Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:12:46 +1300
Reply-To: Andrew Grebneff <goose1047@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Andrew Grebneff <goose1047@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: VW car names ...
In-Reply-To: <8728655942EF4BFB8C2E41D95A2E3B14@gp207joel>
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>>> Back to VW .........to start a whole movement and craze with the VW
>>> Rabbit
>>> car in the 70's........brilliant, but then turn around and call it
>>> a
>>> 'golf'......
>>> what the heck is that about ???
Nobody "turned around". The first genuine FWD VW was indeed the Golf.
It was detuned (suspension and engine) for the NA market, where it was
sold as Rabbit.
> Jetta ... a fast wind?
The notchback Golf. Why the heck not CALL it Golf? Whatever, the first
4 generations og Golf notchbacks were callse Jetta (pronounced
"yetta"). The 4th was called Vento (wind). In NA the Jetta name was
retained for the Vento. Name-games.
> Touareg ... the name of indigenous folks in the Tenere desert
A derogatory name, not their own name for themselves!
> Beetle ... is a bug.
Nope. Beetles are insects but not at all closely related to bugs. Bugs
are a particular group of sucking insects... bedbugs, leafhoppers,
cicadas, aphids. As is so often the case, popular usage sucks.
> GTI ... Golf This Isn't.
It sure is. Only in NA is the Golf GTi not badged Golf.
What about the Santana (=Quantum, an Audi 80/90)? Dasher (=Passat, an
Audi 80/Fox).
> Chevy Cobalt? wonder if they meant to call it the Chevy Cobol, to
> compete with the soon-to-be-released Ford Fortran. (old programmer's
> joke). ;)
Most current small Chevs are rebadged Daewoos, including the Cobalt sedan.
> Chevy Nova ... we all know that story, right?
A Toyota AE80 Sprinter Liftback, part of the Corolla range.
> volvo was even better ... 265 ... 2nd body series, 6-cylinder engine,
> 5-doors (station wagon).
760 Turbo... 7-series, four-cylinder engine... Volvo cheated i6ts own
system as well.
Mazda Attenza... or 6. Or Capella (=626,(121 & RX5), except that Mazda
dropped the old name... and 121 (export name for the small car I can't
remember the Japanese name for, Efini something-or-other), also sold
as Ford Festiva.
Mazda Familia, also sold as 323, GLC, Protege, Ford Laser and Mercury Tracer.
Nissan Bluebird (=1600, 180B, 200B, Stanza, Maxima, Altima...)
Nissan Cefiro (=Maxima, Altima)
Nissan something (=X-Trail)
Nissan Terrano (=Pathfinder, Infiniti something)
> i do wonder sometimes, if car makers are just desperate by the time
> the car is almost ready, and they'll grab at anything those
> pot-smoking 'stylists' in california give 'em. :)
That about sums it up. Carmakers, due to their marketing departments,
play name-games. Including buying other makers' cars and having their
own badges attached. Itb reaches its worst in NA, where most imports
are sold by names other than those used in the cars' home markets.
It's called badge-engineering. It's big business. And it sucks big
time.
I think it was a US invention, and the Poms picked it up in the 50s.
The Germans and later the Japanese followed suit.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Mollusc, Toyota & VW van nut
<goose1047@gmail.com>