{"id":1971196,"date":"2026-06-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1971196"},"modified":"2026-06-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:00:00","slug":"here-are-57-of-the-funniest-and-most-rubbish-car-names-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1971196","title":{"rendered":"Here are 57 of the funniest and most rubbish car names ever"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>You know this car in Britain as the Shogun, but most other markets received it as the Pajero, coming from the Latin name for the wild Pampas cat. Not in Spanish-speaking markets, though \u2013 there, &#8216;pajero&#8217; roughly translates to a word you might yell at someone who&#8217;s just cut you in traffic, accompanied by a specific hand gesture. Cue a hasty name change to Montero, meaning &#8216;huntsman&#8217;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Toyota\u2019s Midship Runabout 2-seater ran into issues in France, because when you say its name in French, it comes out sounding something like \u2018em air du\u2019. Now say that quickly, and think back to your GCSE French days, amusing yourself by gleefully looking up swear words in an English to French dictionary, and you\u2019ll understand why Toyota dropped the 2 and just called it the MR in France and Belgium (but weirdly, not in Canada).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Audi\u2019s electric cars face a different issue in French-speaking markets, this time relating not to pronunciation but spelling. \u2018e-tron\u2019 may sound all cyber and futuristic, but in French, \u2018\u00e9tron\u2019 means \u2013 and there\u2019s no other way of saying this \u2013 turd. Audi, seemingly unaware of or unbothered by this, still happily markets its cars under this name in French-speaking regions, presumably leading to lots of childish giggling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>This one\u2019s not rude (well, it could be, we suppose), just a bit weird. Why on earth would Fiat, an Italian company, decide to name a car after the Italian word for \u2018hardening\u2019? Then again, this is the company that\u2019s also sold cars named the Uno (\u2018one\u2019), Punto (\u2018point\u2019), Tipo (\u2018type\u2019) and Linea (\u2018line\u2019), so maybe it\u2019s just opening a dictionary on random pages. Coming soon: the Fiat Toothpaste.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Lamborghini\u2019s preference for naming its cars after Spanish fighting bulls can lead to some very cool names, but also some translation weirdness. Urraco, for instance, means \u2018magpie\u2019, and Murcielago translates to \u2018bat\u2019. Reventon is particularly unfortunate in car terms \u2013 it means \u2018burst\u2019, but can also specifically refer to a flat tyre. Perhaps the best, though, is the Revuelto \u2013 while it can mean \u2018unruly\u2019, \u2018revueltos\u2019 are also what Spanish speakers call scrambled eggs. Tasty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>If we had a pound for every time a Japanese manufacturer sold a rebadged Suzuki kei car with a name that translated to something unfortunate in Spanish, we\u2019d have \u00a32, which isn\u2019t a lot, but it\u2019s weird it\u2019s happened twice. Thankfully for Nissan, the Moco \u2013\u00a0a rebadged Suzuki MR Wagon \u2013was also only ever sold in Japan, sparing Spanish-speaking markets the giggles of being offered a car named after what you fish out of your nose when you think nobody\u2019s looking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>When this phenomenally average electric crossover was revealed in 2023, we assumed its name was supposed to be pronounced \u2018anyone\u2019. We were spared that particular bit of cringe \u2013 turns out you just say it \u2018ee en why one\u2019 \u2013 but the resulting jumble of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and punctuation isn\u2019t much better. It\u2019s like Honda\u2019s naming department spent an entire meeting just gently mashing their foreheads into the keyboard until something semi-acceptable came out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Honda must have been taking tips from Toyota, which seemingly employed a similar technique for naming its first mass-produced EV for Europe. The bZ4X is actually part of a wider bZ (\u2018beyond zero\u2019) range in China, and the 4X refers to its relative size and the fact that it\u2019s a crossover. This seems like extraneous information when it\u2019s the only bZ model available in other countries, though, and indeed, in the US and Ireland it\u2019s now known simply as the bZ. The rest of the world still has to navigate an alphanumeric salad, though.