By Classic Yorkshire correspondent, Tony Lofthouse.
In my last blog about the sporty Opel Manta I touched on the ‘fishy’ origins behind the naming of the model. That got me thinking about how manufacturers choose car names and some of the more unusual ones out there.
It’s fair to say a name can make or break the launch of new model. A good name can inspire potential buyers and successfully capture the essence of the car and its maker. But, get it wrong and a car’s sales can stall.
It’s often down to the Marketing Department to hit on a winning name and it can be a painstaking process of testing and retesting. It’s important to ensure the name fits the brand too.
Alphanumeric car names may help you understand where a car fits in a model line-up but it’s hard to get excited about numbers or letters. According to research from Vanarama ‘real names’ are twice as memorable as using numbers and letters
Trademark availability is another factor in choosing a new name and what seems the right name for a global launch can get lost in translation!
Sometimes manufacturers want to keep to a theme. For example, many Volkswagen models are named after winds such as Scirocco, Passat, Polo and Golf.
Until recently, Vauxhall loved to end their models with the letter ‘A’ – Viva, Cresta, Corsa, Firenza and Meriva spring to mind.
Animals and stinging fish have had a strong affinity with Marketers – think Jaguar, Puma, Cobra, Viper, Stingray and then of course there is the compact Citroen Nemo van.
Renault always used numbers but later chose French sounding words or names like Megane, Clio and Espace to appeal to their Francophile market.
Seat seem to love their Spanish towns such as Leon, Ibiza and Toledo. It all started with the four-door Ronda in 1982 and there have been 12 more over the years. Can you name them all?
But sometimes, the name game can go horribly wrong – costing money and damaging reputation.
In 1965 Rolls Royce were set to launch the Silver Mist in Germany when someone pointed out that ‘Mist’ translates to ‘dung’ in German. The car was quickly rebadged the Silver Shadow.
Vauxhall tried something different with the launch of the Adam in 2012 – the city car was named after the founder of Opel. One of the variant models was the Adam Rocks! It all seemed a step too far and especially when the car maker named its trim options, Jam, Glam and Slam. The Adam was pulled in 2019.
Another ‘thumbs down’ goes to Ford whose Probe – launched in 1988 – conjured up images of investigations or an examination rather than space travel. The Probe was a good looker but despite drawing on technology from Mazda it never really took off. It would face four years of poor sales.
Some of the coolest names are among the luxury end of the market such as Porsche Carrera, Aston Martin Vanquish, Jensen Interceptor, Rolls Royce Phantom, Lamborghini Diablo and Audi Quattro, but there are exceptions. Step forward the VW Beetle, reflecting the cars insect like shape and the many Mini models that fondly captured the swinging sixties.
Naming cars is not an exact science but you could say the best ones are those that add to the character and imagery of a car and inspire the driver inside.
Do you have a favourite car name – good or bad – that you’d like to share? Just use the comments facility. We would love to hear from you.
Vauxall also had the Astra and Frontera (ending in A) – not sure why they had a Cavalier, which was my favourite, probably because I drove a white Cavalier, along with the VW Beetle.
Austen cars I seem to recall used place names but I think the Oxford was Morris.
Ford Sierra Cosworth RS 3dr