QOTD: Which Cars Are Least Likely to Be Found in Their Namesake Land?

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

Sometimes, a car’s name accurately captures its spirit. Diablo. Testarossa. Golf. Okay, maybe not the last one. There are plenty of examples; even Silverado makes my list of machines whose identity matches the name carved into its trunk lid (or tailgate).

There are definitely some, though, that absolutely do not. This leads us to today’s question: what car (or truck) do you think is least likely to be found in the part of the world that bears its name?

First to mind? Corsica. A mundane sedan peddled by The General for nearly a decade from 1987 to 1996, it was the perfect four-door solution to insomnia, particularly equipped with the four-cylinder engine and a slushbox. On paper, V6 versions were sold with GM’s venerable 3.1-liter under the hood, an engine whose exhaust note ripped through the air with a distinctive roar. (I can attest to this – Ed.)

I’ve seen few in the wild, even when new. I can’t imagine seeing any at all in, y’know, actual Corsica.

The Dodge Monaco is another example, as I severely doubt any of the large-and-in-charge rear-drive versions could have even fit on the streets of Monaco, let alone navigate them. The rare-as-hen’s-teeth twin to the Eagle Premier, produced for four model years, is the exception, given it was loosely related to various Renault offerings as a result of the strange AMC/Renault/Chrysler love triangle of the era.

What others can you think of, B&B? We’ve started you with two — Corsica and Monaco — and now it’s your turn to rhyme off a few machines that will never turn a wheel in the part of the world for which they are named.

[Image: Murilee Martin/ TTAC]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Big Al from Oz Big Al from Oz on Apr 17, 2018

    My BT50 Mazda probably has the best acronym (naming convention). BT means "Built in Thailand.

  • Pwrwrench Pwrwrench on Apr 17, 2018

    Someone got ahead on the Chevy Biscayne being somewhere near Biscayne Bay. Hopefully a mate from Down Under can tell us how many Subaru Outbacks are actually in the... Outback?

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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