Auto manufacturers try to pick names that are going to resonate with their customers. They want the name to fit the car and also make people want to buy it. While manufacturers spend plenty of time, knowledge, and money designing and producing their cars, sometimes it seems like they should have spent just a little more effort on the name. Here are a few of the worst.
1. Chevy Nova
The word Nova is bad in a few different languages. In Spanish it means “no go” and in English a “nova” is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion of a star. Neither of those things are something that you would want to associate with a vehicle.
2. Subaru Brat
Subaru picked the name Brat because it is the acronym for Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter. While it is obvious they couldn’t have called the vehicle by its full name they should have found something that didn’t make it sound like a fussy child.
3. Ford Escort
When Ford named this car, we hope they were thinking of a police escort, or a boyfriend escorting his date home, but it’s hard not to think of the more unfortunate actions associated with this word.
4. Oldsmobile Intrigue
The name “Intrigue” really isn’t that bad of a name for a vehicle, but shouldn’t the vehicle have been more intriguing? The Oldsmobile Intrigue was boring even when it first came out. It’s a front wheel drive mid-sized family sedan. Nothing is intriguing about that.
5. Renault LeCar
Renault could have called the LeCar the 5, since it went by that name in other areas, but they chose to make it clear to the American audience exactly what product they were selling.
6. Mazda Scrum Wagon
Putting aside the fact that scrum is a rugby term, this name just sounds dirty in several different ways.
7. Ford Probe
Ford tried to make this car sound modern and cool, but all they succeeded in doing was making people uncomfortable in an otherwise fine automobile.
8. Ford Aspire
To aspire means to have great ambition or an ultimate goal. While this may have been a fine name for a car that actually seems to want to do something, the Ford Aspire seemed to be content to rust in the driveway and accelerate slower than the neighbor kids’ bikes.
9. Nissan Homy Super Long
It would be hard for Nissan to find a name that would entertain middle school students more than the Homy Super Long.
10. Chevy Citation
This is a terrible name for a car. No one wants citations associated with their vehicle. Anyway, it’s not like this car was even going to get up to any great speeds to earn citations. Maybe Chevy was going for irony?
What’s your favorite bad car name?