My student and I are trying to identify a car we saw in a video about traffic in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The video was posted circa 2018. We’ve looked up as many identifying characteristics as we could. Anybody want to help us solve this mystery? Thanks in advance.
I’d post this on an Indian and on a Bangladeshi car forum, bet they know. The logo isn’t familliar.
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That has to be the best picture of a vehicle, that I have seen anyway, asking us to identify, sadly it is probably not one sold in the USA… lol
Any suggestions of a forum?
No, sounds like a good research project for your student.
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It is probably a 2002 to 2004 Toyota Allion A15
Remember, the Toyota Emblem used in the US has all the “TOYOTA” Letters in the emblem, in other parts of the world, the symbology may have different meaning elsewhere. Remember the Chevy Nova fiasco when they treid to sell the car in Latin America. In Spanish, nove translates to “no go…”
On the Allion, the standard US Toyota emblem is actually on the rear of the car…
That old meme was disproven many years ago:
YOU HAVE MADE OUR DAY!!! Thanks for taking the time to help us. My student is 11 years old and just LOVES cars. We didn’t know this model existed, had been trying many of our own strategies to solve this mystery, and are grateful you helped us out! Have a great day!
No, the meme stood the test of time, or like the old Timex meme, It took a licking and keeps on ticking…
Even the “author” of the article discredits his own article when he admits that the Nova did not sell well and that the GM executives were baffled until someone finally pointed out to them that “nova” translates as “doesn’t go” in Spanish. The embarrassed automobile giant changed the model name to the Caribe, and sales of the car took off.
Let me repeat that, “the sales took off…”
I have no idea where the idea of “nova” means “doesn’t go” in Spanish, it does not… Perhaps some junior executive who took Spanish 101 in high school started this and perhaps that stuck…
In Spanish, “nova” means “nova” as in the astronomical event like when a star explodes…
However, when “nova” is spoken it is the same as when you say, “no va” and in Spanish that does mean “no go…”
I do not know why the sales were poor but perhaps it was the constant teasing the owners, or the comedians had a laugh over, perhaps it was just poor advertising on the part of GM… and by happen stance, the name change also included a much better ad campaign…
If you were going to buy a car and the name brought up thoughts of the power of an Exploding Star, or the vision of a car stuck on the side of the road; would you be inspired to buy a “no va?” Not I, or as they say in Spanish, “Yo no…”
Did you not read the article?
“The one bit of supporting evidence offered to back up this legend is spurious as well. General Motors, we’re told, finally wised up and changed the model name of their automobile from Nova to Caribe, after which sales of the car “took off.” The problem with this claim is that the Caribe sold in Mexico was manufactured by Volkswagen, not by General Motors. (The Caribe was the model name used by VW in Mexico for the car more commonly known in the USA as the Volkswagen Golf.) The Nova’s model name was never changed for the Spanish-speaking market.”
Yup!
Attempts to defend–and perpetuate–this myth are not based on factual evidence.
Facts? We don’t need no stinkin facts!! 
And, we don’t need the usual 8 to 10 paragraphs, either.
Hmmm…
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Yes, I read the same “Facts” as you did, I just came to a different conclusion… 
vs. 
All the Facts are in the article, we just disagree on which are more relevant… 
or 
I have to agree as I’m not sure this article actually contains any “Facts…” 
or 
You are right, we may not need them, but here they are… L 
L . . .
I do not consider the author, David Mikkelson, to be an expert, he is a self-professed “Fact Checking Blogger…” Where did he get his facts from, did he Google, or even Deep Google, who provided the facts? Could he be the victim of Fake-news? He provided no Verification Citations, there were no Footnotes, and of course no Bibliography to verify Contentious Material…
But he did include a Large “Become a Member” and proceeded lots of options to support him and his Blog Site…
Sorry, but I subscribe to the myth…
I still listen for the clump of hoofs on my rooftop at Christmas, and I had a tooth extracted a year or so ago; I thought, as a joke, I would put the tooth under my pillow, but 'lo 'n behold, the next morning the tooth was gone and a fresh dollar bill was in its place. The wife said she did not do it and I “believe” her, so you tell me if the Tooth Fairy is a myth or not…
And as you so undeniably pointed out when the name changed sales increased, it might have been the fact that Volkswagen now built the car, but the name changed and it did finally sell.
Facts are only a version of the “truth…” For example, you take your fastest vehicle and race me in my fastest vehicle in the quarter mile… and imagine you cross the finish line first…
Here are the facts…
You Won.
I lost.
You came in next to last.
And I came in second place…
Facts are merely one person’s truth…
So, for me, the myth lives on… “Viva la Nova…”
The Volkswagen Rabbit/Caribe consumes half the fuel compared to the Chevrolet, probably the main reason for greater sales.
Is there a myth for the number of Toyota Paseo sales in Mexico?
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If there is, I’m quite sure that our friend who suffers from logorrhea will find it, expound upon it, and–ultimately–attempt to defend it.