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>The very Reasonably Priced Cee\u2019d was Kia\u2019s first model designed and built in Europe, and the name was supposed to reflect that. It comes from CEE, the French initials for the European Economic Community, and ED, standing for \u2018European design\u2019. Problem is, that leaves you with \u2018Ceeed\u2019, and that is quite simply too many Es. Kia\u2019s solution? The Cee apostrophe d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Cool car, the Ferrari FF. The world needs more shooting brakes, especially ones with V12s. Less cool is its name \u2013 it stands for \u2018Ferrari Four\u2019, in reference to its four seats and, in a Ferrari first, four-wheel drive. Quite apart from the fact that FF can also stand for \u2018front-engined, front-wheel drive\u2019, that means we\u2019re left with a car called the Ferrari Ferrari Four. Catchy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Capitalising on the \u201970s uptick in demand for small, efficient cars, Renault decided it would start selling the original 5 in North America in 1976. With a limited market presence and consumer unfamiliarity with its European number-based naming scheme, though, Renault concluded that a new name was needed, one that emphasised its Frenchness. Its solution? LeCar. Yes, the Renault The Car.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Sure, nobody actually ever calls the Range Rover by its full, official title, especially now that RR is officially Its Own Thing under JLR\u2019s \u2018House of Brands\u2019. Still, buy a brand new Rangie today and your V5C will still call it a Land Rover Range Rover, which is hardly an elegant solution, especially when you start tagging Evoque, Velar or Sport SV Ultimate Edition onto the end of it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Yes, we know the original name for McLaren Automotive\u2019s first road car has some historical basis \u2013 the MP4 prefix was long used for Macca\u2019s Formula 1 machines \u2013 but when you\u2019re trying to compete with cars with evocative names like Gallardo and 458 Italia, it\u2019s simply not going to cut it. Things got a bit better when the MP4 bit was dropped after a year or so, but \u201812C\u2019 still tricked more than a few people into thinking this V8-powered car in fact had a V12.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>This exec saloon was the first car to get Alfa Romeo\u2019s magnificent \u2018Busso\u2019 V6 engine, a powerplant the company was rightly very proud of. So proud, in fact, that it made it part of the car\u2019s name. And sure, \u2018Alfa Romeo 6\u2019 would have been a fine if rather bland name, and would inevitably have been shortened to \u2018Alfa 6\u2019 by the masses anyway. But for reasons we can\u2019t fathom, Alfa decided its full, official name should be the Alfa Romeo Alfa 6. No, us neither.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Mercedes\u2019 now-abandoned EQ naming scheme for its first wave of ground-up EVs seemed simple enough \u2013 the last letter points to the corresponding combustion-powered Merc \u2013 but it posed a problem when it came to the equivalents of the GLE and GLS SUVs. EQE and EQS were already taken by pebble-shaped saloon cars, so Merc\u2019s solution was to matter-of-factly shove \u2018SUV\u2019 onto the end of the official model names, turning the company\u2019s already sprawling range into even more of a headache for customers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Reinventing an iconic and widely-known car is always going to provide a couple of hurdles in the naming department. BMW got around it by making Mini its own brand, Fiat just shrugged and gave the new 500 the same name as the original, but Volkswagen\u2019s awkward solution was to officially name the new Beetle\u2026 the New Beetle. This, funnily enough, didn\u2019t stick with the buying public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>The precursor to the Nova (a car with a largely false urban myth about its own name), the Chevy II was developed in a remarkably short amount of time, but the meeting to decide its name must have been one of the quickest parts of all. \u201cWhat should we call the new Chevy?\u201d \u2018\u201cThat\u2019s it!\u201d We can only be thankful GM didn\u2019t later decide to give us the Cadillac Caddy. And since there was no Chevy I, we have no idea where the II came from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>You can just about get away with \u2018brand name by brand name\u2019 if you make, say, perfume, but last time we checked, Chrysler does not make perfume. It makes cars. The Chrysler by Chrysler, though, was a full-size luxury saloon from Chrysler\u2019s Australian division. Was it supposed to sound classy and upmarket? Probably. Did it actually just sound confusing? Definitely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Speaking of naming cars like perfumes, that\u2019s <em>literally <\/em>what Posh Citroen is doing now. Starting with the rather likeable new No. 8 electro-fastback-saloon-crossover thing, all its model names will be preceded by No., a move it openly says is inspired by Chanel. Nice idea, but if it wasn\u2019t hard enough explaining to people what a DS is when they ask you what you drive, it sure is now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>\u2018Huh huh, made in Yorkshire, was it?