In article <1119543491.882587.172200@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
 "JeffWills" <jwills@pacifier.com> wrote:

> Sheldon Brown wrote:
> > > And anent car names--  what drives someone to come up
> > > with a name like "Charade" ?

Small cars seem to get the oddest names. Cavalier? Festiva? Golf? Polo?? 
Tempo seems normal by comparison. 

My personal favourite is the only-in-Japan Mitsubishi Minica Dangan ZZ:

http://z-o-g.org/gt4cars/used-oldtimer/mitsubishi-minica-dangan-zz-89.jpg

That's the, ah, performance version (64 horsepower!) of a very small 
car. I think Dangan is supposed to be Japanese for "bullet" or "bullet 
train", and refers to their high-speed trains.

> > "Blazer" has always seemed strange to me, though it's more generally the
> > Ford products that have the reputation for going up in flames...

It's a ute. Surely this is in the sense of "trailblazer."
 
> It could be worse- you could drive a "Nova". Astronomy enthusiasts
> understand that one, as well as the Subaru emblem.

Yes, but us Latin speakers have a more novel interpretation. 
 
> And who would drive an "Avalanche"? An avalanche is a disaster, t'ain't
> it?
> 
> Jeff "Look out! It's Escalading!" Wills

Car names are clearly evocative and highly emotional (affective, if you 
like throwing in some pedagogical jargon), and don't have to make too 
much sense. You know, like bike stuff: Madone, Synapse, Torrent, Shore, 
Palomino, Optimo, Mantra, Centaur, Kilauea...

Let's not forget the Kona A.

After a while, it's enough to make you appreciate numeric designations.

It's hard to separate car names from the cars they represent, but I 
think "Corvette" is still a pretty good name, But the best is probably 
the Lotus Elise: great company name, great car name. In cycling, best 
part name must be Campagnolo Veloce, and I'll nominate the Rivendell 
Quickbeam for best frame name.

Named my bike "The Whip,"

-- 
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos