Any car - Name or number? | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Fri 23 Oct 2020 14:13

Any car - Name or number? - John F

Having gone from a ‘Focus’ to a ‘2008’, I wonder what, if any, effect a moniker has on sales. It’s difficult to like a number or a letter/number combination, especially when A6 or M3 makes me think of a roadmap. Mercedes were good at this when they denoted body style and engine capacity, but their monikers now make very little sense. Perhaps some are put off by silly names – ‘Up’ and ‘Cedric’ come to mind. But I can’t help feeling that names are better – most people can relate to ‘Golf’ or ‘Clio’ whereas ‘308’ and ‘MX5’ are meaningless, especially if there were no familiar MX1 to 4. Our 2008 is too polysyllabic however you say it. Would ‘Peugeot Pony or Piccolo’ have sold more?

If cars become popular the general public tend to provide a pet moniker, e.g. ‘Beetle’ or ‘Mini’, not a number, which the sensible manufacturer then adopts. When such a popular name is kept for subsequent models do they sell more than they otherwise would?

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 14:35

Any car - Name or number? - Gerry Sanderson

I had a recent nissan Micra with insignia on the rear boot in chrome.

I purchased a stick on chrome letter P from Halfords and added it on.

dvd

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 15:58

Any car - Name or number? - Andrew-T

most people can relate to ‘Golf’ or ‘Clio’ whereas ‘308’ and ‘MX5’ are meaningless, especially if there were no familiar MX1 to 4. Our 2008 is too polysyllabic however you say it. Would ‘Peugeot Pony or Piccolo’ have sold more?

For a long time Peugeot have stuck to the three-digit with central zero as a trade mark, even preventing Porsche from using the same format. They seem to award names only to commercial vehicles or special editions.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 16:21

Any car - Name or number? - Dag Hammar

Vauxhall Grandland X. Nice car but seriously, which marketing boffin came up with that name.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 16:44

Any car - Name or number? - bathtub tom

A local changed RANGE ROVER to HANG OVER. Quite easy if you think about it, only requiring a little adjustment to the R.

Another wag has added A-R-S-E to the SMART badge on the back of their's.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 22:08

Any car - Name or number? - The Heg

We used to have a VW Bora TDI as an unmarked car.
Someone moved the T so that the back of the car read DI Borat.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 10:14

Any car - Name or number? - Westbury33

Funny!

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 10:57

Any car - Name or number? - Engineer Andy

I know I've posted this before (some years ago though), but I once saw a late model Ford Escort (slightly pimped-up if I recall) borrowing a 'D' and having its letters re-arranged to say 'SORTED' instead of 'ESCORT'.

Brought a smile to my face.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 12:04

Any car - Name or number? - RT

I know I've posted this before (some years ago though), but I once saw a late model Ford Escort (slightly pimped-up if I recall) borrowing a 'D' and having its letters re-arranged to say 'SORTED' instead of 'ESCORT'.

Brought a smile to my face.

I thought about rearranging mine as a VW OUTRAGE

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 10:54

Any car - Name or number? - Engineer Andy

Vauxhall Grandland X. Nice car but seriously, which marketing boffin came up with that name.

Presumably the pink-coloured ones are called the Grandma and the blue Grandad.

Best though is the Mitsubishi Carisma - are car that had none.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 16:44

Any car - Name or number? - SLO76

I always liked a simple numbered identification on cars. Larger the number the bigger the car but I didn’t really care about the engine size being displayed or not. Volvo in the 80’s for example. Though the 240 did sit awkwardly in that.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 17:00

Any car - Name or number? - Oli rag

I liked BMW's numbering system of a few years ago, when you knew that a 325 was a 3 series with a 2.5 litre engine. This all went to pot some time later when a 318, 320 and others all had 2.0 engines of different power outputs.

Don't even get me started on the current Audi numbering system! What's a 35? 50? 70?

Names wise, I love a mazda bongo friendee and don't think it could be bettered.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 18:03

Any car - Name or number? - primus 1

Always wanted a JCB GT??

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 18:42

Any car - Name or number? - Bolt

Always wanted a JCB GT??

