Unfortunate Car Names

The Mercury Mystique was referred to by mechanics as the "Mercury Mistake"

Keith Tanner wrote:

Furious_E wrote: Isn't Citroen very nearly French for lemon?

Not really if said by a French speaker. There's basically an extra syllable in there. But it's a difficult distinction to make if you have a bad accent.

Interesting.

Had to go google it, since I'm used to hearing it on F1 broadcasters that are English saying:

"Re-know"

vs

"Re-null"

Buick LaCrosse, in Quebec french LaCrosse, or Crosser (as in to Crosse) it's slang for pleasuring one's self.

gotta be the Ford Probe.

"got rear ended by a Probe today, i'm really feeling it in my back"

Daihatsu Charade. It's pretending to be a car.

Mike wrote: Then there's the CR-V EX.

That is what Ms Service drives, she doesn't know yet.

TDi (pronounce the letters not just the names, emphasis on the T and D, leave it to the Germans to put that on a ton of cars) Ms. Service smacks me everytime I snicker at this one.

SVreX wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: GM had a hard time selling Novas in Mexico for a while. No va roughly translates to "doesn't go"

Yeah, that one's not actually true: Snopes on "Nova"

yeah, well, you KNOW in Georgia we never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

The Mitsubishi Pajero had to be renamed Shogun (UK) or Montero (most of the Americas and Spain) because Pajero means "wanker" in some Latin American countries.

Then there is the Mitsubishi Starion. Which supposedly means "Star of Orion."

And of course there is the STi, which Evo owners obviously have fun with.

RX Reven' wrote: I believe Toyota should actually be Toyoda but Toyoda in Japanese, as I understand it, means something along the lines of "small scale fishing operation" so the name was churched up to be more impressive. Added later... I just looked it up, Toyoda actually means "fertile rice fields" so the basic concept of changing the name to get away from what's perceived as a humble occupation was correct. Jalopnik Article

Huh I always wondered why they did that. Now I know.

RexSeven wrote: The Mitsubishi Pajero had to be renamed Shogun (UK) or Montero (most of the Americas and Spain) because Pajero means "wanker" in some Latin American countries.

It's odd how directly it translates to the British slang "wanker," they unintentionally re-invented it.

Dern. If the Nova=doesn't go thing ain't true, does that mean the Pinto didn't sell well in South America for some reason other than "pinto" being slang for "wee willy"?

I was watching "Better Call Saul" on NetFlix last night and noticed he was driving a Suzuki Esteem. Very fitting.

Flight Service wrote:

Mike wrote: Then there's the CR-V EX.

That is what Ms Service drives, she doesn't know yet. TDi (pronounce the letters not just the names, emphasis on the T and D, leave it to the Germans to put that on a ton of cars) Ms. Service smacks me everytime I snicker at this one.

They figured everyone would be laughing at Audi.

I was behind a TDi SEL and thought all VW needed to do was turn it into a hybrid to have the TDieSEL.

theenico wrote: I was watching "Better Call Saul" on NetFlix last night and noticed he was driving a Suzuki Esteem. Very fitting.

That car name always reminds me of that Offspring song, "Self-Esteem."

Saw a Probe on CL yesterday with a vanity plate that said IPROBEU. Damned if I can find it again!

ScottyB wrote: gotta be the Ford Probe. "got rear ended by a Probe today, i'm really feeling it in my back"

RX8driver wrote: Buick LaCrosse, in Quebec french LaCrosse, or Crosser (as in to Crosse) it's slang for pleasuring one's self.

Hah. And I'm sure they named the Lucerne after the city, but lucerne is also a type of alfalfa. The Buick Alfalfa. My, how classy.

Any car name is made better by putting the word "anal" in front of it.

AngryCorvair wrote: Any Ford car name is made better by putting the word "anal" in front of it.

FTFY...

Probe, Expedition, Explorer, Excursion, Fiesta, etc...

BTW, Citroen is pronounced See-trau-awn not See-tron like the fruit.
Read a biography on Andre (Citroen) and it turns out the name is a Frenchification of the fruit as one of his forebears was a merchant in the fruit trade from Denmark...

Ford Focus zits (ZTS)

Pontiac Gooole (6000 LE)

Cadillac Ditz (DTS)

Unfortunate? How about racially insensitive?

Comanche Eliminator

AngryCorvair wrote: Any car name is made better by putting the word "anal" in front of it.

Anal Miata is redundant

Ferrari LaFerrari

etifosi wrote: Ford Focus zits (ZTS) Pontiac Gooole (6000 LE) Cadillac Ditz (DTS)

A friend in high school drove a Pontiac 6000 LE...I used to call it a google car....that was back in the 80's. Today, Google car has an entirely different meaning.