unfortunate car names

[Green_Fairy]

so this thread got me searchin' the ol' internets for stuff and i stumbled across this list. and boy howdy are they unfortunate!

[mikoyan29]

Hell, you don't even have to go in foreign languages:
How about the Ford Probe and the Pontiac Vibe?

[Nurian]

The Nova thing actually isn't true. Yes, technically, "No va" means "it doesn't go" but if a native speaker of Spanish wanted to say a car doesn't work, they would say "No se funciona".

Saying that it hurt sales because Spanish speakers thought a car named Nova wouldn't work is like saying no English speaker will buy a dinette set by a company called Notable as they would think there is no table.

In fact, Snopes has an article about it.

[protege]

I see that someone tried to contribute the Porsche 911. Yes, I know what that number means, and also how it got its designation. The original name was supposed to be 901. But then Peugeot claimed a copyright on all 3-digit model numbers with a central zero--205, 404, 504, 505, etc. and rather than waste time with a copyright mess, Porsche simply changed the designation. Of course, 911 is appropriate, since some drivers simply aren't used to the car's power and/or handling...and 911 is the first number they call after they've done something stupid

Back on topic--Rolls-Royce was once going to release another car in their "Silver" line--Silver Ghost, Silver Wraith, Silver Seraph, etc....but this time, they were going to call it "Silver Mist." That is, until they found out that the German translation means "manure." Not exactly the sort of thing you want to associate with the Best Car in the World

[draggar]

It's not just wiht cars! We al love Colgate tothpaste, right?

Colgate (col-GAH-tay) in Spanish means "Go hang yourself" (like saying "F-off" or "Go to hell")