Weird car names

[Airframes]

I thought that Ford were rather diplomatic, when they first launched the Escort, around the time of rather well-known scandal in the UK, involving a public figure and a 'high class' prostitute. Naming the car the Ford Call Girl might not have gone down well !

 

[Token]

I thought that Ford were rather diplomatic, when they first launched the Escort, around the time of rather well-known scandal in the UK, involving a public figure and a 'high class' prostitute. Naming the car the Ford Call Girl might not have gone down well !

What year are you talking about? A car carrying the Ford Escort name has been around a long time in the UK, introduced in 1955, with a gap from 1961 to 1968.

T!

 

[Airframes]

Light-heartedly referring to the Ford Escort Mk1, from 1968. The earlier type was more commonly known as the Ford Popular in the UK, both in it's earlier 'sit up and beg' 1950s style, and the later, early/mid 1960s re-design.

 

[Old Wizard]

Both of those were special cases. The models they replaced were named cars, not numbered cars, and the models that replaced them were also named cars, not numbered cars. It was like Chevy decided to number them for a few years only (1953 to 1957), found it did not work that great, and abandon the idea.


I think these numbers derived from the series number of the car, the 150 from the 1500 series and the 210 from the 2100 series. And if I am not mistaken these were mostly trim levels, you could buy the 150, the 210, or the Bel Air, all the same basic car at different price points and trim/accessory levels.


T!

I remember a guy in 1957 who ordered a black 150 coupe with the fuel injected V-8. Talk about a sleeper at traffic lights.

 

[tyrodtom]

Studabaker even had a car called the dictator, their top of the line car. Dictator of the road, it ruled the road, I suppose what they were trying to get across. Sometime in the 30's they retired the name when certain people in Europe took all the thrill out of the word.

Then their top of the line was called the President, followed by the Commander.

If you look at all the names American cars have been called thru the years, especially for their different price classes, it's hard to see a consistant pattern anywhere.
A lot stated out named after one of the founders of the company, But as more models came along they named them after explorerers, Indian chiefs, resorts, hotels, exclusive areas, animals, insects, space objects, on and on, the list is endless.

I remember when I was in Japan in 66, Nissan came out with a car that had the name Cherry in English on it's fenders for the Japanese market.

 

[Thorlifter]

Ferrari always used engine displacement and number of cylinders to name their cars, that is up until the early 80's.

So basically a 308 was a 3.0 liter 8 cylinder
A 328 was a 3.2 liter 8 cylinder
and so on and so on.

But then the naming got weird on a few of them.

The 355 has a 3.5 liter 5 valve per cylinder motor.
The 360 has a 3.60 liter motor and did not use the number of cylinders

The V-12s naming convention used the displacement of a single cylinder so the 365 has a 4390cc V-12 (4390 / 12 = 365)

But then Ferrari couldn't even follow their own V-12 naming standard as the 599 is named for total engine displacement.

Then they changed their V-12 naming convention yet again as the 512 Boxer is a 5 liter 12 cylinder.

Flagship cars use an F with the number of years that Ferrari has been around as in the F40 and F50

 

[bobbysocks]

they still use the letters for trucks....chevy/gmc uses C for 2 wheel drive picks up with numbers for the rating. C10 is a 2wd half ton pick up. C15 2wd heavy half ton....C20 3/4 ton and so on. K was for 4 wheel drive K5 ( as mentioned above ) was a 4wd blazer..K10 4wd 1/3 ton and so forth. G was for vans ....didn't matter 2 or 4wd. G10...half ton van they used other letters for heavy industrial but I cant remember them right off.

Dodge used D for 2wd pick ups...W for 4wd and B for vans...

Ford used F for pick ups and E for vans....

 

[Old Wizard]

Ford could have named the Escort Christine or Mandy.

 

[Airframes]

Hmm. "The RAC Rally :- Mandy comes first again ...... "
Rather awkward, what ?!!

 

[Old Wizard]

Mandy retained her looks better than Christine did. She deserved to win.

 

[GrauGeist]

This is what eventually happened to Christine!

 

[herman1rg]

During the 1970s here in the UK the conglomerate of British Leyland produced a car named after the Italian word meaning "Cheerful or brisk; but commonly interpreted as lively, fast"

Ladies and Gentlemen the

Austin Allegro

 

[Airframes]

Which was prone to snapping in half when jacked-up to change a wheel ..................

 

[Token]

they still use the letters for trucks....chevy/gmc uses C for 2 wheel drive picks up with numbers for the rating. C10 is a 2wd half ton pick up. C15 2wd heavy half ton....C20 3/4 ton and so on. K was for 4 wheel drive K5 ( as mentioned above ) was a 4wd blazer..K10 4wd 1/3 ton and so forth. G was for vans ....didn't matter 2 or 4wd. G10...half ton van they used other letters for heavy industrial but I cant remember them right off.

Today they would not use C15 in the name of the truck as the vehicle is marked, it would rather be the 1500 or C1500. It seems they have flip-flopped on this several times, going from XXXX to XX, and then back to XXXX. Further confused by the difference in sales names and design designations. So that while today the 1500 would be called the 1500 in sales literature it would be a C15 (assuming 2 WD) for parts purposes, so that BOTH C15 and 1500 would be correct for the same vehicle.

But they also name the trucks. A Silverado 1500, for example, the heavy half ton version of the truck, while the Silverado 2500 would be the three quarter ton version.

Dodge used D for 2wd pick ups...W for 4wd and B for vans...

Ford used F for pick ups and E for vans....

And also these companies have named the vehicles. For example my 1975 Ford F-250 is a Ranger XLT.

T!

 

[Lucky13]

There was an old American car called the Satellite. No doubt named to cash in on Space Race Fever, but I always thought it was a silly name for a car.

That would be the Plymouth Satellite then....

 

[Lucky13]

new names for a new age ( group ) I guess. maybe the brainiacs at the think tanks figured these names would stir this young generation like those names did ours.....that said...I now worry even more for the future of the world...lol

Are you sh*tting me? That will never happen, the way vehicles (I refuse to call them cars, a '60 or '61 Imperial is a car!) look today, Virgil Exner would hate it I'm sure, function before styling, not to mention those that designed the '60's and others...

 

[Lucky13]

Wonder what a Ford Terry or Terrence, will look like?

 

[Lucky13]

Hmm. "The RAC Rally :- Mandy comes first again ...... "
Rather awkward, what ?!!

....and the then you both, can light a fag!

 

[Lucky13]

Gremlin and Rogue maybe, but I don't see nothing weird about Rambler, American, Classic, Ambassador, AMX, Javelin, Matador, Hornet, Concord, Spirit, Pacer, SX-4, Rebel. A lot of those name used before and since by other car makers.

But then, I'm a AMC fan, got 5 right now counting my old J-10 Jeep.

You poor b*stard!

 

[Airframes]

A Ford Terry would be good looking, sleek and racy, whilst a Ford Terence (one 'R' old chap) would be more refined, handsome and debonair in appearance, exuding confidence and reliability, and with huge appeal to the more discerning members of the fair sex.
(But the boot [trunk, for our ex-Colonial cousins] would still be full of bulls*it !!!)