What?s In a Name" A Brief History of Car Model Nomenclature
Bel Air. Barracuda. Bronco. What do these words have in common" When presented together, you don?t have to be a car nut to recognize them as iconic vehicle names. These pull such clout by name alone that mentioning the manufacturer isn?t necessary for others to know what you?re talking about.
Here?s another list: M340i. QX55. CT4-V. These are also car models, but they could easily be mistaken for Wi-Fi passwords! Unless they?re the owner of one of these models, I?d bet that the everyday consumer wouldn?t be able to name the manufacturer off the top of their head.
How did we arrive at a point where a car name could be as simple as a single memorable word or as complex as a five-figure string of characters" Let?s take a look at trends across generations and continents and what factors have sparked changes in vehicle naming.
A Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures
The decades of the ’50s and ’60s gave us readily identifiable one-word model names. Daydreams of speed, glamour, and the promise of space travel inspired names like Bonneville, Continental, Eldorado, Fury, Galaxie, and Starfire. Muscle car model names like Superbird and “The Judge” evoked ultimate strength and power.
Naming a car is undoubtedly an exercise in marketing, so it’s no surprise that some have lived on for decades. Such words can have tremendous staying power, entering mainstream vernacular and becoming fixtures within popular culture. Let’s look at ...
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