Tuesday, November 27, 2007
of names and numbers

I've noticed that luxury car models tend to have names that are more like part numbers than words. It's not a perfect correlation, but it's pretty reliable. Non-luxury cars tend to have words as their names. Luxury cars may use words such as "Turbo" as modifiers on the base model name, or non-luxury cars may have alphanumeric codes like 2500HD in the same role, but the base model names tend to follow the pattern. Note the luxury cars (exceptions highlighted; it looks like there are more exceptions than there really are because the names much longer):

  • Acura: MDX, RDX, RL, TL, TSX
  • Aston Martin: DB9, V12 Vanquish, V8 Vantage
  • Audi: A3, A4, A4 Avant, A6, A6 Avant, A8, Q7, R8, RS 4, S4, S4 Avant, S6, S8, TT
  • Bentley: Arnage, Azure, Continental Flying Spur, Continental GT, Continental GTC
  • BMW: 3-Series, 3-Series Sports Wagon, 5-Series, 5-Series Sports Wagon, 6-Series, 7-Series, M3, M5, M6, X3, X5, Z4, Z4 M
  • Cadillac: CTS, DTS, Escalade, Escalade EXT, SRX, STS, XLR
  • Ferrari: 599 GTB Fiorano, 612, F430
  • Hummer: H2, H3
  • Infiniti: FX, G35, G37, M, QX56
  • Jaguar: S-TYPE, XJ Series, XK Series, X-TYPE, X-TYPE Sportwagon
  • Lamborghini: Gallardo, Murcielago LP640
  • Land Rover: LR2, LR3, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport
  • Lexus: ES 350, GS, GS 450h, GX 470, IS, LS 460, LS 600h, LX 470, RX 350, RX 400h, SC 430
  • Lincoln: Mark LT, MKX, MKZ, Navigator, Town Car
  • Lotus: Elise, Exige
  • Maserati: Coupe, GranSport, Quattroporte
  • Maybach: Maybach
  • Mercedes-Benz: C-Class, CL-Class, CLK-Class, CLS-Class, E-Class, E-Class Wagon, G-Class, GL-Class, M-Class, R-Class, S-Class, SL-Class, SLK, SLR
  • Porsche: 911, Boxster, Cayenne, Cayman
  • Rolls-Royce: Phantom
  • Saab: 9-3, 9-3 SportCombi, 9-5, 9-5 SportCombi, 9-7X
  • Volvo: C30, C70, S40, S60, S80, V50, V70, XC70, XC90
Now compare the non-luxury cars (again, exceptions highlighted):
  • Buick: Enclave, LaCrosse, Lucerne, Rainier, Rendezvous, Terraza
  • Chevrolet: Avalanche, Aveo, Aveo5, Cobalt, Colorado, Corvette, Equinox, Express, Express Cargo Van, HHR, Impala, Malibu, Malibu Hybrid, Malibu Maxx, Monte Carlo, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500HD, Silverado 3500HD, Silverado Classic 1500, Silverado Classic 2500HD, Silverado Classic 3500, Silverado Hybrid, Suburban, Tahoe, TrailBlazer, Uplander
  • Chrysler: 300, Aspen, Crossfire, Pacifica, PT Cruiser, Sebring, Town & Country
  • Dodge: Avenger, Caliber, Charger, Dakota, Durango, Grand Caravan, Magnum, Nitro, Ram 1500, Ram 2500, Ram 3500, Sprinter Van, Sprinter Wagon, Viper
  • Ford: Crown Victoria, Edge, Escape, Escape Hybrid, E-Series Van, E-Series Wagon, Expedition, Explorer, Explorer Sport Trac, F-150, F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, Five Hundred, Focus, Focus Wagon, Freestar, Freestyle, Fusion, Mustang, Ranger, Shelby GT500, Taurus, Taurus X
  • GMC: Acadia, Canyon, Envoy, Savana, Savana Cargo Van, Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500HD, Sierra 3500HD, Sierra Classic 1500, Sierra Classic 2500HD, Sierra Classic 3500, Sierra Hybrid, Yukon, Yukon Denali, Yukon XL
  • Honda: Accord, Accord Hybrid, Civic, Civic Hybrid, CR-V, Element, Fit, Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline, S2000
  • Hyundai: Accent, Azera, Elantra, Entourage, Santa Fe, Sonata, Tiburon, Tucson, Veracruz
  • Isuzu: Ascender, Truck
  • Jeep: Commander, Compass, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Patriot, Wrangler
  • Kia: Amanti, Optima, Rio, Rio5, Rondo, Sedona, Sorento, Spectra, Spectra5, Sportage
  • Mazda: CX-7, CX-9, Mazda3, Mazda5, Mazda6, Mazda6 Sport Wagon, MAZDASPEED3, MAZDASPEED6, MX-5 Miata, RX-8, Tribute, Truck
  • Mercury: Grand Marquis, Mariner, Mariner Hybrid, Milan, Montego, Monterey, Mountaineer, Sable
  • MINI: Cooper
  • Mitsubishi: Eclipse, Endeavor, Galant, Lancer, Outlander, Raider
  • Nissan: 350Z, Altima, Altima Hybrid, Armada, Frontier, Maxima, Murano, Pathfinder, Quest, Rogue, Sentra, Titan, Versa, Xterra
  • Pontiac: G5, G6, Grand Prix, Solstice, Torrent, Vibe
  • Saturn: Astra, Aura, Aura Green Line Hybrid, Ion, Outlook, Relay, Sky, Vue, Vue Green Line Hybrid
  • Scion: tC, xB, xD
  • Subaru: Forester, Impreza, Impreza Wagon, Legacy, Legacy Wagon, Outback, Tribeca
  • Suzuki: Aerio, Forenza, Forenza Wagon, Grand Vitara, Reno, SX4, Verona, XL7
  • Toyota: 4Runner, Avalon, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Camry Solara, Corolla, FJ Cruiser, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Land Cruiser, Matrix, Prius, RAV4, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma, Tundra, Yaris
  • Volkswagen: Eos, Jetta, New Beetle, Passat, Passat Wagon, R32, Rabbit, Touareg
Take note, then. If you want to give your child a classy name, forget names like "Madison," "Paris," or "Ethan;" go with QA76, 3-TSB, or NBK.

All names are according to MSN Autos, who were so kind as to have the makes and models in an easy to manage Javascript format.

¶ 1599 Posted at 12.24 PM ⇒ No Comments ( names | observations )