Cool article in today’s Washington Post! Any Japanese naming experts care to comment?

“My name is on every car,” Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota Motor, assured Congress on Wednesday.

The company started by Toyoda’s grandfather did indeed have his name — Tokyo Toyoda Motor Sales — until 1936, when a stroke of the brush changed it to Toyota.

Writing “Toyoda” in Japanese requires 10 brush strokes, explains John R. Malott, president of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, but writing “Toyota” requires eight.

While “8″ is considered an auspicious number, “10″ is not, said Malott, who visited with the company during his years as a State Department official. “Ten” consists of two strokes crossed against each other and resembles the “plus” symbol, or even a crossroads or an uncertain path. Not a good omen for a company.

“It’s a very Japanese way of thinking,” Malott said.

Chie Tamaki, a Japanese language expert at Arlington County-based Rosetta Stone, said in an e-mail that the name Toyoda consists of two characters, one meaning fertile and the other, rice paddy.

Tamaki was skeptical of a theory that the name was changed to make it sound less rural. Toyoda is a common name in Japan, not unlike Smith in English, she said, and most people don’t think of blacksmiths when they hear Smith, she observed.

According to an official corporate history, the company changed its name to Toyota because it “sounded better” — but whether it sounds better or not depends on the speaker, perhaps.

“I’m from Chicago,” Malott said, “so it’s all Toyoda, anyway.”

Tags: automobile naming, automotive names, automotive naming, brand name, Brand Naming, car naming, Company Naming, toyota
Posted in Brand Naming, Company Naming, In-the-News, Language use | No Comments

Laurel was quoted in an awesome piece over at Wired.com’s auto blog Autopia. It’s a fun read and coincides nicely with the digital launch of our Brand Name Owner’s Manual. Make sure to read the article in its entirety, because Laurel’s last quote is hilarious.

Tags: automotive naming, Autopia, car names, car naming, Wired.com
Posted in Brand Naming, In-the-News | No Comments

Wahey! Our totally cool, fun, informative, and cheeky Brand Name Owner’s Manual has gone live on the web at long last. It’s got a ton of advice on naming and an extensive breakdown of car name themes We’re so excited, we did a press release and everything. Take a test drive, kick the tires, and let us know what you think!

Tags: auto brands, auto naming, automotive branding, automotive names, automotive naming, branding guide, car branding, car brands, car names, car naming, naming guide
Posted in Catchword, Fun stuff, In-the-News | 1 Comment

Courtesy of the Autopia section of Wired comes news of a new contest:

After developing and marketing what promises to be the world’s first mass-produced extended-range EV, the folks at GM are too tired to come up with names for all the paint colors, so they’re asking for your help.

Apparently not satisfied with “kinda silvery and greenish” as a description of the exterior color of the pre-production Chevy Volt shown above, the General is asking for help from the general public to officially name the color for press and marketing materials. You can enter — and eventually vote — at chevroletvoltage.com.

The three top vote-getters win a trip to the L.A. Auto Show, while first prize gets their own addition to GM’s paint codes and the chance to drive a pre-production Volt. Props to anyone who submits “Autopia Emerald.”

So, how about it? For professional namers, coming up with a new name for “that same weird metallic green color you see on every other car” should be a snap. (Despite the fact that the car doesn’t really look green at all, to me.) Here are our suggestions, and we encourage you to leave yours in the comments. Have at it!

Kelp
Sea Foam
Seahorse Poop
Pelican’s Briefs
Green Guano
Pregnant Mermaid
Jellyfish Rash
Moldy Caviar
Cataract green
Limeaid
Limerick
Smoggy Everglade
Greenade
Gangreen
Seth (green)
Forest Spore
Mucous
Phlegm
Sputum
Not Quite (green)

BONUS: At the GM Volt website, they have posted some YouTube videos to help us all feel part of the process of developing the Volt. The name of this video is “How GM Chooses Vehicle Colors”, but they never actually explain how they choose colors. What’s much more interesting is Chris Webb’s accent. Dude, where you from?

Tags: automotive branding, automotive colors, automotive naming, car branding, car colors, car naming, green names, green naming
Posted in Advertising, Brand Naming, Fun stuff, Language use | 2 Comments

I’m sure by now most of you have seen the announcement of the new product from Segway and GM, the PUMA. The naming consultant in me is of two minds. On the one hand, I love the name. It’s short, punchy, and relatively easy on any non-native-English speakers they may want to sell to. Furthermore, it communicates agility, movement, and intelligence, all good things for a radical new vehicle to personify. So far, so good.

But on the other hand, the name has two huge flaws. First, it is already “taken” by a major athletic equipment brand. While there isn’t likely to be a trademark dispute over this name (the trademark office is smart enough to know that there isn’t much chance of consumers confusing a shoe with a motor vehicle), there is a big mindshare issue. Puma (the athletic company) has recently made a significant resurgence, and is once again among the leading brands in the category. Segway could have done itself a favor by choosing a product name with more room to maneuver.

