by Nathan Michael - Posted 2 years ago
by nathan_michael
Jeep,
Camry, BMW i5: Instantly recognizable car names we all know. But how did they
get those names?
One fun
example is the revolutionary four-wheel-drive Jeep. A bonafide World War II
hero for Allied troops, the official name was actually Willys MB. Among the
ranks, it was commonly known as a General Purpose vehicle, or GP. As people
used the term, GP was shortened from two syllables to one, creating a sound
like “jeep.” The name “Jeep” become official when it was trademarked in 1950.
Sometimes
car companies clash over names. In 2011, Ferrari launched a Formula One car and
called it the F150 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the unification of
Italy. Perhaps not surprisingly, Ford had a problem with this. They threatened
Ferrari with a lawsuit, saying the name was too close to their best-selling
F-150 truck line. Ferrari backed down, renaming their car the 150°, though it’s
hard to fathom someone mixing up a race car and a pickup.
Toyota
often uses combinations of Japanese and English when coming up with their car
names. “Camry” is actually a variation of the Japanese word for crown, and
“Celica” is a mashup of Japanese and English terms for “sleek.” And “Corolla”?
The petals of a flower in English, and phonetic variation of “crown” in
Japanese.
Why
does almost every BMW name contain an “i”? A bit like the Apple “i,” it’s
evolved over time. It started out meaning “international” and by the late 1970s
was used to designate cars with fuel-injected engines. Now it has simply become
tradition, but the “i” signifies nothing in particular.
So now
you know. It’s a little history with a good dose of creativity.