You might remember the puzzler from a few weeks ago. (Unless your name is Tom Magliozzi, of course.) Specifically, the one Ray shared about plural car model names.
Ray thought there were only three car model names in history that were plural nouns: the Acura Integra, the Nissan Maxima, and the Kia Spectra.
Well, little did Ray know!
So little, in fact, that we got a veritable deluge of emails. Most of which started out with the two words, “Hey, Dopes!”
So, Ray did a little mea culpa, and added a few names to the list…the Chevy Lumina and Impala, the Kia Optima, and a few others. And, he thought that was it. Well, a few more hundred emails came in, so this week, Ray gives “Mea Culpa #2”, and welcomes the Mercury Lynx, Chevy Cheyenne, Mazda Navajo, Jeep Comanche, Mercury Marquis, Pontiac Grand Prix, Bentley Brooklands, Audi Fox, Isuzu Gemini, Plymouth Barracuda, Volkswagen Touareg, GMC Sierra Citroen 2 CV.
Oh, and it turns out the Acura Integra was incorrect.
Ray thinks that about covers it, but if you’ve got any more to add to the list, or want to challenge some of the suggestions above, share your thoughts here.
We’ll make sure Ray sees your comments. Just as soon as he gets over his current, extended bout of night sweats.
How about the Miata. Like some other names it is a made up name so I don’t think anyone knows if it is singular or plural or even if it is a noun.
Mitsubishi (Look it up)
“Grand Prix” is not plural. The plural is “Grands Prix.” You could get court marshals, oops I mean Courts Marshal, for that! I’ll have to ask the Sergeants at Arms, right after I eat my Whoppers Junior.
Mitsubishi = “Three Water Chestnuts,” but this is about car models, not makes.
One that is really, truly plural is the Citro?n 2CV "deux chevaux (French for “two horses”, which was the horsepower).
This is the kind of thinking that brought us such wonderful terms as: a pair of pant, a pair of scissor, a pair of blue jean, five pantsuit, newpaper, matching short and sock, a three person chair, mailperson, three men in a three person crew, six Dakoda warrior, etc.
You seem to have missed the most interesting plural, and it’s ITALIAN. “Amante” is lover, as in dog lover or Jane’s secret lover, or lover of car talk. The plural of amante is amanti, as in lovers of Car Talk (all two of them), or Kia Amanti.
American Motors wondered for a long time why their Matador sports model was not selling well in Puerto Rico. Matador, of course , means “Killer” and San Juan had the worst traffic fatality rate in the entire USA, Commonwealth & Territorial region. Similarly the Chevy Nova suffered from slow sales, as “No Va” meant “it won’t go” in Spanish.
I have a Subaru Legacy. I did not see that on your list.
The Twelve Cars of Christmas…
A Toureg on a Tow Truck
2 Barracuda Hemis
3 Cheyenne Clutches
4 Apache Trucks
5 Rendevous…this was the line in my head that made me write the rest.
6 Sierra seat cushions
7 Spectra a-starting
8 Marquis a-motoring
9 Lynx Dented
10 Lumina a-lurching
11 Impala Ignitions
12 Dakota Brake Drums
Suppose I have more than one Chevy II. Let’s say I have 2 Chevy IIs. Is Chevy II singular or is it already plural? Can I have 2 Chevy 2? Or 2 Chevy 2s? Or two Chevy Twos? Or Too Chevy II? Or… ??? Where does it end? What is the plural of Chevy II? Or Mustang II? Or LTD II? Man, you guys really opened up a can of worms, didn’t you? Just look at what you started! It’s the automotive equivilent of WWIII, almost. And what about the Studebaker Avanti? Is it one Avanti, and two Avantis? Or two Avanti? Speaking of Avanti, I gotta go guys. Bye. Don
How about Jeep Cherokee?
Another three to keep Ray awake at night(s).
Suzuki Samurai, Mazda Millenia, Mitsubishi Tredia
Len Clark
Salisbury , NC
The Town & Country that they pooh poohed on the show is definitely a plural. It’s a compound subject like “John and Mary”.
I’ve heard the bits (parts 1 & 2) as well skimming over the posts and i did not see one mention of the dodge aries. doesn’t that constitute as a plural?
Aries can be defined as one constellation, but can be plural when defined as a sign of the Zodiac. I think fox (foxes) and grand prix (see above) are definitely singular.
What about the Nash Metropolitan? Chevrolet Monza? Come to think of it, what the heck is a Monza?
Monza is the name of a rather famous racetrack in Italy. Might be the name of the town as well, I dunno.
This might be cheating, but I drive a Mazda3
A whole LOT of people are showing their education. They are confusing PLURAL with NUMBER. Back to basic grammar with them all.