Cars named after (or same as) WW2 and 1950s aircraft? (1 Viewer)

Alan Stevens said:

Are you saying that a P-51 is shaped like a wild horse?

Doesn't look that way to me.

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The NA-73 was named after a popular song in Britain at the time.

The Ford Mustang was based on the Falcon Chassis and, incidently, so was the Maverick.

Neither the vehicles nor the aircraft bore any resemblance to their respective namesakes.

Not sure why we're having a class discussion about the origins of horse breeds.

Perhaps Ford should introduce the Hyracotherium as a compact sport package?

Wasn't the Maverick sold for $1995? I also seem to remember Ford advertising saying one could disassemble it (mostly) with just a screwdriver.

SaparotRob said:

Wasn't the Maverick sold for $1995? I also seem to remember Ford advertising saying one could disassemble it (mostly) with just a screwdriver.

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Not sure about all that, but my first car was a '70 - great car and it had really nice lines, looked similar to the '68/'69 Camaros body-wise.

And as I mentioned a bit ago, the Maverick was a Falcon/Comet/Mustang beneath the sheet metal.
I have 1970 Maverick upper and lower control arma on my 1966 Mustang (yes, I own one).

SaparotRob said:

Wasn't the Maverick sold for $1995? I also seem to remember Ford advertising saying one could disassemble it (mostly) with just a screwdriver.

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My high-school girlfriend had a 73 Maverick. We and our friends did a lot of stupid shit in it.

My '70 Maverick had the 200 cid L-6, great gas mileage and it was a veteran of many a drive-in movie and the usual to-and-from school jaunts.

GrauGeist said:

My '70 Maverick had the 200 cid L-6, great gas mileage and it was a veteran of many a drive-in movie and the usual to-and-from school jaunts.

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Right, Joni's had an inline-six, and aside from drive-ins (Conan the Barbarian) and so forth, more than enough herbage to be good to drive or ride, and ripping down Vine St in Paso Robles at 50mph to grab the deep drop in front of 24th St, there was also getting sideways on G14, going out to Adelaida Graveyard to get high at midnight, and ripping up South River Road while trying not to go spinning. I wasn't driving at that time, but goddamn, she was driving like no one's bidness.

She hipped me to Bob Marley and Depeche Mode ... metalhead me. I'd listen to anything to get her lovin'.

Somewhere on the forum is a pic of a Ford Falcon in a tree.

Musta' been one freakin' big hawk.

SaparotRob said:

Wasn't the Maverick sold for $1995? I also seem to remember Ford advertising saying one could disassemble it (mostly) with just a screwdriver.

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Actually most cars of that era self disassembled using rust.

This is going to be a LONG list, but it's 159 instances from a list that I've compiled of Auto Names used Multiple Times.
These are all the Aviation/Aerospace names that I can recall from that list, and note these are ALL names used more than once by car companies. There has to be hundreds more for you trivia addicts to suss out! Also, I did not note the aerospace source, but can back up any challenge.

Aerospace related name - Car company names

America/American – Austin, Rambler, Ferrari

AMX – AMC, French combat vehicle

Arrow/Aero – Plymouth, Hillman, Pierce-Arrow, Gumpert Apollo, Morgan, Czech, Saab, Callaway, Buick, Willys

Astra/Astro – Vauxall, Chevrolet

Atlantic – Austin, Bugatti

Aurora – Ford concept, Oldsmobile, VW/Hyundai, Aurora safety car, Waymo

Avenger – Hillman, Dodge, Talbot

Banshee – Pontiac Motorama, Ford, kit car, Oldsmobile, GTA

Bantam – Austin, Singer, American Bantam

Bearcat – Stutz, Buick, Lenco armored military car

Bermuda – Edsel, Austin Mini

Bison – Buick, Chevrolet Truck, Armored Car

Bluebird – Datsun/Nissan, Campbell

Cadet/Kadett – Chevrolet and GM post war car line, Standard 10, Vauxhall, Cub, Opel

Cambridge – Austin, Plymouth

Capri – Ford, Mercury Australia, Lincoln, Merkur

Caravan – Dodge, Nissan

Caravelle – Renault, Plymouth

Cavalier – Packard, Chevrolet, Graham, Vauxhall, Toyota

Century – Buick, Toyota

Challenger – Studebaker, Dodge, Mitsubishi, Thompson

Champion/Champ – Studebaker, Automobilwerke GmbH, Plymouth

Charger – Dodge, Australian Chrysler Valiant

Citation – Edsel, Chevrolet

Clipper – Studebaker, Packard, Nissan

Colt – Dodge, Plymouth, Mitsubishi

Comet – Mercury, Comet cyclecar

Commander – Studebaker, Mahindra, Jeep

Commodore – Opel, Plymouth, Holden

Concord – Plymouth, AMC, Kia

Conquest – Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler, Conquest Knight, La Dawri