\u2019 A tedious bore will ask you for the 934,000th time when they see that you drive a Volkswagen e-Up!, a goal left even more open by VW\u2019s irritatingly jaunty insistence on sticking an exclamation mark on the end of the name. And it\u2019s at that point that you might consider slamming your fingers in the e-Up!\u2019s door, just to feel something. Anything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Smart has always had some lightly irritating model names, what with the Fortwo and Forfour, but they took a whole new level in annoyingness when the brand became part of a Mercedes-Geely joint venture and started building bigger, posher EVs. Every time we remember that we\u2019re actually supposed to pronounce the hashtag in its latest models\u2019 names as \u2018hashtag\u2019, it chips away at our spirit just that little bit more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Look, \u2018probe\u2019 has several meanings. It could just be a thorough investigation, or a type of uncrewed spacecraft. But let\u2019s be real \u2013 there\u2019s only one thing that comes to mind when somebody mentions a probe, and it\u2019s probably happening to a part of your body you\u2019d really rather it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>We totally get wanting to give a car an imposing, powerful name, and US manufacturer Studebaker had a nice little niche with models like the Commander and President. But really? <em>Dictator<\/em>? That\u2019s not a word that\u2019s ever had positive connotations attached to it \u2013 especially not in the 1930s, when the Dictator was on sale. In a moment of sensibleness, Studebaker chose to call it the Director in non-US markets instead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>We could probably stick any of BYD\u2019s sea life-themed cars on here, but at least seals, dolphins and sea lions are cute. Anyone that\u2019s been remotely near the British seaside has a more complicated relationship with seagulls, which is why BYD decided to call this little electric hatch the Dolphin Surf for the European market instead. Still a strange name, but at least it doesn\u2019t conjure up images of having your chips stolen or your T-shirt covered in something brown, white and unspeakable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>In all fairness to Dodge, the Swinger sport package for the Dart first appeared in 1968, a few years before the type of swinger you\u2019re thinking of really hit the mainstream as a concept. It was definitely already a thing, though, and to be fair, this was the free-spirited late \u201960s \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s entirely possible Dodge knew exactly what it was doing. Anyway, here\u2019s the joke you were waiting for about the Dart Swinger\u2019s keys spending most of their time in a bowl.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>We don\u2019t know what was going on at Dodge in 1968, but that was also the year that the Scat Pack first appeared as a high-performance option for the Charger and Coronet. Supposedly, it comes from the old-timey use of \u2018scat\u2019, meaning \u2018go away\u2019 \u2013 a reference to the Scat Packs\u2019 prodigious performance. Realistically though, scat is only ever going to have one of two meanings in a modern context, and if you\u2019re thinking of the form of improvised jazz singing, then congratulations on being more mature than us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>We\u2019ll stop making fun of Dodge soon, we promise. And yes, we know the word \u2018caravan\u2019 has its roots in the epic journeys once taken along the Silk Road, and what we call caravans in Britain aren\u2019t really a thing in America. Still, we can\u2019t help but laugh at a car named after the boxes of fibreglass misery that ruin Britain\u2019s roads every summer so their owners can spend a weekend emptying their own waste out of a chemical toilet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Naked actually makes quite a lot of sense as a name for this boxy kei car, which wears its utilitarian styling on its sleeve with features like exposed door hinges and visible rivets. Unfortunately for Daihatsu, there will always be a certain demographic who, no matter how old they are, will find the word \u2018naked\u2019 funny. It\u2019s us. We\u2019re the demographic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>We\u2019re so used to praising the Dacia Duster for its value and its rugged likeability that we often forget that it appears to be named after a cleaning implement. It\u2019s presumably supposed to make us think of a trail of dust left behind the car as it bounds along a gravel road, but let\u2019s be honest \u2013 as much as we love the Duster, it\u2019s a rubbish name.