What this? www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrTF3lLCxfo&ab_channel...a

lol

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 18:13

Any car - Name or number? - badbusdriver

I don’t think it is accurate or fair to suggest that cars with numbers are more relatable than a name. Maybe different these days with the big three German (executive) brands using numbers which make no sense in relation to what is under the bonnet.

For folk of a certain age, 205GTI is just as relatable as Escort Mexico was a generation or two earlier.

But I also think that, in general, folk these days have little affinity with their car. It’s more like a bigger version of the smartphone. You take the car on a monthly PCP/whatever deal just as you take your smartphone on a contract. Once the two or three years are up, you swap it for the latest model.

But personally, (certain) cars with names, resonate with me just as much as cars with numbers.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 18:45

Any car - Name or number? - elekie&a/c doctor

I’d quite like a Gently Continental.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 18:57

Any car - Name or number? - badbusdriver

Working at a VW dealer during the time of the MK4 Golf, one of the things I had to do with the GTI was put those three letters on. You see they arrived on the transporters badged simply as Golf 2.0, almost like VW themselves were embarrassed at how insipid they were (and I am talking about the 115bhp 8V version).

Anyway, when fixing on the GTI letters, pretty much every time, I faced an overwhelming urge to rearrange the letters to GIT!.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 19:17

Any car - Name or number? - mcb100

After years of selling cars with numbers, Renault customers were in the habit of asking for a CL10.

Mazda tend to play it safe, in that if it’s a model with a single digit (2,3,6), it’s always prefixed by the word Mazda. It’s never a 3, it’s always a Mazda 3 in Mazda land.

Edited by mcb100 on 23/10/2020 at 19:58

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 22:47

Any car - Name or number? - bathtub tom

I spoke to a Mazda salesman who told me he hated driving the MX5 with "ZOOM ZOOM" on the bonnet.

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Fri 23 Oct 2020 23:01

Any car - Name or number? - ExA35Owner

Never could work out why Audi thought naming a car after a sheet of paper was a good move.

In the bad old days of the British car industry, I met a Triumph 2000 delivered from the factory with the separate chrome letters on the bonnet spelling TRIUMHP. There wasn't much quality control....

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 10:17

Any car - Name or number? - Westbury33

Re Audi, I always guessed it was a meeting where it was suggested for a laugh. Eg name the car after an inanimate object!

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 12:42

Any car - Name or number? - Andrew-T

I met a Triumph 2000 delivered from the factory with the separate chrome letters on the bonnet spelling TRIUMHP. There wasn't much quality control....

Or the Mini which was Austin at the front and Morris at the back ?

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 14:14

Any car - Name or number? - bathtub tom

I met a Triumph 2000 delivered from the factory with the separate chrome letters on the bonnet spelling TRIUMHP. There wasn't much quality control....

Or the Mini which was Austin at the front and Morris at the back ?

I had a Fiat 850 that had a SEAT badge on the front. Quite appropriate as all RHD 850s were made by SEAT. Really upset the guy who pulled out in front of it and wrote it off. Caused him problems with his insurance.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 08:24

Any car - Name or number? - mcb100

Back in the days of the Peugeot 1007 and 4007, they had to be referred to as ‘one thousand and seven’ and ‘four thousand and seven’, rather than ‘one double 0 seven’, etc, as this apparently infringed upon a copyright held by the Broccoli family reference a fictional British intelligence agent.
The name’s 100, mcb100.
The MX is shorthand for ‘Mazda Experimental’, and is also being used for their forthcoming SUV EV, the MX-30. whilst RX was ‘Rotary Experimental’. MX-5 was the fifth project developed, and we can thank the Americans for the RWD car that emerged - it was Mazda’s California design studio that won in a competition to design the car. If the Japanese had won, it would have been FWD and probably been ‘just another model’, rather than still being around 30+ years later.

Edited by mcb100 on 24/10/2020 at 08:40

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 08:44

Any car - Name or number? - Steveieb

At last VW have seen the sales potential about naming a car after a part of the country well known to be difficult to part from their money.

