The automotive world has such a great diversity in its ecosystem, that there's truly something for everyone, filling even the most peculiar of niches to the whims of mankind. Three-wheelers, open-top supercars, EV resto-mods, and among others, each have their own distinct personalities that sets them apart. Equally, the identities of each one is tied to a unique name, one which signifies to us as to what, and who these machines are.
As they say, first impressions are important. Similarly, cars need a good name, regardless of whether it simply uses a combination of alphanumerics, or it has some poetic meaning. You can remember how a car looks, and maybe how it behaves, or the aspirations behind it. A name is just as crucial as the bond that ties your remembrance to it. Otherwise, everything is just 'that wedge-y, red sports-car', or 'it's a big, tall Jeep-thing', instead of Ferrari or Land Rover.
What Do I Call You?
Credits to: GIPHY, Uncrate - 275GTB Rally, and GTV2000
Some cars quite clearly tell you about what they are, and the limitations that bind them. The Ferrari 275 GTB for example, is named after the cubic displacement within each cylinder. So, with its 3.3-litre V12 - take 3300cc and divide by 12-cylinders, you end up with 275. Meanwhile the Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 is named simply as it's engine displacement is 2000cc in total. Unimaginative perhaps, by using only numbers to introduce themselves. However, it's also straightforward, and there's no doubt about what it can do, in its most basic form.
Credits to: Girardo - Alfa GTA, and GarageDreams - MR2
Others are named to tell you about who they are, relaying to the driver as to what they've been built 'for' - not built 'of' - and how they should be treated. The Alfa Romeo GTA is an abbreviation of "Gran Turismo Alleggerita", or 'Grand-Touring Lightened'. It tells you that while it was conceived as a comfy, long-distance cruiser, it's renewed diet has added quite a bit more vitality. Then, there's the Toyota MR2, abbreviated for 'midship, roundabout, 2-seater', or 'mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, 2-seater'. Read this, and you'll know that it's a lightweight sports-car that you can chuck-about, and burn rubber.
Credits to: NetCarShow- C2 Corvette, TheDrive - Miura
There's also those named after animals, perhaps to take inspiration from the beautiful rawness, and beastly form of Mother Nature herself. The Volkswagen Beetle, and Corvette Stingray are called so simply due to their design - of looking like a beetle, and respectively, a stingray. Lamborghini has a history of entitling their cars after menacing Spanish fighting bulls. Iconic cars like the Miura was named after an entire breed, while the Murciélago was named after a heroic bull that survived 24 sword strokes. So impressed was the Matador, that the bull was allowed to live.
Credits to: NetCarShow - Kona, and NetCarShow - Pajero
Cases of monikers being lost to translation happens more than often enough, in effect causing both vulgar comments, and hilarity to ensue. The Hyundai Kona is a seemingly cheerful, colourful, and capable crossover. Such a personification isn't so easily accepted in Portugal, as "cona" in Portuguese translates to 'pussy'. Not the feline 'pussy', mind you, but the female genitalia. The same goes for the Mitsubishi Pajero, a hardy off-roader built to tackle every terrain. In Spanish however, it translates to 'male-masturbator', or simply 'wanker'. You don't want to be caught driving a vagina, or wanker, do you?
What I Want You To Be Called.
Credits to: CarPixe - Vantage AMR, CarPixel - Vulcan, Carpixel - Valkyrie AMR Pro, and CarPixel - Valhalla
There's certainly a million-and-one ways to name a car - or anything for that matter - even by taking the most simple attributions. It's an endless possibility, and my head is already spinning with ideas. In particular, there are two that stands out the most in my mind, which inspired me to write this, and to otherwise avoid a 10,000-word post.
The first, is 'Vanquish'. Even just reading that, it sends a chilling shiver down my spine. To vanquish what, and to vanquish who? Aston Martin has two nomenclature for their automobiles, one of them being the initials 'DB'. This is a tribute to Sir David Brown, who in 1947 purchased the company from a newspaper advert, announcing that a "High Class Motor Business" was for sale. Suffice to say, he saved the company from bankruptcy, and its provenance is still held today, with names from the DB5, DBS Superleggera, or the DBX SUV.
