What's in a name?

By: Lisa Keegan

Date: Wednesday, 23. June 2010

Ever since reading a sign in a hotel bar in Mexico which stated 'the Manager has personally passed all the water served here' I have had a fascination with linguistic faux pas and, as this article demonstrates, the automobile industry is one place where such gaffes abound.

Consulting companies are often paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to come up with such awe-inspiring names as 'Thunderbird' and 'Mustang', but they don't always get it right. Cue the 'Isuzu GIGA 20 Light Dump'!

Japanese cars sold in Japan are expressed in Latin letters instead of Japanese characters and it is the ensuing translations we have to thank for little gems such as the 'Light Dump', the 'Yamaha Pantryboy Supreme' and the 'Mitsubishi MUM 500 Shall We Join Us?' and yes, the question mark is included in the name!

According to naming consultants, Igor International, 'The process of naming a vehicle is torturous but critical to a vehicle's success. Automakers must choose a name that evokes an image that will help boost sales, while making sure it is not offensive in any language and that it is actually available.'. There is something strangely reassuring about the fact that manufacturers can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop a brand name with the right sounds, syllables and connotations for a target market, just to come up with something that means 'heap of ****' in another language. This is in fact actually the case for the Rolls Royce Mist which roughly translates in German as Rolls Royce heap of crap!

Mercedes and many other high-end car manufacturers get around the potential translation issues by using alphanumeric naming conventions, such as the Mercedes SL500, the Lexus ES300 and the BMW 7-series. Many SUV's also avoid these pitfalls by using frontier-style terms such as Bronco and Explorer which generally have more of a shared universal meaning . Luxury brands like Mercedes and Lexus (unfortunately not Rolls Royce) use the alphanumeric system as it focuses attention and marketing equity on their brand name rather than on a particular model.

Car model names tend to follow a standard convention depending on the manufacturer. Some opt for Latin-based words (Maxima, Prius), others like to base many of their model names on mythological and astrological terms (Taurus, Saturn) and others (such as SUV's) tend to use environmental or animal terminology (such as Typhoon or Bronco). Car Model naming can also succumb to fashions and trends, as demonstrated by a spate of models starting with the letter A (Achieva, Altima, Aurora) in the 1990's, or geographical names such as Tuscon, Toledo and Yukon becoming increasingly prevalent.

Some of the most successful and enduring Model names tend to be simple, memorable and self-explanatory, like the Ford Fiesta which evokes a sense of fun and adventure, although Ford did get it monumentally wrong marketing the Caliente in Brazil where the name roughly translates as 'Prostitute'!

In some industries, a mis-translation can cost little to rectify, as in the sign in a dry cleaners in Tokyo which read "Drop your pants here for best results" - most likely this sign has since been changed or removed, but once that model name is emblazoned on the metalwork of a car it can be a lot more expensive to change!

It is becoming increasingly difficult to come up with inspiring names for new car models that neither offend culturally nor infringe on copyright. We are likely to see more obscure and eminently forgettable alphanumeric model names in the future but I suppose it beats driving around in an Isuzu GIGA 20 Light Dump!

I will leave you with some words of wisdom from a street sign in Tokyo: "When a passenger of the foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet at him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage, then tootle him with vigor."

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