Odd Car Names

[bdc101]

Camry. Millions and millions sold and the name still looks like a typo.

Camry is an anglicization of "kanmuri" which is a type of crown or fancy headwear that Japanese would wear.

 

[JohnnyG]

Merkur

 

[PandaBear]

No one has mentioned the Nissan Joke? I mean Juke?

Pontiac Aztec. The concept car was pretty cool. Off-roady looking, rugged and appealed to younger buyers. Then the GM design-by-committee got involved and neutered every good design feature and made it an abomination. They made it non-offensive to everyone and appealing to no one.

And Aztec? Where did that come from? Why didn't they choose the Pontiac Mayan or Pontiac Olmec or something?

Concept
View attachment 349171

Pre-production protoype
View attachment 349172
Final Production
View attachment 349173

I think Aztec styling was way ahead of its time. It looks like it sort of fit in in 2026 now with all these cars having Black trim slap on standard color like the Civic Type R spoiler and all those black mirrors reserved for base model in the past. Obviously Breaking Bad made them cool but objectively speaking, they are like plastic frame glasses that were uncool till suddenly your parents no longer wear them and now they are cool.

 

[crashz]

While the car has a special place in my heart, the name sucks: Cutlass Supreme. Just reminds me of Beef Supreme.

And if we pick on the Camry, we should also look at the Accord. By Google's definition: "agreement, harmony, or the granting of privileges. It is frequently used to describe a formal treaty between nations (e.g., a peace accord) or an action taken voluntarily." Sounds like a compromise on a national scale to me.

 

[Opelman]

Jordan Playboy, Matra Bagheera, GAZ Chaika, Willys-Knight Plaid roadster.

 

[Samurai1225]

My first car was a Toyota Carina

 

[Pablo]

My first car was a Toyota Carina

I think I dated her

 

[Samurai1225]

I think I dated her

 

[97prizm]

Most maufacturers give their models names. A few have become iconic, most fade into history when the car is discontinued. Some are strange or humorous. My favorites;

Toyota Starlet- produced from 1973 to 1999. Sounds like a young actress hoping for a movie part after a private audition with the film's producer.

These three portend unhappy ownership;

AMC Gremlin
Chevy Avalanche
Chevy Nova, no va=doesn't go in Spanish

Anything with 'limited' on the stern. What limits it, speed governor?

There must be dozens more.

Chevy Nova
View attachment 348420
Wikipedia

If you want weird the Japanese tried and applied random English names to Japanese only models. Maybe it sounded cool like the Mazda Bongo Friendiee.