THE A TO Z OF CAR NAMES
Many model names are inspired by places found on a map. With some lexicographic leaps of logic, JAMES ATTWOOD completes the alphabet
A VOLVO AMAZON
If Celebrity Race Across the World can start in the Amazon, so can we – although Volvo’s US-friendly saloon isn’t actually named after the South American river and rainforest. Volvo originally wanted to call it Amason, but it was changed after a trademark dispute with motorcycle firm Kreidler. The intention was to reference the Amazon female warriors from Greek mythology. Anyway, it’s claimed the warriors inspired the name of the river, so I reckon we’re all good. And if you think that’s overly tenuous, you may wish to stop reading now…
B VOLKSWAGEN BRASILIA
VW has a long history of making cars in Brazil, including the production of a string of localmarket models. Named after the country’s capital and using an air-cooled flat four, the Brasilia was developed in the 1970s as a Brazil-focused equivalent of the Fusca (the Beetle to you and me).
C CADILLAC AND OLDSMOBILE CALAIS
GM first used the Calais name in 1965 for the successor (above) to Cadillac’s entry-level Series 62. That was discontinued in the 1970s, but the badge returned for an Olds saloon in the 1980s. Who wouldn’t want to capture the glamour of massive beer and wine supermarkets full of daytripping booze-cruise Brits?
D DODGE DAYTONA
We would pick the Ferrari Daytona here because, well, it’s a Ferrari, but Maranello insists Daytona is an unofficial name for the 365 GTB/4 coined after its success in 1967’s Daytona 24 Hours. The middling 1980s Dodge hatchback that bore the name took it from the epic Dodge Charger Daytona, the big-winged 1960s ‘aero warrior’ designed to exploit Nascar’s production car rules.