Continental – Bentley, Lincoln

Corsair – Ford, Lincoln, Phantom, Henry J, Edsel, Consul

Corvette – Chevrolet, Studebaker, Renault

Cougar – Mercury, Ford concept

Cross Country – Rambler, Volvo

Cruiser – Toyota FJ, Chrysler PT, Oldsmobile Vista, Toyota Land, Buick concept, Mercury

Custom – Ford, DeSoto, Nash Ambassador, GMC

Cyclone/Syclone – GMC, Cadillac show car, Mercury

Dart – Dodge, Daimler, Chrysler show car

Delta – Lancia, Oldsmobile, GSM, Daihatsu

Diablo – Lamborghini, Chrysler concept, GMC

Dragon – Kaiser, Russian mfgr.

Dyna – Toyota, Panhard,

Eagle – AMC, Kissel, Chevrolet, Jeep, car mfgr.

Escort – Ford, Ford UK

Executive – Chrysler, Lexus, Holden, Gaz

Explorer – Plymouth concept, Ford

Falcon – Ford, Ford Australia, Chrysler, Chrysler Exner show car, Falcon cyclecar, Falcon Motorsports

Firebird – GM turbine concept (3), Pontiac

Flyer – Dixie, Terraplane, Thomas, Briggs & Stratton

Frigate – Edsel, Toyota, Model T

Fox – Volkswagen, Audi

Futura – Lincoln concept, Ford Falcon

Gazelle – Singer, Mercedes, Nissan

Gemini – Isuzu, Holden

Ghost – Rolls Royce, Bentley

Greyhound – Ford, Lincoln, AC, Cyclecar

Griffin/Griffith/Gryphon – Vauxhall, TVR, Saab

Hawk – Studebaker/Packard, Humber, Hillman

Horizon – Plymouth, Simca/Talbot

Hornet – Hudson, AMC, Humber, Wolseley, Dodge

Hunter – Hillman, Pekyan, Range Rover

Hurricane/Huracan – Jeep, Holden, Lamborghini

Imp – Hillman/Sunbeam, Imp cyclecar, Riley

Impala – Corvette Motorama, Chevrolet

Imperial – Chrysler, Humber

Interceptor – Jensen, Ford Police

Invader – Gilbern, Bradley, Acadian, Tanom, Bolero, Lexus, Porsche, Autokit

Javelin – AMC, Jowett

Jet/Jetta – Hudson, Mercedes F300, VW, Muntz

Junior – Datsun, DKW, Alfa Romeo

Knight – GMC, US mfgr., Conquest, KITT TV car

Laguna – Chevrolet, Renault

Lancer – Mitsubishi, Austin

Laser – Ford, Plymouth

Legend – Honda/Acura, Mahindra, Peugeot

Mamba – Corvette, Viper, BMW, Karmann Ghia, GTA

Manta – Opel, Manta Ray, Manta Cars, Bizzarini, Studebaker Concept

Marauder – Mercury, UK Car co.

Matador – Dodge, AMC, Tempo van

Maverick – Ford, Gladwin concept, Ford Europe SUV, Sportster

Meteor – Ford, Mercury, Ford Australia, Rover, Auburn, Canadian mfgr.

Midget – MG 2+, King, Daihatsu concept, open wheel racing class

Mirage – Manta, Mitsubishi, John Wyer racer

Monster/Monstre – Cadillac racer, Saab, Arfons (3+)

Mustang – Ford, McCarty

Nomad – Chevrolet 2 door wagon, Corvette wagon show car

Nova – Chevrolet, Holden

Omega – Oldsmobile, Opel

Pacer – AMC, Edsel

Panther – Packard concept, kit car

Pathfinder – Riley, Nissan

Patrol – Nissan, Toyota

Phantom – Pontiac concept, Heinz Phantom Corsair, Rolls Royce, Chrysler, Dodge

Phoenix – Tatra, Fitch, Pontiac

Pilot – Honda, Rover

Playboy – Jordan, Playboy Auto co … which inspired the magazine name!

Pony – Hyundai, Ford Pinto

Premiere/Premier – Lincoln, Eagle

President – Studebaker, Nissan, Tatra

Princess – Austin/Vanden Plas/Wolseley, UK mfgr.

Prizm/Prisma – Chevrolet/Geo, Lancia

Pulsar – Nissan, Fiat, Bajaj

Puma – Ford, Brazil/South Africa, Youabian

Raider – Ford, Dodge, Mitsubishi

Rambler – Nash, Hudson

Ranger – Edsel, Ford truck, GM South Africa/Europe

Rapid/Rapide – Skoda, Aston Martin

Raptor – Hennessey, Ford F-150

Rebel – AMC, Rambler, Chrysler, Dodge Ram

Reliant – Plymouth, UK Auto mfgr.

