{"id":8211,"date":"2018-01-25T08:31:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-24T22:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/?p=8211"},"modified":"2020-06-20T00:32:27","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T14:32:27","slug":"the-daftest-car-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/makes-models\/the-daftest-car-names\/","title":{"rendered":"The Daftest Car Names"},"content":{"rendered":"

There seems to be a little rule out there somewhere that states that if something\u2019s in a foreign language, it\u2019s more sophisticated, more desirable and generally cooler. A number of cars and other vehicles available on the Australian market have names that fall into this category, such as the VW Amarok\u00a0<\/a> (Amarok means \u201cWolf\u201d), the Porsche Carrera\u00a0<\/a> (Carrera means \u201cRace) and the Alfa Romeo Mito\u00a0<\/a> (Mito means \u201cMyth\u201d). And a lot of them kind of work in the original language (even so we keep hearing that Pajero<\/a>\u00a0is the Spanish for \u201cwanker\u201d, although they were popular enough in some Latin American countries, nevertheless).\u00a0 Some don’t, like the Maserati Quattroporte, which sounds cool until you realise that “quattroporte” merely means “four doors” – it doesn’t get more uninspired than that.<\/p>\n

Some cars intended for the Asian market also have a go at trying to use a cool foreign language, namely English, and fail. Badly. \u00a0Some of them even made it onto the market over here, making you feel like a twit when you tried asking the salespeople for them.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a selection of some of the ones that made me snigger in no particular order so you can get a chuckle out of them too.\u00a0 And maybe this might make you stop and think a little bit before you buy that shirt (or get that tattoo) with Chinese or Japanese characters you can\u2019t understand just in case the reverse happens and you provide your Asian friends with something to laugh at in return.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Great Wall Wingle<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It\u2019s not a bad little pickup really, in spite of a name that sounds like a cutesy term used by small children for boys\u2019 private parts.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Tang Hua Detroit Fish<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The \u201cFish\u201d part is understandable for a car that\u2019s intended to be amphibious.\u00a0 But we just don\u2019t get the \u201cDetroit\u201d part.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Mitsubishi Lettuce<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        OK, we get the need to suggest the environment and sustainability, but naming a car after a really common salad ingredient doesn\u2019t seem to work (though Mizuna and Rocket, which are commonly found in your typical mesclun salad would kind of work, as would Mesclun itself).<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Honda Life Dunk\"\"<\/li>\n
        2. Mitsubishi Mini Active Urban Sandal<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Do the Japanese car manufacturers cut out words they like the sound of and pull them at random out of a bag? Is there any other explanation as to how these cars got their names?<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Geely Rural Nanny<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            OK, this ute is designed for the country \u2013 hence Rural \u2013 and it will take care of you \u2013 like a Nanny \u2013 but the two together\u2026<\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Mazda Bongo Friendee<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              This is actually quite a reliable van and I used to own one \u2013 it made a great camper and trade vehicle.\u00a0 However, answering the question \u201cSo what sort of car do you drive?\u201d was really cringe-inducing.\u00a0 At least it amused the kids.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Honda That\u2019s<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                That\u2019s\u2026. what????\u00a0 This is a car guaranteed to drive the Grammar Police nuts.<\/p>\n

                \"\"<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Toyota Deliboy<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  This van type-thing would work for making deliveries from the local deli store or doing similar courier work.\u00a0 But what if the person making the deliveries is a girl?<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Daihatsu Scat<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    OK, what\u2019s a good name for a small 4×4 that suggests the great outdoors? How about one of the things that hunters use to track animals?\u00a0 Did nobody tell the makers that when you find animal \u201cscat\u201d, you have not found footprints but something smellier.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Suzuki Every Scrum Joypop Turbo<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      We repeat the theory of cutting up random words and pulling them out at random.<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard, aka MU<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                        \u201cMysterious Wizard\u201d has a certain ring to it, although it\u2019s a bit grandiose.\u00a0 But when you add in the \u201cUtility\u201d bit, it suggests a sorcerer who you can\u2019t figure out a use for.\u00a0 As for the \u201cMU\u201d bit, do you pronounce this \u201cMoo\u201d like a cow, \u201cMew\u201d like a cat or \u201cEm You\u201d?\u00a0 However, the weird name didn\u2019t stop this being a reasonably popular and successful SUV, to the point that Isuzu have brought out a sequel in the form of the MUX (Mucks?\u00a0 Mooks?\u00a0 Em You Ex?).<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Mitsubishi 500 Mum Shall We Join Us?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          Leaving aside the interesting philosophical question about why people would ask whether or not they would join themselves, what\u2019s with the question mark?\u00a0 And the Mum?<\/p>\n

                          \"\"<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          1. Daihatsu Naked Be-Pal<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            The \u201cNaked\u201d bit is bad enough on its own, but the \u201cBe Pal\u201d bit?<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            1. Peugeot Tepee<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                              We get the reference to Native American buffalo skin tents but anything with \u201cPee\u201d in it is a disaster.<\/p>\n

                               <\/p>\n

                              Any beautiful disasters \u2013 in any language \u2013 that we\u2019ve missed?\u00a0 Or maybe\u00a0\"\"\u00a0all, folks! http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/potreb-kredit.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                              There seems to be a little rule out there somewhere that states that if something\u2019s in a foreign language, it\u2019s more sophisticated, more desirable and generally cooler. A number of cars and other vehicles available on the Australian market have names that fall into this category, such as the VW Amarok\u00a0 (Amarok means \u201cWolf\u201d), the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-makes-models"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8211"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11286,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8211\/revisions\/11286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}