Yesterday evening, on a fruitless search for buckwheat flour to make gluten-free pancakes, I passed a large, black SUV, proudly displaying its name in large letters on the boot: DUSTER.
I imagined someone asking the owner what car they drove, and him or her replying, "I drive a duster."
A duster? A duster is a cloth you use to remove dust. Not a car.
My dad drives a 'Yeti'. Yeti? For me, that's a hairy being that hides out in the Himalayas. What next? Will we have a car called the 'Sasquatch' one day?
You only need to poke around the Internet to find more ridiculous car names, such as
1 Nissan Friend-Me....
2 Mazda Bongo Friendee. ...
3 Daihatsu Naked. ...
4 Mitsubishi Carisma. ...
5 Hyundai Trajet. ...
6 Gaylord Gladiator. ...
7 Dodge Dart Swinger. ...
8 Vauxhall Adam.
See this article for the complete list of 24:https://www.driving.co.uk/news/the-worlds-worst-car-names/
And if you think that's all, this website - https://www.motorbiscuit.com/the-most-ridiculous-car-names-in-history/ - has even more, such as the King Midget, the Chevrolet Citation, the AMC Gremlin and so on.
That last website also cites the Ford Fiesta, but compared to Yeti and Duster, I think that is relatively harmless. I'm even fond of the Ford Mondeo, despite the derogatory connotations of 'Mondeo Man'. At least the name conjures up ideas of belonging to the world at large rather than a hairy Himalayan mythic being.
But things have come a long way since the elegantly named Rolls Royce Silver Ghost (which was going to be called Silver Mist until they realised what 'Mist' in German meant [dung]).
I can't remember all the cars my father has had, but one that stands out was the second-hand Hillman Avenger, which my father painted himself. 'Silver Fox' was the name of the shade of paint he used. I quite enjoyed driving around in a 'foxy' Avenger as the name put me in mind of The New Avengers, a TV series that included the characters of sleek Purdey (Joanna Lumley) and dashing Gambit (Gareth Hunt). Which young girl didn't want to be as elegant and beautiful as her or to have an attractive man in their life like him? (Answer: probably quite a few - but those exceptions didn't include me.)
In any event, being ferried around in an old Avenger was loads more glamorous than driving around in a modern-day Duster or Yeti.
And the Nova, which was not a good idea in Spanish-speaking countries.
ReplyDeleteThere's a milkshake called "Yop." The would sell very well or very badly in Russia. It's the second person informal imperative for "F**k."
And then there's that German brand of coffee, called "Minges." Not sure that would be successful in the British export market...
I was going to include the story about the Nova, but then I looked online and found that, contrary to the tale, the Nova sold quite well in Spain.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it makes sense as 'it doesn't work' in Spanish is 'no va' and the stress is quite different.
Ah, so a bit of urban myth creeping in, then?
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