Furthermore, the company seems dedicated to teaching us that P.U.M.A. is an acronym (it stands for Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility — but of course you knew that). Why? What does that really long, cumbersome, and generally forced extended version of the name add? Nothing, really, that we didn’t already know by a) the fact that Segway is selling it and 2) one look at the darn thing. Every time they push the acronym extension, they take away all the great sleek and agile cat associations that made the brand name so cool in the first place. The extended version is just trying too hard to do too much. Let the brand name carry the cool part and create a tagline or product descriptor to communicate the rest.

Tags: auto namig, automobile naming, automotive names, car naming, GM, Product Naming, PUMA, Segway, vehicle naming
Posted in Brand Naming, In-the-News, Product Naming | 4 Comments

Tags: auto names, auto naming, car names, car naming, Honda Fit, Honda Fit name, Honda names, Honda naming, The First Word
Posted in Brand Naming, Product Naming, Videos | No Comments

It’s no wonder that with soaring gas prices, car companies are rolling out their gas alternative car models. The two that I’ve seen get a lot of press coverage recenlty are the Honda FCX Clarity and the Chevy Volt. The Clarity is Honda’s new hydrogen fuel cell car that begins beta tests this week in Southern California (but, only if you’re a famous Hollywood type). And the Volt is Chevy’s plug-in electric concept vehicle that is expected to be available to the masses in 2010. While neither car will be ready for the consumer market for a few years, they are both already causing quite a buzz.

What hit me almost immediately was that both car names are real English words. I wonder if concocted words or a Latinate name style was ruled out because Toyota seems to owns that style with Prius. (For those of you who don’t know, Prius is a Latin comparative adjective or adverb, with meanings “ahead, in front, leading; previous, earlier, preceding, prior; former; basic;” fitting for such a car in the green vanguard.)

I like what each of the new car names conveys about its car model. “Clarity” focuses on the environmental benefit, and perhaps even suggests how simple a decision it should be to purchase one. The name also fits nicely with Honda’s other real-word names: Accord, Element, Civic, Pilot, Fit, Odyssey, etc. All of these words (maybe with the exception of “Fit”), are real words with elegant connotations. Either that, or Honda has done a great job of imbuing each of the brands with elegance and reliability. Either way, I think Clarity is as equally elegant and evocative as each of the names in the Honda brand roster.

“Volt” appeals to Chevy’s tough and exciting brand image. The name is electrically charged, powerful, and punchy. Instead of conveying the benefit, Volt implies the radical new technology. (Similar to the way Zap car does.) Much like the Chevy Cobalt, the Volt has a strong, exciting, and charged tonality. The Volt electric car marks a huge energetic shift for General Motors. The Volt (hopefully) effectively launches Chevy into the green car revolution. If Chevy hasn’t already gone under or severely missed the green boat by waiting until 2010, then the Volt may signal a new era for the American auto maker. The name aims to capitalize on this monumental change in the automotive tides.

Of course, let’s not forget about the Smart Car that’s already selling its super efficient models in the U.S. In fact, by next year they plan on having a fully electric model available for sale. At $12,000 for the current gasoline-burning model, it’s no wonder that I’m seeing them pop up all over San Francisco. In parking-starved SF, it also doesn’t hurt that you can park two of these adorable little guys in the one SUV’s street parking space.

More green cars! And please, more exciting green car naming!

Tags: auto naming, automobile naming, automotive naming, car naming, Chevy Volt, electric car naming, green car naming, Honda Clarity, Smart Car, smart car naming
Posted in Brand Naming, Language use, Product Naming | 1 Comment

I came across a great brand today while reading engadget. The company is ZAP and they build electric cars. I think their name is brilliant. Zap conveys the electric aspect of their cars wonderfully. The logo then reemphasizes this message with a comic-inspired font treatment. Even the exclamation point in the logo fits into the theme (it’s a little lightning bolt). Very clever!

ZAP also stands for “Zero Air Polution.” So let me summarize: ZAP has a name that is suggestive of their unique point of differentiation AND that functions as a relevant acronym? Brilliant indeed.

Perhaps the most fun aspect of ZAP’s brand is its brand extensions, aka the vehicle names. Zapino is the name for ZAP’s line of mopeds and Zappy is their scaled down scooter. The car names range from the playful Obvio and Xebra, to the more intriguing and mysterious Alias. (The Alias even looks like it was plucked right out of a James Bond movie!)

I love everything about ZAP’s names. It’s refreshing to see a clever naming system that isn’t forced or trite. If only the bigger car companies could emulate ZAP’s ingenuity both in naming and product innovation.

Tags: auto naming, automobile naming, car naming, electric car naming, electric cars, Zap cars
Posted in Company Naming, Fun stuff, Product Naming | 1 Comment