Here is my list of best, boring and WTF? worst names:
BEST:
Element - Elegant simplicity -- it's elemental. Would have been perfect for a compact hybrid with nice lines.
Escape - we rented one of these and it was a sluggish, rattling piece of crap. It would be a great name for a zippy little car though
Sonata - just sounds nice. I'd drive one. I guess it's not real manly though.
Avalon - See Sonata.
Odyssey - Perfect for a minivan -- it sounds like a non-perilous adventure to me.
Pacifica - I am a West-Coast girl
Caravan - Also perfect for a minivan -- it sounds cozy and familial.
Solara - See Sonata.
Jetta - Sounds zippy and cute, but kind of cool too.
BORING:
Anything that is letters, numbers, or a combination thereof (Example: my car, the Mazda MPV)
Most made-up names (Examples: Camry, Corolla, Lumina, Elantra)
Everything made by Kia (Examples: Spectra, Sorrento, Optima)
Accord - as in, the two factions reached accord. *snore*
Civic - as in doing your civic duty by driving something that gets good gas mileage. Great car, boring name.
Passat - conveys nothing to me
BAD:
Aspire - This could have worked on a really high-end car. But putting it on a boxy little subcompact just makes you think everyone driving one aspires to be driving something better
Buick Lucerne - it just makes me think of the brand of dairy products. Horrible
Chevy Uplander - what?
Avalanche - I don't want to drive anything that sounds like a natural disaster
Aztek - Let's name a car after an ancient civilization and then spell it wrong.
Chevy Equinox - I get that they are going with an astronomical term, but it just doesn't sing
Envoy (Denali)and Yukon (Denali)- I don't know what the Denali means on either of these, but both Enjoy and Yukon sound heavy to me. Some people might think that's good, but I don't.
Mercury Grand Marquis - there is nothing royal about this car. Give it up, Mercury
Nissan Armada - an armada is a fleet of ships. I can only guess Nissan is banking on the general public not knowing the actual definition of the word with this one
Pontiac Vibe - too close for comfort
Saturn Relay - sounds dinky and cheap
Suzuki Grand Vitara - grand what?
Touareg - maybe I'd like this better if I spoke German
Mitsubishi Lancer - this just sounds painful
All-Time Worst Car Names:
Pinto - I don't remember when it came out, but it's hard to imagine this ever sounded good, even in the 70s
Citation - duh. Hopefully whoever green-lit this one got fired
Probe - I think this is the all-time worst car name ever. EVER. It's not even a pleasant euphemism for anything it might bring to mind. And no one wants to see anything called a "Probe" coming up fast behind them
4 comments:
I believe you forget LeCar. I felt so gay by the name that a sandblasted "Le" off.
I think all station wagons should be called "family trucksters"...
BJK
Hi Tracie - I found you off LOTD - I always enjoy your comments. : )
Great list, I would add Gremlin to your list of Worst Names Ever. It would also make Ugliest list, but that's a list for another day right?
My great-grandmother's name was Jetta -- my grandmother was Etta, and she named my mom Betta...okay, just kidding...my mom is really named Betty -- and I always thought it would be great to name my daughter Jetta (if I had a daughter, that is). But then I started worrying about the whole car thing. I can hear the school bullies now, "You were named for a CAR?"
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