Spies Sources tell me that the following names for new car models were once suggested in various countries, but rejected for some strange reason or another. From bad to worst (and one which was actually accepted):
- Toyota Vajeena (Japan)
- Nissan Clitty (Japan)
- Ford Anil (India)
- VW Fahrt (Austria)
- Lamborghini Urus (Italy)
(Actually, both Lambo and VW have been jointly responsible for some of the worst car names in history, so no surprise that they’re #1 and #2.)
Your suggestions in Comments…
The “Utopian Turtletop” was suggested as a name for the Ford Edsel. It might have been an improvement.
A debacle that actually happened was when Chevy tried to sell the Nova in Latin America. Took them a while to figure out what that means in Spanish.
That’s an urban legend. In Spanish “nova” and “no va” are 2 distinct things and nobody has any confusion as to which is which.
https://www.thoughtco.com/chevy-nova-that-wouldnt-go-3078090
Merkur XR4Ti – oh wait, that WAS a real car name.
When Datsun (not Nissan) first imported the 1600 into the US, the VP of Sales for Datsun insisted on naming it the “Fairlady”…the movie, My Fair Lady was popular at the time.
The US Sales VP had new badges made and as they came of the boat, they were renamed….