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Good effort, Renault. We know the convertible Renault Wind\u2019s name is supposed to make us think of sunny days, the open road, the roof down, the breeze in our hair. It doesn\u2019t, though, because once again, our sense of humour stopped developing when we were still in ties and blazers, and therefore the only wind it makes us think of is the one you experience the morning after a particularly punchy curry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>This is a classic case of \u2018nice idea, flawed execution\u2019 \u2013 yes, a gremlin is an imaginary cheeky, mischievous, impish being, and the AMC Gremlin was supposed to embody those characteristics. But do you really want to name a car after a creature invented as the cause of technical and mechanical malfunctions? No. No you do not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>While there\u2019s nothing fundamentally wrong with the idea of naming a cute and cuddly car after a cute and cuddly creature, there\u2019s something about the name of the Reliant Kitten that grates. Maybe it\u2019s just the fact that an actual kitten is so helplessly adorable that we can\u2019t begin to take the car seriously. Then again, the Kitten was just a four-wheeled version of the Robin, so Reliant had form here\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Innocent intentions here from MG \u2013 the Midget, after all, was the smallest sports car the company made, and we\u2019re sure that when it launched in 1961, nary an eyebrow was raised at the name chosen for it. If you tried to call a car the Midget in 2026, though, we\u2019re not sure the same would be true. Or would it? Daihatsu has also used the name on small trucks, including on a concept unveiled as recently as last year. Hmm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Admittedly, the closely related Nissan Cedric and Gloria appeared in the 1960s and \u201950s, respectively, back when the names Cedric and Gloria probably didn\u2019t put you in mind of the nice old couple who used to live next door to you when you were growing up. But, with the greatest of respect to any Cedrics or Glorias reading this, have they <em>ever <\/em>been cool names?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Jimmy? Like, short for James? The GMC James? Supposedly, this badge-engineered Chevy Blazer actually got its name from the way \u2018GM\u2019 sounds when spoken out loud. Except\u2026 GM. \u2018Gee em\u2019. \u2018Geem\u2019. Nope. Not hearing it. Get back to us when you\u2019ve come out with the GMC Danny, Dave and Gazza, please.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>A stroke of self-deprecating marketing genius of the sort only Volkswagen was once capable of, or the laziest automotive naming decision ever? We\u2019re honestly not sure. This Beetle-based utility vehicle was only ever officially known as the Thing in the US \u2013\u00a0here in Britain, it was the Trekker, which was less distinctive, but probably made it an easier sell to, well, anyone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Allegedly, the name of the Suzuki Celerio derives from the Latin word \u2018celer\u2019, meaning \u2018fast\u2019 \u2013\u00a0same origin as \u2018accelerate\u2019, y\u2019see. Just two problems. One, the Suzuki Celerio was the diametric opposite of fast, and two, said out loud, it\u2019s essentially a bland, watery, vegetable with an extra vowel sound on the end. Then again, bland and watery is quite an apt description of the Celerio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Beloved by the van life crowd, there\u2019s rather a lot to unpack with the name of the Mazda Bongo Friendee. Bongo, we\u2019re on top of \u2013 it\u2019s a type of drum. Strange thing to name a van after, but hey. But Friendee? One who is friended, in the same way that an employee is employed? That\u2019s as good as we\u2019ve got for that one, we\u2019re afraid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Fascinating little car, the kei-class Mitsubishi Minica. The hotted-up Dangan ZZ version was the first mass-produced car with five valves per cylinder, and there was also a version that had one door on the driver\u2019s side and two on the passenger side. And that version, utterly inexplicably, was called the Minica Lettuce \u2013\u00a0because nothing says \u2018asymmetrically-doored hatchback\u2019 like a wet vegetable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>There really is a lot to take in with the short-lived Renault Kangoo Be Bop. For starters, it was a tiny two-door van seemingly designed for the sole purpose of carrying grandfather clocks or big toy giraffes, since the rear windscreen and back half of the roof retracted to leave it as a semi-open top. Oh yeah, and did we mention it was called the <em>Kangoo Be Bop<\/em>?