It's called an. " e Up "

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 09:34

Any car - Name or number? - Surreydriver

Was it urban myth that the Mitsubishi Starion was named after an unpronounceable horse?

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 09:52

Any car - Name or number? - mcb100

‘Was it urban myth that the Mitsubishi Starion was named after an unpronounceable horse?’
Mitsubishi later came up with the reasoning that it was a shortening of ‘Star of the Orient’.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 09:53

Any car - Name or number? - Bromptonaut

One of the issues with relatability of names is that the manufacturers increasingly want one name for all markets. This tends to result in made up words that mean nothing in any language and are pronounceable in all.

I suspect there's an algorithm for it.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 10:43

Any car - Name or number? - mcb100

Sometimes it’s not a scientific as that. I was involved with launching the current MX-5 to the UK dealer network, and the optional leather interior was due to be called Tan. Until the first one arrived and it was nothing like tan. A group of us, and the product manager, rapidly renamed it Sand leather. 30 seconds discussion and a decision was made.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 11:18

Any car - Name or number? - Steveieb

Of course everyone has heard about Mitsubishi’s decision to rename the Shogan in Spanish speaking countries as it roughly translates as HR , and not the Personnel Department kind.

Whereas the MR2 was renamed in France as it is too similar to the French word Merde !

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 11:44

Any car - Name or number? - mcb100

Nova is roughly ‘no go’.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 12:06

Any car - Name or number? - Terry W

I think the latin derivation of "nova" is "new star"

Just shows how careful car manufacturers need to be in naming their products.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 12:40

Any car - Name or number? - elekie&a/c doctor

Friend was waiting for Ford to release the Ka Si .

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 12:51

Any car - Name or number? - brum

Cupra Formentor???

No its a Seat Leon on steroids to me.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 16:16

Any car - Name or number? - FP

- "I think the latin derivation of "nova" is "new star"

"Nova" in Latin is the feminine ending of "novus", meaning new.

The "nov-" morpheme crops up in many Indo-European languages, for example Russian: noviy, or in its variant "neo-", as in Greek: neos.

The only link between "nova" and stars is the astronomical term "supernova", used to describe the violent explosion at the end of a star's life.

Pedant mode > off.

Edited by FP on 24/10/2020 at 16:18

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Sun 25 Oct 2020 08:33

Any car - Name or number? - mcb100

Slightly more prosaic, but my original point was that in Spanish, ‘no va’ translates as ‘not going’, but in this instance it’s ‘not attending’, rather than ‘not working’.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 17:21

Any car - Name or number? - John F

Just shows how careful car manufacturers need to be in naming their products.

Possibly apocryphal but a well known story - Rolls Royce were thinking of calling a new model 'Silver Mist' ...until someone looked up what it meant in German.

Time to resurrect 'Centaur', once used on a kit car based on the Hillman Imp (nice catchy name), for a hybrid?

Edited by John F on 24/10/2020 at 17:22

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 12:47

Any car - Name or number? - Trilogy.

Nova is roughly ‘no go’.

A Corsa is even rougher then Nova. I would never say I drive a Corsa. Coa***r than?

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 12:56

Any car - Name or number? - brum

Vw phaeton

Cant even pronounce it,

Apparantly son of a greek God, you know the one, the one that drives a VW.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 13:01

Any car - Name or number? - brum

Ay up, me e-up's playing up.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 14:08

Any car - Name or number? - sammy1

How about the Rolls Canardley It rolls downhill but can hardly get up them!

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 14:44

Any car - Name or number? - elekie&a/c doctor

VW Anorak ? What’s all that about ?

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 15:56

Any car - Name or number? - focussed

According to the french service manager speaking frenglish at my local Honda dealer I drive a Honda Agreement. "Bring your agreement in so we can replace the airbag"

That took a few moments to sink in "What agreement is it you want to see svp?"

Edited by focussed on 24/10/2020 at 15:59

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 16:02

Any car - Name or number? - Steveieb

I expect Toyota are counting their lucky stars by not replacing the Corona!