Rocket – Oldsmobile, Ford Mustang

Rebel – Dodge truck, AMC, Rambler

Safari — Pontiac, GMC, Nissan

Sahara – Jeep, Barris custom, Citroen

Savanna – GMC, Mazda

Scarab – Reventlow, Rover, Bradley, Stout

Scorpio – Ford, Wolseley, Merkur

Scorpion – Abarth, Ronn, Grinnall

Scout – International Harvester, VW, Ford concept

Seven – Austin, Lotus/Caterham, Triumph, Hyundai, BMW

Shark – '62 concept, Nova Shark, Corvette Mako, Hyundai Tiburon, Mahindra Marazzo, '38 Graham

Solara – Talbot/Simca, Dodge, Toyota

Speedster – Studebaker, Porsche, Auburn, Sunflower State kit car, many others

Sprint – Falcon, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, GMC, Chevrolet, Suzuki, many others – open wheel racing class

Sprite – Austin Healey, Riley, Austin

Stag – Triumph, Simca

Stallion – Toyota, Ford Pinto, Foose

Starlight – Studebaker, Cadillac concept

Stinger – Corvair, Kia

Strato/Stratos – Lancia, Stola concept, Pontiac, GMC

Suburban – Plymouth, DeSoto, Chevrolet, GMC

Super/Supra – Buick, Toyota, Ford Super Duty, Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty

Talon – Eagle, Honda

Tempo – Ford, German truck mfgr.

Thunderbolt – Ford concept, Chrysler LeBaron concept, Ford Fairlane drag cars

Tiger – Sunbeam, Volkswagen Tiguan, Hillman

Titan – Mazda, Nissan, Apple electric car

Torino – Renault, Ford, Mercury, Land Rover, MG,

Tornado/Toronado – Plymouth concept, Oldsmobile

Torpedo – Tucker, Citroen, Fiat, Humber, IVECO, Gregoire

Tracer – Mercury, Renault

Tracker – Suzuki, Geo, Chevrolet

Trailblazer – Holden, Chevrolet

Vega – Chevrolet, Facel

Venture – Toyota, Chevrolet

Victoria – Ford, Lincoln, Stutz

Viper – Dodge, Wolseley, Hunai, Knight Rider

Vision – Mazda, Mercedes, Maybach, Tata, BMW, Eagle

Vista – Toyota, Oldsmobile, Tata, Eagle, Dodge/Plymouth

Vixen – TVR, BMW motor home, AMC AMX concept

Volante – Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo Disco, Volante Vision flying car concept

Voyager – Plymouth, Mahindra

Vulcan – Aston Martin, UK mfgr.

Wasp – Hudson, Nash, Wolseley

Warrior – Cord, Nissan concept

Wraith – Rolls Royce, Bentley

Zephyr – Lincoln, Mercury, Ford, Budd

fannum said:

Imp

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Thiokol Chemical Company, which produced snowcats, had a compact model named the "Imp".

fannum said:

Lancer

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Also Dodge had a line with this badge.

fannum said:

Panther

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Chevy had a concept car in '65 by this name. It looked sort of a cross between a Camaro and an Olds Toranado.

Also, don't forget Ford's Pantera.

As a side note, I remember seeing a cartoon of a Messerschmitt KR200 being chased by an aggressive Triumph Spitfire, but do you think I can find it on the 'net? The cartoonist's name might have been Brockbank?

In the meanwhile...

And another aircraft related car..

Hi,
My favorite choice here would be the rather mundane Plymouth P-15 (from 1946-48) and the proposed but never built German Lippisch P-15high tech jet fighter. I think its pretty clear that Plymouth never heard of the Lippisch program when naming their car, but since they ended up with the same name the conspiracy theorist side of me wants to assume that there "obviously" must be a connection

[Source Internet Movie Car Database]



[Source Wikipedia]

Both were Fokker design proposals.

The Ford T-5 *may* have been named after the German T-5 torpedo boat.

Maybe.

Ok, maybe not...

I once had a vehicle named after a damned aircraft carrier.

Bacon for the first correct guess.

I learned to drive in a beat up '68 Caddy Sedan de Ville. I called her U.S.S. Potemkin (Constitution class), though after a while, just "Po".
I had a '73 Catalina that I named Dreadnought. I can't believe I spaced on Catalina upthread. I guess it's because I never thought of her other than Dreadnought.

I had a '78 Plymouth Fury Sport station wagon nick-named "Galactica" (after the Battlestar).

Thumpalumpacus said:

I once had a vehicle named after a damned aircraft carrier.

Bacon for the first correct guess.

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Hudson or AMC Hornet?