Q Ships

[Chris Barnes]

I just love the names of those old Buicks and Olds...Starfire, Roadmaster, Rocket 88, Vista Cruiser, and my personal favorite--Wildcat. No one is ever going to name a car Wildcat again...oh well it would probably be an Italian minivan anyways.

Chris Barnes
Wagons of Steel
Stock 6621

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by Chris Barnes

I just love the names of those old Buicks and Olds...Starfire, Roadmaster, Rocket 88, Vista Cruiser, and my personal favorite--Wildcat. No one is ever going to name a car Wildcat again...oh well it would probably be an Italian minivan anyways.

Chris Barnes
Wagons of Steel
Stock 6621

I agree. It seems like a lot more thought went into names back then as they weren't using focus groups and making up names.

For instance, most of us remember the Buick Century as a grandma car that was really popular with the car rental companies. But the original Century got the name because a smaller body got the engine from their big car and would run 100 mph - something pretty rare back then.

The first "generated" name I can remember was Camaro. Chevrolet tried to explain that it meant "friend" in some language or other. After they were called out that the fact wasn't true, I never saw them mention the origin again.

There may have been earlier names, but all that I can think of were places, animals, or numbers that had some reason for being attached to the car. For instance, the Electra 225 was named because that big barge was 225" long.

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by Dan Bennett

I agree. It seems like a lot more thought went into names back then as they weren't using focus groups and making up names.

For instance, most of us remember the Buick Century as a grandma car that was really popular with the car rental companies. But the original Century got the name because a smaller body got the engine from their big car and would run 100 mph - something pretty rare back then.

The first "generated" name I can remember was Camaro. Chevrolet tried to explain that it meant "friend" in some language or other. After they were called out that the fact wasn't true, I never saw them mention the origin again.

There may have been earlier names, but all that I can think of were places, animals, or numbers that had some reason for being attached to the car. For instance, the Electra 225 was named because that big barge was 225" long.

So true, these days most car names sound like they belong on a feminine protection product, or a bottle of purfume.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Chrysler Imperial
Chrysler Newport
Buick Riviera
Pontiac Bonneville
Mercury Montego
Chevrolet Caprice

The names sounded 'high class'