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How do cars get their names? Art, science, and a legal process.
Car names are forever, and automakers have a system in place to make it count.
Automakers typically employ a collaborative process to name new vehicles, blending creativity, strategic marketing, and legal considerations. This approach often involves brainstorming sessions among product planners, marketers, and executives to generate a list of potential names that reflect the vehicle’s concept and attributes. For instance, Honda’s Assistant Vice President of Communications, Jessica Fini, explains that the company holds such meetings years before a vehicle’s launch to ensure the name aligns with the vehicle’s identity.
After narrowing down the options, the top choices undergo legal vetting to confirm they aren’t already in use and don’t carry unintended meanings in other languages. This step is crucial to avoid potential trademark conflicts and cultural misunderstandings. Fini notes that submitting multiple names is standard, as some may be legally unusable, necessitating fallback options.
Some manufacturers opt for alphanumeric designations, like Mercedes-Benz’s class-based system, where models range from A to S-Class, with “S” standing for “sonderklasse,” meaning “special class” in German. Others prefer meaningful names or acronyms; for example, Honda’s CR-V stands for “Comfortable Runabout Vehicle,” and Toyota’s RAV4 denotes “Recreational Active Vehicle with four-wheel-drive.” These naming conventions aim to convey the vehicle’s purpose and character effectively.
popsci.com
How do cars get their names? Art, science, and a legal process.
Car names are forever, and automakers have a system in place to make it count. We asked experts at Honda and Hyundai to explain.