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Granted, you\u2019d very rarely have seen the name of this car in full. The original three-door version was just badged as the MU, but the official line was that it stood for Mysterious Utility. Not sure what\u2019s so mysterious about it, but there you go. Then, a year later in 1990, came the five-door version, which Isuzu called the MU Wizard. Why? Who knows \u2013 maybe they used magic to conjure up the extra wheelbase. <em>You\u2019re a wizard, Isuzu<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>As we\u2019ve already seen with the Kangoo Be Bop, at the turn of the 2010s, the French car industry appeared to be locked in a contest to see who could give their little van-based people carriers the silliest name. Citroen Nemo Multispace set the bar decently high, but its sibling model, the Peugeot Bipper Tepee, might just take the prize. What on earth is a bipper? And what\u2019s it got to do with a kind of conical tent? Answers on a postcard, please.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Plenty of Chinese cars have names that sound a bit strange to western ears, but most sensibly get a name change before they come to Europe. When GWM first briefly entered the UK market in 2013, for instance, it rather sensibly renamed its Wingle pickup the Steed. It apparently forgot about that second time round, though, happily trying to sell people a car called the Funky Cat. That said, we were quite sad when it was renamed the Ora 03 a year or so later \u2013 the name was the best thing about it by miles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Honda That\u2019s\u2026 that\u2019s what? Hello? Where have you gone? Honda explains this kei car\u2019s confounding name in its original press release: \u201cWhen we see something in our daily lives that strikes our fancy, we say, \u2018Hey! That&#8217;s it!\u2019 Honda chose this name to express the casual, natural relationship they hope That&#8217;s owners will have with their cars.\u201d At least you can now correct anyone who claims the Kia Cee\u2019d is the only car with an apostrophe in its name.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>This total omnishambles of a name is indeed rooted in some kind of logic. It was a special edition of the range-topping, V12-powered, all-wheel drive, long-wheelbase, M division-fettled 7 Series, created by BMW\u2019s Individual personalisation division to celebrate the company\u2019s centenary. Still doesn\u2019t make it a good name, though, and there\u2019s really no need for it to shout at us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Again with the shouting, guys. We can hear you. We love the retro vibes of this 2025 special edition G-Class, inspired by its ancestor from \u2013 well, you can guess which decade \u2013 but STRONGER THAN THE 1980s may well just be the biggest stream of meaningless corporate nonsense ever tagged onto a car\u2019s name.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Yes, this really was a real special edition \u2013\u00a0limited to the Australian market, as far as we can tell. From what we can gather, it was positioned as a sporty model, complete with trinkets like a bodykit, chromed exhaust tips and a sports-style steering wheel and gearknob. None of which explains why it was named like it was trying really hard not to swear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>\u2018Vel Satis\u2019 sounds like Renault was trying to be all pretentious and give its baffling overgrown posh hatchback thing a Latin name, but the reality is even more stomach-churning \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s derived from the words \u2018velocity\u2019 and \u2018satisfaction\u2019. Pass the bucket, please. What\u2019s more, you\u2019d be feeling very little in the way of velocity or satisfaction in a car with, at most, 245bhp and a notoriously rubbish ride.