.

BTW I don't see anything wrong with Firenze, or Fiero etc. Sometimes these journalists should spread the research a little wider, there is a big wide world out there.

I fully agree. In the above quote, it's not "just a cheeseburger." If anyone had seen where they mention this in "Pulp Fiction," the "Royale" is the equivalent of a Quarter Pounder, something that would translate roughly into a "Half Kiloer." I would prefer "Royale" to that.

I, personally, do not have a problem with many names...so long as they NAME a vehicle. Alpha-numerics bother me, but even if you make up a name...it's still a name. Why does the word have to translate into anything? Many times they do (as many people on this thread are finding out), but even if you make up a word...why can't it equate to that particular car and not to a zodiac sign or African animal? Even the acronym LUV is pronouced "love," which works for me.

we use to just have fun with the names

like the mercury mistake.....hyundai accident and toyota poopra

Someone at Lincoln-Mercury made a speech about the introduction of the Mercury compact sedan in the 1990s, and he accidentally refered to it as the "Mercury Mistake." He quickly banned the word "mistake" from any speech about the "Mystique."

 

[skylark68]

One of the most awesome names for a car was from the 1930's. This was the Studebaker "Dictator." I don't think anyone would ever try to name their car a Dictator again. I still don't know what Studebaker was thinking, especially during the age of Hitler and Mussolini. I still like the name though. BTW - What is a "Jimmy?" I NEVER understood what a Jimmy was...

 

[cdp326]

Mitsubishi Minica Lettuce.

I remember years before the Cadillac CTS came out, and seeing the spy shots talking about the new Cadillac "Catera CTS."
Maybe there was a sense of humor at Cadillac at the time and that's how they named the CTS.

I noticed "Lumina" backwards is "animul."

Most minivans have pretty good names. Quest, Villager, Silhouette, Sienna, Odyssey, Voyager. The "Grand" prefix always seems to have a different meaning on the Chrysler vans than it does on others even though it always refers to a longer model...probably because Chrysler did it first. Mazda's MPV was a pretty bad name for Europe, since minivans are referred to as MPV's there, as in short for multipurpose vehicle. It's like Toyota naming their first van the, er, Van. I think Iliad would be a great name for a smaller Honda van like the Stream. (Somebody will notice a connection there.)

Dumb spellings: Nissan Axxess, Pontiac Aztek, Mazda Millenia (Amati 500 would have been cooler like it was supposed to be). Trans Sport, while not a bad name, is kinda dumb. Chrysler's LHS wasn't that great either. (Maybe they should revive it as the LXS!)

I really don't like the name "Mariner."

 

[bouda]

"You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in europe?",
"No."
"Tell him Vincent."
"Royal with cheese"

 

[Saturn69]

Why is Vue and Fiero under "Fake names"? "Vue" is "view" in French. "Fiero" is one of the words for "ugly" in Spanish- bet GM didn't research that.

You need to buy a new Spanish/English dictionary. Fiero is Italian, not Spanish, and ugly in Spanish is feo.

 

[Saturn69]

LaCrosse is okay, but would've been better as a SUV, or as BMW says, a sports-activity vehicle. But to call it LaCrosse in the US and Allure in Canada is ridiculous. Pick one name per model per continent and stick with it!

Because LaCrosse is a slang term for, uh, 'self-gratification' in Canada.

 

[BlueMontreal]

Because LaCrosse is a slang term for, uh, 'self-gratification' in Canada.

That or a very bad deal.

 

[someguy]

Because LaCrosse is a slang term for, uh, 'self-gratification' in Canada.

Just say w***...:

 

[cc3399]

Alright, here it is, for all of you with limited Spanish vocabulary (see #5):

fiero ,- a
adjetivo
1 cruel *,sanguinario ,brutal ,feroz ,despiadado ,bárbaro
2 duro ,intratable
3 salvaje ,agreste ,montaraz ,cerril ,bravío
4 horroroso ,horrendo ,terrible
5 feo

 

[Neanderthal]

Where have you been? Its called SSR, and they even threw in the big motor too!

SSRI and El Camino are utterly different animals. Start with curb weight and price and work your way down the list of other significant features.
If GM thought the SSRI was some sort of an El Camino stand-in, they were almost as delusional as I think they've been for years.

 

[Geotpf]

I think Navigator was the best name ever attached to a vehicle. It just sounds so perfect.

I always wondered why SUVs made by the Ford Motor Company were named after web browsers. I have always expected them to come up with the "Mercury Opera" at some point.:lmao:

 

[johnny smallblock]

The HHR got it's name, I think, because they wanted to tie it to the SSR, since it has similar retro styling.

djo165 beat me to it, but in my (biased) opinion, Cutlass Supreme is the best name ever

When I was young (like 8), I asked my dad who Jimmy was. He told me that people gave GMC the nick-name Jimmy, and then GM foolishly thought it would be a good idea to put the name on a truck. I don't know if that's true or if it's just a regional thing, but it's the only explanation I've ever heard.

New York seemed briefly popular as a source for names:
Buick Park Avenue
Chrysler Fifth Avenue
Chrysler New Yorker
Lincoln offered a "New York" edition for some of their cars (like the "Texas" models for pick ups)

 

[RedVee8]

Mitsubishi Minica Lettuce.

I remember years before the Cadillac CTS came out, and seeing the spy shots talking about the new Cadillac "Catera CTS."
Maybe there was a sense of humor at Cadillac at the time and that's how they named the CTS.

I noticed "Lumina" backwards is "animul."

Most minivans have pretty good names. Quest, Villager, Silhouette, Sienna, Odyssey, Voyager. The "Grand" prefix always seems to have a different meaning on the Chrysler vans than it does on others even though it always refers to a longer model...probably because Chrysler did it first. Mazda's MPV was a pretty bad name for Europe, since minivans are referred to as MPV's there, as in short for multipurpose vehicle. It's like Toyota naming their first van the, er, Van. I think Iliad would be a great name for a smaller Honda van like the Stream. (Somebody will notice a connection there.)

Dumb spellings: Nissan Axxess, Pontiac Aztek, Mazda Millenia (Amati 500 would have been cooler like it was supposed to be). Trans Sport, while not a bad name, is kinda dumb. Chrysler's LHS wasn't that great either. (Maybe they should revive it as the LXS!)

I really don't like the name "Mariner."

No worries Homer

 

[turbotoad]

Alright, here it is, for all of you with limited Spanish vocabulary (see #5):

fiero ,- a
adjetivo
1 cruel *,sanguinario ,brutal ,feroz ,despiadado ,bárbaro
2 duro ,intratable
3 salvaje ,agreste ,montaraz ,cerril ,bravío
4 horroroso ,horrendo ,terrible
5 feo

...guess it depends on what dictionary your looking at:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Fiero

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/spanish?book=Spanish&va=fiero

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=fiero&goquery=Find+it!&Language=ITA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiero

 

[Sandwich]

One's that bug me...

• Lucerne - What? Lucerne? Are you kidding me? That's a dairy product folks! Not a good name when you've got an old, milk-toast image. Dumbies.
• Maxima, Altima - Wait, do I want the Maxium, or the Ultimate in Nissan motoring. I can't decide. Morons. I hate you.
• Escalade - How about Extravaga. Extravacade? Stupid.

I thought I had more...oh well...