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 17:44

Any car - Name or number? - John F

Vw phaeton

Cant even pronounce it,

Adds to the allure - like the Lambo Countach. As a boy I read Greek mythology and used to think Persephone rhymed with telephone. Interestingly (well, I thought so), Phaeton (feytun - or fe'un for Radio 1 listeners) was first used on the car in which Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, sparking WW1.

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Sat 24 Oct 2020 23:30

Any car - Name or number? - Avant

I wonnder what the Germans made of the Triumph Acclaim - which translates into German as Sieg Heil.

Actually Triumph had some of the best names: the Gloria, the Dolomites, and most distinguished-sounding of all, the Triumph Renown.

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Sun 25 Oct 2020 08:54

Any car - Name or number? - Andrew-T

Nova is roughly ‘no go’.

Not roughly, exactly - but it has to be two words: no va, in Spanish. As you all know.

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Sun 25 Oct 2020 10:47

Any car - Name or number? - mcb100

As I’ve said above, it’s more a case of ‘not attending’, as opposed to ‘not working’.

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Sun 25 Oct 2020 10:58

Any car - Name or number? - SLO76

Reminds me of the Lancia Dedra from the 90’s. It was supposed to be the car, along with the soon to follow new Delta that would reverse the firms fortunes in the U.K. but despite being quite a pleasant thing it was no match for the E36 BMW and the name didn’t fit well with a sporting saloon. It was to me a better car to drive than the Rover R8.

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Sun 25 Oct 2020 12:00

Any car - Name or number? - badbusdriver

The Japanese surely have the market covered in terms of weird names, possibly due to misunderstanding, possibly also to do with the Japanese meaning not accurately translating into English.

A few jump out though:

Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard (Vauxhall Frontera)

Honda Life Dunk

Mitsubishi MUM 500 Shall We Join Us?

Daihatsu Naked

Nissan Homy Super Long

Mitsubishi Minica Lettuce

Suzuki Every Joypop Turbo

Toyota Deliboy

Isuzu GIGA 20 Light Dump (this is a truck, I believe there is also a Big Dump!)

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Mon 26 Oct 2020 16:06

Any car - Name or number? - Steveieb

The Austin Monaco had to be renamed Montego after Princess Grace was killed in one after a mysterious accident in the mountain roads around Monte Carlo after brake failure.

Anyone remember this ?

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Mon 26 Oct 2020 16:42

Any car - Name or number? - Bromptonaut

The Austin Monaco had to be renamed Montego after Princess Grace was killed in one after a mysterious accident in the mountain roads around Monte Carlo after brake failure.

Anyone remember this ?

Didn't think it was that mysterious. She died in 1982 before the Montego was launched. The car involved was a Rover.

My recollection is that she suffered a disabling health condition, either a stroke or heart attack and the crash resulted from that.

Or is there more to the story...........

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Mon 26 Oct 2020 16:45

Any car - Name or number? - Avant

I seem to remember that Princess Grace (or possibly her daughter) was driving a Rover when she crashed. I doubt she'd have had anything as ordinary as a Montego, but maybe her death might have caused the name change.

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Mon 26 Oct 2020 16:46

Any car - Name or number? - John F

The Austin Monaco had to be renamed Montego after Princess Grace was killed in one after a mysterious accident in the mountain roads around Monte Carlo after brake failure.

Anyone remember this ?

Yes, very well. Nothing to do with Austin. The car was a Rover 2000 with the Buick 3.5 V8, and there was a suspicion that her 17yr old daughter was driving it and lost control. Heart attacks and strokes in 52 yr old women are very rare, especially when driving. I wonder who did the post mortem.......

Edited by John F on 26/10/2020 at 16:52

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Mon 26 Oct 2020 18:43

Any car - Name or number? - RT

The Austin Monaco had to be renamed Montego after Princess Grace was killed in one after a mysterious accident in the mountain roads around Monte Carlo after brake failure.

Anyone remember this ?

She was driving a 1971 Rover P6 at the time of her fatal crash.

The Morris Monaco was the name used for the ADO17 in some markets, known here as the Austin 1800, aka Landcrab.

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