December 6, 2016
Audi has had a few electric versions of their existing models for a while, using the descriptor “e-tron” to designate electronic (e.g., the Audi A3 e-tron). But now, they are gearing up to offer an all new, all-electric SUV that is simply called the Audi e-tron. Now that the brake screeching noise has cleared out of my brain, I […]
February 3, 2016
General Motors is bringing new meaning to the word general, and I’m not talking about getting Arnold Schwarzenegger to dress up as a military officer (that was actually the game Mobile Strike). No, GM wants to make their cars more available to the General Public. As people continue to move into dense urban centers and […]
May 5, 2011
Even though it was unveiled back in 2009, the Nissan Leaf is only now appearing in commercials and on billboards near you. It seats 5 adults and has a range of about 100 miles, goes up to 90 mph (really?), has something called CARWINGS (a telematics system that displays information), rear monitor, etc., everything you’d […]
August 4, 2010
This item was originally published on July 30th, 2010 at Fast Company. I love those Kia hamsters. The first commercial showed a trio of hammies tooling around in their Kia Soul while the rest of the world ran in stationary wheels; it was cute and clever and made a nice statement about the cool factor […]
March 1, 2010
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 […]
December 17, 2009
While browsing through a recent issue of Consumer Reports, I just happened to see this listing of tires. See those two names there? Extensa and Versado? We created both of them for Toyo! I thought it was cool that they were right next to each other in the list. So that’s really all I wanted […]
December 4, 2009
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.
December 2, 2009
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 […]
October 27, 2009
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 […]
July 3, 2008
This is old product naming news, but I forgot to blog about it until just now. At the end of last year, Chrysler (formerly DaimlerChrysler, formerly Chrysler Corporation) showed off a new concept car, the Dodge Avenger Tuner – Stormtrooper (shown at left, all white and shiny and spiffy). Scott Anderson, designer of the car, […]