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>The Mazda Carol kei car is already curiously named, first appearing around the same time as the Nissan Gloria and Silvia and taking a similar approach by being named after one of your granny\u2019s friends. Then, when it came back in 1989, initially under Mazda\u2019s short-lived Autozam sub-brand, the strangeness was doubled down on with this special edition that sounded like it was tipping a fedora at you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Whether we\u2019re talking about the 1930s original, the rear-engined \u201980s model or the modern and slightly underwhelming VW-built version, \u2018rapid\u2019 has been a wildly overambitious moniker for any of the Skoda models that have worn it. We have checked just in case something was getting lost in translation here, but no \u2013\u00a0rapid means exactly the same thing in Czech as it does in English, so we have no idea what Skoda was thinking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>We have to assume Epica derives from \u2018epic\u2019, which begs the question of what exactly about this pitifully bland saloon was epic. The styling? No. The performance? Definitely not. The fact that it was offered with a straight-six engine that \u2013 we kid you not \u2013 was designed with Porsche\u2019s input? Interesting, but not epic. Sales so abysmal that less than 20 years after its launch, there are comfortably fewer than 40 left on British roads? Well, we suppose that makes it an epic fail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Wow, what an original take we\u2019re having on the Mitsubishi Carisma! Nobody in the history of car journalism has ever pointed out the deep irony of this name being applied to a crushingly dull car before! Yeah, fair enough. This one\u2019s been pointed out many, many times before. Doesn\u2019t stop it from being true, though.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>The Proton Savvy cost a little under \u00a36,000 when it first launched in 2005, so we suppose you could be called financially savvy for buying one, much in the same way you\u2019d be financially savvy if you ate nothing but supermarket own-brand instant noodles every day for the rest of your life. There are many ways in which that would be a deeply un-savvy move, though, and so it goes for the car, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>The Honda Legend was far from a bad car \u2013 in fact, if you\u2019re after an enormously comfy and reliable motorway cruiser and don\u2019t mind feeding a very hungry V6, it\u2019s quite a shrewd used buy \u2013 but the name really rather promises a lot that we\u2019re not sure the car delivers on. Perhaps Honda Decent, Honda Okay or Honda Nice Idea but I Think I\u2019ll Just Buy an Audi A6 would be more apt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Taken literally, \u2018stellar\u2019 means of or relating to the stars. Taken figuratively, it\u2019s a term of seriously high praise. The Hyundai Stellar definitely doesn\u2019t come from outer space (as far as we\u2019re aware, at least), and though it was a well-made, comfy and good value car, we\u2019re not sure the other meaning is too appropriate either \u2013 although you might have thought differently when you laid eyes on a Stellar minicab at the end of a heavy night out in the late \u201980s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>What are we supposed to be intrigued by? The styling that appeared to have been created by gently shaving bits off a bar of soap? The interior plastics that seemed to be made out of melted-down Action Man figures? The fact that initially, it had a 3.8-litre V6 with just 195bhp? We suppose that last bit\u2019s intriguing inasmuch as it shouldn\u2019t be possible to get so little power out of so much engine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"HtmlContent\" class=\"MarkUpWrapper-sc-t20i90-0 hQwWlJ\">\n<p>Sebring is one of the oldest and most revered race circuits in America, the home of one of the crown jewels of endurance racing. The perfect name, then, for an ugly, underpowered, poorly-made, slow, chintzy, cramped, uncomfortable and joyless saloon car from a brand with a piddling amount of motorsports heritage. Sorry, did we say perfect? We meant the exact opposite of that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You know this car in Britain as the Shogun, but most other markets received it as the Pajero, coming from the Latin name for the wild Pampas cat. Not in Spanish-speaking markets, though \u2013 there, &#8216;pajero&#8217; roughly translates to a word you might yell at someone who&#8217;s just cut you in traffic, accompanied by a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1971196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1971196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971196\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1971196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1971196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1971196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}