They were successes. BTW, I think REO Speedwagon was one of the best names for a car, did Mr Olds proud.
Strange coincidence. “Whip It” played on my radio when I was driving home yesterday.
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.
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.
3 Likes
Now that’s interesting.
…except for the fact that the company name was Standard Swallow, rather than Standard Shallow…
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.
Verrry good point! I forgot the time frame. That would put a real stigma on the brand.
I think they used the S S though up until 1945 when it changed to Jaguar. I might have read wrong though.
What’s wrong with Super Sport? 
1 Like
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?
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.
2 Likes
Actually, Sorrento is a town in southern Italy, fairly close to Naples.
The merger–many years ago–of the American Plumbing Fixtures company with the Ideal Standard company resulted in the American Standard corporate name.
1 Like
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.
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.
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.
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.
Like Camaro…sounds cool…means nothing.
I’ve long thought that Camaro is a shortened version of “Camarone”, Spanish for “prawn”. So a Camaro is essentially a shrimp.
2 Likes