Names

[Philippe Racicot]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I hope that the Lucerne will be rebadged into something else like the 80's Somerset Regal (not the Regal Somerset) was rebadged into a Skylark. </div></div>

It's preciesly because of turkeys like this one that the old names have been sullied and need to be replaced. When Toyota comes out with a Corolla that is more known for recalls and a short lifespan than any links to the past honored cars with that name then you can bet you'll have seen the last new Corolla. People outside the hobby don't remember 1968, but they <span style="font-style: italic">do</span> remember 1988!

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Dave, I agree about the eighties and nineties Skylarks, they were cheap. But, there were some reliable Buicks in this period too, the LeSabre was one of them. Not up to Toyota's quality standards but it was one of the best domestic car of the period! Durability was also good and today, most of the high mileage 1988 LeSabres I see seem to be in better condition than the 1988 Camrys that are often rusted out. Also, when I look at a 1988 LeSabre T/Type, I think it looks much better than any 1988 Toyota.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">And yet, with all that careful consideration, they still come up with the Cadillac etc.

OK, for some reason I keep thinking about this and ideas sometimes pop. Hear are a couple more:

Orion

Avion </div></div>

Guy,

"Avion" is another french name, it means "airplane"

I like Orion! It sounds great!

I still think that Buick should come with names that were used in the past. In my opinion, the best period for Buick (and GM) was between 1936 and 1976. They should study what was done better in this period and why cars from this period are still better in many ways than the actual products. They should also use the names that are found on cars from this period and care about finding new names only when they'll be able to sell 800,000 Buicks a year again.

I'm not saying bring back ignition points, carburators, drum brakes, gear driven oil pumps... (but recirculating ball power steerings should be considered).

I'm certainly not saying forget about the safety items or luxury equipments found on the current models but try to find why driving a well used 1974 LeSabre is a better experience than driving a 2004 Century! (I experienced it last year for a month as I had a rental Century paid by the insurance company when I had an accident with my Riviera. After the first few days, I often left the Century in the driveway...)

Why driving any Wildcat is also better than any 1981 and newer Buick I drove?

Why driving a sixties Riviera is funnier than driving a nineties Riviera...

[55PackardGuy]

Philippe,

Thanks for the feedback. I thought Orion might work too. It seems kind of obvious, like it should have been used before--maybe it has.

"Airplane" wouldn't be a bad connotation, would it? It wouldn't be as bad as what "Nova" represented to Spanish-speakers. It also evokes birds, in its similarity to "Aviary"-- although the Buick Bird Cage wouldn't cut it.

Speaking of literal interpretations of car names, the "Red Green Talks Cars" book has a hilarious section on this:

Chevy Citation = Chevy Traffic Ticket

Ford Taurus = Ford Bullroar

etc.

I won't quote any more so I don't get sued. Get the book, eh?

Other names are real easy to make fun of. Two I've heard a lot are:

Mercury Mistake

Ford Exploder

etc.

And, even though it's way off topic, I do agree that recirculating ball steering definitely has its uses in certain cars and particularly trucks. I like the "on rails" feel it can give when it's set up right. Both my current vehicles--'96 Dakota 4x4 and '89 IROC Camaro--have it, and I like the way they handle just fine.

OK, another name suggested by the word "topic":

How about the Buick Tropic for a convertible? It could be used as an additional badge, like the Lucerne Tropic.

Or, get fancy and go with "Tropica"

Just some more free-associating thoughts...

[Guest Straight eight]

Then of course there are names we give our women, after all we refer to our vehicles as "She". Lauren for a sleek convertible, (as in Bacall) Betsy for the family sedan?

[HurstGN]

<span style="font-style: italic"> <span style="font-weight: bold">STELLLLLLAAAAAA!!!!!!</span></span>

[55PackardGuy]

There was a movie, I think from the '70s, called "The Betsy" about a new-car introduction. Maybe they were onto something!

Using a female name as a root might be very interesting, fancying it up a bit could help. Like, Lauren could be "Laurentte" or something. Whoops, sounds too French, eh?

"Mercedes" is of course the classic example of this. Almost NO ONE thinks of it as a woman's name any more, but I believe it was chosen because it was the name of one of the original auto makers' daughters. Anyone remember whose?

[Reatta not Regatta]

I like INVICTA!

[Guest bkazmer]

Benz' distributor, I believe (Jellinek?). The story I heard was he would buy a huge order for the time, like 10 cars, if they were named after little Mercedes

[imported_48Rdmstr68Skylrk]

Don't forget the movie "Christine" or the old TV show "My Mother the Car", I know those are bad names for cars but I had to throw them out for fun.

They could go with latin names like Alumna (and maybe use an aluminum body), or Non Sequitur which means "not following".