11 of the most embarrassing car names in the world

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That naming literally went awry: some local journalists must have had a thin grin on their lips when the first Audi A3 with the addition of E-Tron (picture) was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show 2014. Because «étron» means «a pile of shit» in French. Audi clearly didn’t care: since 2019, all of the brand’s all-electric vehicles have been supplemented.

Released in 1983, Uno originally wanted to use its name to show that it had what it took to be #1. Only in Finland the little Italian remained a slow seller. There “Uuno” colloquially means “fool”. Finally, in 1995, its successor, Punto, followed Uno.

What a letter can do: In 1970 Ford wanted to revolutionize the middle class with Pinto, not Punto. But in Brazil everything turned upside down – in two senses of the word. In Sugar Loaf, “Pinto” means “cock.” But Pinto didn’t make negative headlines just because of its name: dozens of drivers died in flames due to a design flaw (more blatant car scandals here).

And the US manufacturer’s next linguistic mistake: In Slovenia and Croatia, the streets should be swept when Ford Kuga hits the road. “Kuga” means “plague” in Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian. If you want a guaranteed traffic-free ride, you should probably get a black Kuga.

Originally introduced in 1983, the Honda Jazz would go by the international name Fitta. However, when the authorities learned that the term “Fitta” in Swedish jargon was a vulgar term for vagina, they changed the name of the tool to Jazz for Europe without further ado. However, in China or Japan, jazz is still called appropriate to this day.

Many Lamborghini models are named after the famous Spanish fighting bulls. For example Aventador, Huracán or Reventón, technically based on Murciélago. Lambo probably didn’t realize that the name of the special model, limited to 22 vehicles from 2007, means “flat tire” in Spain.

Mazda made a glorious mistake with its little car Laputa and got lost in the world’s oldest trade. Fortunately, “la puta” (meaning prostitute in Spanish) was only sold on the Japanese market from 1999 to 2006.

Mitsubishi also made negative headlines in Spain with its Pajero off-road vehicle. No wonder no one wants to put the “fool” in the driveway. Therefore, the name of the Spanish-speaking region model was soon changed to Montero.

Nissan has managed to raise an unwelcome toast to peace of mind with its Pivo concept vehicle. The small electric car for the big city is called “beer” in Czech. Fortunately, the Anabaptist crazy idea remained a one-off.

Even a luxury brand like Rolls-Royce is not immune from making mistakes when naming its business models. The luxury sedan Silver Shadow (German: Silberner Schatten) was supposed to hit the market when it was launched in 1965 as the Silver Mist. But at the thought of German customers, the British changed their minds.

The Japanese are true naming artists. Of course, Toyota’s marketing strategists had no way of knowing that their MR2 was pronounced “merde” (German: scheisse) in French – shit. But its name did not overshadow the success of the sports coupé, which first appeared in 1984: it was produced in three generations until 2007.

Source: Blick