CAR NAME THEMES
Theme Performance (Including Speed, Strength, Size, Durability, Handling)
The quintessential name Maxima
Whether it's speed (Laser), strength (Titan), handling (Grand Prix) or an innovative four-wheel-drive system (Quattro), car manufacturers love to tout the performance capabilities of their vehicles. Some have used very overt names to suggest some aspect of performance (e.g., Sprinter, RoadMaster), while others have opted for more abstract or metaphoric names (e.g., Invicta, Grand Prix). In any case, and generally speaking, the goal is the same: to convey faster, stronger, more agile or all of the above (e.g., our quintessential name: Maxima).
It should be noted that while performance-suggesting names can be wonderfully exciting and effective memory hooks for core car functions, they also need to be credible, appropriate for the vehicle they represent, grounded in reality. Suggesting a performance trait that doesn't actually exist in a vehicle (or is only partially true) is taking the road to brand suicide. This is a basic rule of naming and applicable to all industries.
| Honda | Accord | It agrees with you |
| Cadillac | Allanté | Likely from the French allant meaning "dynamic" |
| Nissan | Armada | Implies strength, well-equipped |
| Dodge | Avenger | Sounds aggressive, in pursuit |
| Volkswagen | Caravelle | Light sailing ship |
| Buick | Centurion | Roman army commander |
| Dodge | Charger | Energized, strong forward movement |
| Hyundai | Click | Fast, simple, easy, and everything just clicks |
| Chevy | Corvair | A lightweight Corvette, and recalls corsair, a fast pirate ship |
| Chevy | Corvette | A speedy pursuit ship in the British navy |
| Pontiac | Fiero | Spanish for "wild" |
| Ford | Focus | Heightened capabilities, intensity |
| Hyundai | Galloper | Fast, strong |
| Pontiac | Grand Am | For the American road race, high performance vehicles |
| Toyota | Highlander | A soldier in the Scottish regimen from the highlands |
| Volkswagen | Jetta | Jetting around, sounds fast |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer | A soldier armed with lances |
| Ford | Laser | Pinpoint accuracy and speed |
| Pontiac | LeMans | For the French sport car endurance race |
| Dodge | Magnum | Speaks to size, strength |
| Nissan | Maxima | Maximum performance |
| Mercury | Mountaineer | Able to scale mountains, tough terrain |
| Volkswagen | Passat | German term for trade wind |
| Ford | Pronto | Speed, immediacy |
| Audi | Quattro | Refers to "four wheel drive" |
| Buick | Skyhawk | Borrowing from the fighter aricraft that goes by the same name |
| Toyota | Supra | Latin for "above" |
| Toyota | Tercel | From the Latin meaning "one third" because it was smaller than the Corolla |
| Pontiac | Torrent | Speaks to speed, strength |
| Mercury | Tracer | In the sense of a bullet tracer - something that leaves a streak moving so fast |
| Pontiac | Trans Am | For the Trans American Sedan Competition of muscle cars |
| Nissan | Versa | "Versa" is a participle form of the Latin verb vertere, meaning "to turn" |
| Acura | Vigor | Strength, energy, and enthusiasm |
| Nissan | Xterra | Extreme all-terrain vehicle |
