# What's the Worst Name for a Car? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079 "2017-04-17T23:06:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/81 "2017-04-21T02:00:06Z")
> [@bing](#): > > If Edsel is a bad name, what the hey does Chevrolet mean? Or Oldsmobile? Pontiac? They were all people’s names. Even Ford They were successes. BTW, I think REO Speedwagon was one of the best names for a car, did Mr Olds proud. ---
**Author:** ![sgtrock21](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/sgtrock21/32/246_2.png) [@sgtrock21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sgtrock21)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/82 "2017-04-21T15:22:49Z")
Strange coincidence. “Whip It” played on my radio when I was driving home yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![sgtrock21](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/sgtrock21/32/246_2.png) [@sgtrock21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sgtrock21)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/83 "2017-04-21T15:32:50Z")
Correct regarding “minx”. “Bolt” reminds me of the dog that starred in a Disney animated movie. My Grandson watched it over and over until the DVD mercifully wore out. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/84 "2017-04-21T15:53:20Z")
Starting mid 20’s to early 30’s a British car company called SS (Standard Shallow) was formed. Then WWII comes along and in 1945 the company decided SS may not be very appropriate. So they changed their name to Jaguar. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/85 "2017-04-21T21:18:36Z")
Now that’s interesting. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/86 "2017-04-21T21:27:04Z")
…except for the fact that the company name was _Standard Swallow_, rather than Standard Shallow… > **[Standard Motor Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Motor_Company)** > > The Standard Motor Company Limited was a motor vehicle manufacturer, founded in Coventry, England, in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay. It purchased Triumph in 1945 and in 1959 officially changed its name to Standard-Triumph International and began to put the Triumph brandname on all its products. > For many years, it manufactured Ferguson tractors powered by its Vanguard engine. All Standard's tractor assets were sold to Massey Ferguson in 1959. > In September 1959, Standard Motor Company was rena... 😏 ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/87 "2017-04-21T21:39:07Z")
So Standard Swallow is waaaay worse than either Standard Shallow or Jaguar! Time change, as does the English language… ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/88 "2017-04-21T21:47:07Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > So Standard Swallow is waaaay worse than either Standard Shallow or Jaguar! Time change, as does the English language… I think that the real issue is the abbreviation for Standard Swallow ( **SS** ). In the era of the Nazis, the SS logo was like poison in England, where they were fighting for their lives against the Nazi hordes. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/89 "2017-04-21T21:48:38Z")
Verrry good point! I forgot the time frame. That would put a real stigma on the brand. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/90 "2017-04-21T22:40:38Z")
I think they used the S S though up until 1945 when it changed to Jaguar. I might have read wrong though. ---
**Author:** ![meanjoe75fan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/meanjoe75fan/32/552_2.png) [@meanjoe75fan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/meanjoe75fan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 4:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/91 "2017-04-22T04:08:41Z")
What’s wrong with Super Sport? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 5:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/92 "2017-04-22T05:07:34Z")
I forgot about the Buick Lucerne which shares a name with a part of Switzerland known for dairy farms. The Lacrosse is equally goofy. Car parts have bad names too. Throwout bearing. The Kia Sorento sounds like a Spanish surname. Manufacturers Safety Data Sheet, MSDS, is a good one. I say it means “paperwork today.” Why is American Standard a name for toilet parts? ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 5:45am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/93 "2017-04-22T05:45:10Z")
I can’t even remember the number of times I’ve sparred with parts store counter clerks over my Merkur XR4ti. I simply call it a MerKer to hold down the confusion and it matters not. I get into a “Mercury; what type of Mercury? Grand Marquis, Sable, or what?”. The correct pronunciation is Maar Koor. Lord knows what kind of turmoil would get stirred up if I kept it correct. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 12:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/94 "2017-04-22T12:19:01Z")
> [@pleasedodgevan2](#): > > The Kia Sorento sounds like a Spanish surname. Actually, Sorrento is a town in southern Italy, fairly close to Naples. > [@pleasedodgevan2](#): > > Why is American Standard a name for toilet parts? The merger–many years ago–of the American Plumbing Fixtures company with the Ideal Standard company resulted in the American Standard corporate name. ---
**Author:** ![sgtrock21](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/sgtrock21/32/246_2.png) [@sgtrock21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sgtrock21)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/95 "2017-04-22T17:12:57Z")
Nissan’s Murano. Changing U to A results in Marano, Spanish for pig. Actually Murano in Japanese is a “village field”. What that is or has to do with automobiles? I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/96 "2017-04-22T17:39:26Z")
Just as Sorrento is a town in Italy, Murano is also located in Italy. Many of the famed “Venetian glass” masterpieces actually come from the islands that comprise Murano. Perhaps the Nissan people were trying to associate that vehicle with a place of known artistry. > **[Murano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murano)** > > Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) north of Venice and measures about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was once an independent comune, but is now a frazione of the comune of Venice. > Murano was initially settled by the Romans and from the sixth century by people from Altinum and Oderzo. At first, the island prospered as a f... ---
**Author:** ![sgtrock21](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/sgtrock21/32/246_2.png) [@sgtrock21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sgtrock21)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/97 "2017-04-22T18:38:17Z")
I knew the Venice Italy connection I just thought a Japanese word would be more likely. It seems many Japanese car names are just made up and relate to nothing. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/98 "2017-04-22T19:14:58Z")
Many car names mean nothing, and in all languages. The Toyota Yaris is known in Japan as the Vitz. When Toyota decided to sell overseas, they discovered that “witz” (pronounced “vitz”) means a joke in German. Toyota is full of smart marketers and changed the name to Yaris, which means nothing in the overseas markets it sells in. ---
**Author:** ![insightful](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/insightful/32/2732_2.png) [@insightful](https://community.cartalk.com/u/insightful)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/99 "2017-04-22T20:12:59Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Many car names mean nothing, and in all languages. Like Camaro…sounds cool…means nothing. ---
**Author:** ![JayWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@JayWB](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JayWB)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079/100 "2017-04-22T21:13:37Z")
I’ve long thought that Camaro is a shortened version of “Camarone”, Spanish for “prawn”. So a Camaro is essentially a shrimp. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079.md?page=4) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-the-worst-name-for-a-car/103079.md?page=6)