Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine What's in a Name? Favourite Car Names

Thinking about STU's request for a new name (at the ever-delightful Mission Monitor Board) brought to mind the clash of civilizations, when poet Marianne Moore was asked by Ford Motor Company to suggest car names:

Moore was almost a cult figure in America during the '50s and
'60s, known as much for her love of baseball (sometimes
throwing the first pitch) and prize fights (sometimes dining with
Cassius Clay), as for her Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry. What
Ford wanted was a car name that "flashes a dramatically
desirable picture in people's minds," from a woman who seemed
to know mainstream America. What they got was "Anticipator,"
"Thunder Crester," "Pastelogram," "Intelligent Whale," "The
Resilient Bullet," "Mongoose Civique," "Andante con Moto,"
"Varsity Stroke" and then, as her very last try for the name
magic, "Utopian Turtletop."

Ford finally named that car the "Edsel" - and the rest is automotive history. I sort of liked Andante con Moto...

http://archive.salon.com/books/today/2002/12/09/dec09/

Do you think STU would go for "Thunder Crester"?

Possibly... I think "Mongoose Civique" should be reserved for Senor Widebottom and "Varsity Stroke" just makes me think of Cobie, for some reason.

"Intelligent Whale"?? Was she putting them on or something??

Me, I like "Testerosa" cuz it makes me think of "Testes" and how masculine I'd feel driving a car named after testicles...

"Thunderbird", "Stingray" and "Sunfire" are good too (and not just cuz they're comic book characters).

I still like the Nova (Latin American version).

My favorite was the Probe. I remember thinking, "A Probe isn't a car. It's what the proctologist sticks up your butt."

After my recent visit to The Legion of Honor's Art Deco exhibit, my favorite car name is the Cord 812 Phaeton.

[img]http://www.thinker.org/tours/popup.asp?imagekey=838&museum=legion[/img]

Well, that didn't work. I guess we'll have to do this the hard way.

http://www.thinker.org/tours/popup.asp?imagekey=838&museum=legion