Any ways we do have some intresting car names back here like the NISSAN SUNNY (and there is nothing sunny about it),

The Chevy Avelanch (hope i spelled that properly) we are in the middle of the desert….. it’s impossible to have snow so how about an avelanch.

The Nissan Tiida… guess they mis-spelled the word TA-DA as in surprise… and still there is nothing surprising about it.

Daihatsu have this compact car they call… Picanto…. wait was that Picachu ?!??!?

Ooh and there was a Toyota 4×4 called the 4runner… guess it came from Road Runner (the cartoon) beep beep…

And there is the Chrysler if am not mistaken which is called the Crossfire… hey we are not in war over here, it’s just Iraq that is waaaaay over there.

How about the Toyota Aurion… or Oreao..!!

can’t recall if there are any other “exotic” car names here ….

@MadHungarian:
the 1957 Plymouth line, which is named after hotels — Plaza, Savoy, Belvedere

Actually, Plymouth’s hotel names came earlier than that. Savoy and Belvedere were introduced for 1951, and Plaza for 1954. Belvedere lasted through ‘70, Plaza through ‘58, and Savoy through ‘65. I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels, but I have yet to encounter the Hotel Fury.

@Minifan:
what impressions would be made regarding the driver of a car labeled CATERA_CTS?

Er…quite.

@pacificpom2:
Nissan Cedric, released into a homophobic 1960’s Australia.

Eh? I must be missing something about “Cedric”. Splain?

@Paul Niedermeyer:
Honda Wagovan

Is it any less clunky (ahem) than VW Vanagon?

And isn’t it asking for trouble to name a vehicle a Blazer?

On another note, after the Ford Explorer and the Lincoln Navigator, I was half expecting them to bring out the Mercury Mozilla.

The Lancia Hyena are one of the coolest cars ever. Most TTAC-readers are probably familiar with the legendary ‘Grale – the Lancia (Delta) Integrale. Now, the Hyena was a limited production from Zagato, based on the ‘Grale. It’s a very sought after and desired classic today, commanding 5-figure prices.

The Maserati Boomerang was a very stylish, one-off concept-car from Giugiaro, presentet some time in the 1970’s. I remember ’cause I had one of those as a Matchbox modelcar as a kid.

British author Martin Amis, in his novel “Money”, lists the following fictional cars:

Tomahawk
Fiasco
Autocrat
Culprit
666
Mistral
Alibi
Boomerang
Farrago
Hyena
Acapulco
Torpedo
Jefferson
Iago
Jefferson Success
Tigerfish
Mañana

Beat those!

I just can’t stop laughing.

And if you pronounce XR4Ti as ‘Exerati’ it rolls off the tongue with some flair.

bomber991 : All that and you left off “Anal Probe”?

Anal Focus
Anal Fusion
Anal Taurus <– ok maybe that one doesn’t work
Anal Mustang
Anal Edge
Anal Flex
Anal Escape
Anal Explorer
Anal Expedition
Anal Ranger

Of course, when I was in highschool, the Ford Excursion existed.

Indeed, I always thought it odd that the Caddy and Lincoln sedans had EXACTLY THE SAME NAME, and nobody seemed bothered by it.

I have to nominate Daewoo Leganza and second Honda Civic Wagovan, and no list is complete without AMC Matador.

The American Motor Company (AMC) in the late 70’s sold their Gremlin with genuine Levi’s Jeans interior. Complete with butt pockets on the back of the bucket seats.

If you think Japanese cars have bad names, you should see some of the names they bestowed on motorcycles, especially during the 80’s (although the bikes themselves were actually pretty cool.)

Can you imagine riding up to your local biker bar sitting astride your Suzuki Savage? Or Intruder?

I had a Savage for my first bike. Excellent machine to learn on because you didn’t “outgrow” it right away. It was juuuust powerful enough to be rideable on the superslab. That is, if you could put up with being blown around by every vehicle on the road– it only weighed about 350 lbs soaking wet. (And mine weighed even less once I chopped off all the extraneous chrome and huge factory turn signals in favor of a sleeker, rat rod look!)

But yes, the name was pretty silly. Most of us in the Savage community preferred to call the bike by its given model designation: LS650.

My current bike– a BMW K75– doesn’t have such a laughable name, so the community came up with one for it: The Flying Brick, due to the shape of its engine.

IIRC there was also a version of the Toyota Mark II called the ‘Exciting Edition’.

Just like Chevy de-valued the “Z” nomenclature by having a Z-24 Cavalier…..

RE: funny names for cars out of Japan….they also have a soft-drink called, I am not making this up, Pokari “Sweat.” Doesn’t sound like something I’d like to knock back on a hot day….

OMT…..wasn’t there once a car called the “Whizzer”…..

Surely they weren’t trying to keep from selling a bunch of these imported Fords? The Astra is another example. Saw only my second Astra in a year over the weekend! SHARP car. They didn’t (don’t) advertise the damn car around here. How do they expect to sell them? Isn’t that the point? How is any average on-car-mag consumer going to know it exists???

Just seems to me that a car company ought to sell as many of a product as they can whether it be large or small or Euro-style or domestic.

As for the Swinger at the beginning of the article – it actually looks good – dated but good. My grandmother had one when I was a kid. Funny how I see cars in the ads – all clean and intact and with all the trim – that look good despite their age. When I see the same car running around minus the trim, with patches of this color and that, mismatched parts, and no evidence of ever being loved – I wonder how anyone would have bought a car like that when it was new. The distressed and neglected car actually poisons the style or design for me until I see a vintage ad like that. The 80s poisoned Camaros for me that way. Only now getting over it… VBG!

I have the same problem with Beetles. See a rotted out rusty claptrap of a Beetle rolling down the road and I can’t imagine why anyone would want one. Then I see a well restored Beetle and I can’t wait to find some time and money to work on mine that sits patiently in dry storage.

FWIW I never got the explanation behind my mispronunciation of “Grand Prix” from my parents. Too buttoned up to explain I suppose. Lucky for me I don’t remember embarrasing myself with the mispronunciation of “Prix” in front of anyone but them though I know I was making that mistake. Wasn’t until High School that my “education” in raunch that I understood my mistake years before.

It wasn’t marketed as such in South America, if that’s what you mean…

It’s becoming clear how so many of these legends become so persistent.

As for car names, I always chuckle on all the various ways SEX can be spelled!

My personal fav is Subaru SVX.

There’s STS SX, lots more.

Chevy Nova means NoGo in spanish, i hear.

Ford Perspire (aspire)

Fun stuff, thanks!