The Strangest Car Names Ever
May 17, 2012 by James Allen
Just recently, Vauxhall has announced the name of its new premium rival to the Fiat 500. Widely rumoured to have been branded the Junior, instead the firm has opted for something almost completely unexpected this upmarket urban runabout will be dubbed the Adam.
Its certainly one of the more bizarre choices that could have been made (even in light of the last car the company announced, the Mokka!), and it made us wonder why on Earth they gave it the green light. It also got us wondering whether there were any other cars out there with names that made Adam look quite normal in comparison!
Below are some of the ones we found that provoked some serious head scratching and smirking on our part! Enjoy!
Suzuki Cappuccino
Over the years, cars have been named after many things. Hispanic fighting bulls, weather patterns and features, icons of mythology and even informal emotional expressions have ended up resulting in what certain motors are known as by us. Very few, though, have been named after beverages, and the most famous of the lot may be the Suzuki Cappuccino.
But dont let the silly name spoil your preconceptions yes, its named after a weak yet sweet form of coffee, but there is very little thats wrong with the car. Sure, as it abides to Japanese Kei car legislation, its slow and not particularly powerful, but many critics at the time had huge praise for the Cappuccino as an engaging little roadster. Now, if only they made a Double Espresso version
Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard
Whenever the English speaking world gets a hold of a car from the Far East, its often the case that it comes with a name thats quite bizarre from our lexical perspective. Kias Picanto, for instance, is known as the Morning in Asian markets, and many grey-import only products have even weirder tags Mazdas Bongo Friendee, Daihatsus Naked, Mitsubishis Minica Dangan ZZ Lettucethe list goes on and on!
That said, theyre all average in comparison with this gargantuan pickup that, from our viewpoint, looks a bit like a Cadillac Escalade which has been converted into a flat-bed. Known as the Rodeo here in Blighty, its referred to elsewhere in other markets around the world as the Mysterious Utility Wizard. Erm
Peugeot Bipper Tepee
Its not just the Asian manufacturers that have made a habit of dubbing their cars with odd identities quite a few companies from the Western world have made really bad choices when it comes to naming their products. And the cherry on the cake? Quite possibly the Peugeot Bipper Tepee.
The term Bipper itself is quite an unusual one in itself, and adding Tepee on the end is Peugeots way of telling its customers that this is the civilian version with seats (because, of course, dwellings that were used by the Apache tribes in the plains of North America are automatically synonymous with small French vans that have been converted into more family orientated machinery)
If thats not enough, though, theres also a loaded with all the bells and whistles version called the Bipper Tepee Outdoor! Quite ironic, perhaps, given its based on a small and relatively affordable commercial vehicle thats been optimised for life in built-up and crowded towns and cities.
Mercedes-Benz Vaneo Ambiente Dog
For some cars, specifying it in a certain way has an impact on the vehicles full name. For instance, if you were to buy a Renaultsport Clio and decide to select the optional Cup chassis pack, the official designation would change from Renault Clio 200 to Renault Clio 200 Cup. The same story applies to the example here, though in our humble opinion, not quite as well
The Mercedes Vaneo is Benzs A-Class look-a-like van that, like many of the companys road cars, can be equipped with different trim levels and optional equipment packs. However, its safe to say that a handful of eagle-eyed potential buyers may have found out that, if they ticked the boxes for the Ambiente trim and the Dog Pack, the load luggers official title wouldnt be that flattering!
Maserati Kubang
To the purist fans of the Maserati brand, the inevitable SUV that will soon be rolling off the Modenese production line is about as sacrilegious as you could possibly get. Not only is it something thats might not be able to perfectly complement the Birdcage racers and Fangios 250F Formula One car from the 50s, but it also isnt exactly the prettiest car to ever wear the trident emblem.
What infuriated most people, though, was the name this concept car was given upon its unveiling at the Frankfurt show last year: Kubang. In a world where Maseratis have been christened with beautifully eloquent parlance such as Quattroporte and GranTurismo, Kubang automatically appears to be a bit crude and simple for something that originates from Italys Supercar Valley.
Still, at least some owners of older Maseratis may be well accustom to the word Kubang being associated with their preferred marque , as its a sound that quite a few Mazzers from yesteryear used to make on a regular basis
And that concludes our short list of cars with really weird names. But do you think there was anything else we missed out thats even weirder than our selection? Are there any other car names that make you smirk, snigger or simply wonder how bad all the other choices were if that was the best they could come up with? Comment below and let us know!
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