Credits to: CarPixel - Vanquish S 2004, CarPixel - Vanquish S 2017
The other, is their use of the letter 'V' - Vantage, Virage, Vulcan, Valkyrie, Valhalla. According to Aston Martin, 'V' signifies that something is at the peak of its class, just to show everyone else what their cars are really designed for. It's a car for winners, with a spirit for glory no different than Winston Churchill's "V for Victory" gesture. It may, or may not also be a coincidence that their new HQ at Gaydon used to be an airbase for a nuclear strike team of the Royal Air Force. Called the "V Bombers", this collective of aircraft were called the Valiant, Vulcan, and Victor.
In any case, Vanquish is certainly a top-notch name for a car, both cool to brag to your mates, and to drive. It's fitting, given that it's naturally-aspirated V12s provide an eruption of torque at any speed, with a sound that's truly volcanic in tone. In the future, we'll be seeing the third-generation Vanquish coming along, with a radical step-forward - Aston Martin's first production mid-engine car, and powered by their first in-house engine in half-a-century, a turbo-hybrid V6. For those reasons alone, Vanquish stands on top as my favourite, though any other of those Vs are pretty cool, too!
Credits to: Nissan.ph - Pike Series
This next one might be peculiar one, given how much different it is from the Vanquish, and in every way, shape, and form. It's the Nissan Figaro, a tiny, cute retro-futuristic design experiment that was inspired of all things - personal electronics. Now that I look at it, the appearance does remind me of a toaster, or fridge that you'd find in a 1950s kitchen. It's part of their Pike series of cars, which included other models with similar design inspirations like the Pao, Be-1, and S-Cargo. I can't stress enough over how much I love the way these cars look, as quirky and fun as they are.
In the blandness of the 21st-century that came later, you really can't tell that this was made in 1991, did you? In fact, all of the Pike cars are made in the 80s and 90s. Back then, Japan's economy was growing, and it was a time when carmakers were flush with cash, and they could try and experiment with all sorts of ideas. It was a time when the Figaro shared showroom lots with the R34 GT-R Skyline, Toyota Supra, and Mazda RX-7. Just over 20,000 of these microcars were made, and most of them came in pastel colours. Seriously, who doesn't love pastel?
Credits to: Hagerty - Figaro
They're powered by a small, but sufficient 1.0-litre turbo'd inline-4, with 75hp in total. The other great thing about the Figaro is the body-style. It's a tiny convertible, where those pillars remain in place, but there's a fabric roof at the very top, and it can slide all the way down with the rear-windows. It's a chance to give more air, and light in exposing the wonderfully adorable interior. Just look at it! It's equally pleasant as the name - Figaro. Innocent, and adorable, this car was nearly forgotten to history. If it were up to me, there should be a holiday to celebrate those times when cars were fun.
Now, this post can't nearly be as fun for me to write, if it didn't prompt some imagination from you, would it? So, I'd like to know what's your favourite car name, even in the most quirky form. Does that name invoke something special for you, perhaps a memory or experience? Maybe you just like that name because it sounds cool? I'd love to hear more, so please, and do let me know in the comments :-D
Credits to: GIPHY
Interesting post... For me,the name that made me dream when I was young was the Citroen DS, in French it's pronounced like the word Déesse (Goddess). When we went on vacation I always hoped to see one on the road.
Oh yes, I now remember that about the DS. It certainly rides like a goddess too, smooth as riding on a magic carpet! These are such lovely, and innovative cars for their time. Very quirky and fun, too! It's sad that they don't have these kind of funky DS cars any more. The new DS9 is hardly as cheerful or interesting :-(
That said, I've now seen renders of what the DS9 could've looked like. Now this is what a DS should be, and I'm just praying that someday, Citroen will make one.
This DS9 design is pretty cool... I saw few months ago the new DS9 sedan but the design is a little more common :
Yeah, it's certainly more conventional, and not funky like old DS cars used to be. Even still, the DS9 is indeed more interesting that the boring ol' Mercs, Beemers, and Audis that we normally see. I do hope they start selling more of the DS9, and hopefully, we'd get to see more experimentation from Citroen.
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Awesome and very inspiring post! The animated gifs made me think about "Horizon". My dad actually had a Talbot Horizon, which I consider a beautiful name for a car... Unfortunately the car itself was a piece of junk!
Cheers, mate! Huh, now Talbot Horizon is quite a grand name, and from a car I've never even heard of before. Being a Chrysler product of the 70s and 80s, I think you're just about right with its being a piece of junk 😆. Still though, it's a fantastic name for a car, and in the right colour (like this super bright yellow), it looks alright too!
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