Stupid Car Names: The Camaro’s Legacy 1
When Chevrolet came out with the Camaro to compete with the Mustang, it claimed that “camaro” was a French or Spanish (depending on which source you use) word meaning “friend” or “chum.”
It wasn’t. It was made up by some Mad Men admen after a three martini lunch and best translates as “hunk o’ junk.” This started a trend of made-up car names. For grins and giggles, string them together to make soap opera characters. (“Alero Lexus, may I introduce Rav Acura?”)
Anyhoo, now in the history of unfortunate made-up car names comes the Prosche Panamera, which was apparently named after lunch.
April 21, 2011 at 10:16 am
While not a car, Yamaha once named a model made to compete with Harleys … wait for it … the “Virago.” That went well.