CAR NAMES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 88, 4 December 1931, Page 7

CAR NAMES

CURIOUS ORIGIN OF MANY WELL KNOWN TRADE MARKS. INTERESTING REVIEW. . Motor cars, like racehorses, are giyen their names for a variety of reasons. Some vehicles— such as the Beardmore, Berliet, Chrysler, Dodge, Napier, Salmson, Singer and White> — are named after their hnilders. A similar honour is paid to their 'original designers in the naming of such cars as the Austin, Ballot, Bentley, | Bugatti, Chevrolet, Daimler, Farman, i Ford, Lanchester, Lancia, Miller and the Riley, to name but a few (writes ! "Automac" in the Melbourne Argus). Some others, such as the ArmstrongSiddeley, Chenard-Walcker, Graf and Stift, Rolls-Royce and. ' the WillysKnight, combine the , names of both builder and designer. Many cars owe ) their name to "a combination of their I place of origin and the name of either ! their nianufacturer or their designer. Examples of this class are the ' Alfa-Romeo, Aston-Martin, LorraineDietrich, and Morris-C'owley. The birthplace of the vehicle has been selected often as the sole name of the car; examples are the Argyll,' Elgin, Itala, Lexington, Leyland, Lombard, Oakland and Vauxhall. Letter Combinations. Cars have been introduced by a combination of letters only, as A.B.G., A.C., B.S.A., F.A.S.T., F.I.A.T., F.N., G.W.K. These are generally the initials of the full name of the company rnaking the vehicle. A.B.C. is an abbreviation of All-British Engine Company, which earned an enviable reputation during the vrar with its airj cooled aeroplane engines; A.C., now known as the Acedes, represents Au-to-Carriers. -• .A.S.T. represented Fabrica Automobili Sports, Torino. ,G.W.K. are the initials of Grice, Woods and Keiller, the pioneer members of the firm manufacturing this friction-drive car. Famous Men. Other names serve to perpetuate the memory of famous men. Some honoured in this way are Bayard, "le Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche"; Cadillac, who founded the city of Detroit, now the metropolis of motordom; Cleveland, a former president of the United States; de Soto, the Spanish explorer who discovered the Mississippi; Franklin, the American scientist; la Salle, who, like Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, was a French nobleman, had, in addition to many other adventures, the distinction of Jeading the first American expedi^ tion into Mexico; Lincoln, a former president of the United States; Palmerston, the British statesman; and Rob Roy, the Scottish outlaw and hero. Mythology also plays its part. The

Ajax, later known as the Nash Light Six, owed its name to the famous Greek fighter, who ranked next to Achilles; Diana was the goddess of hunting and light; and Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, war, and the liberal arts. Mercury, as the messenof the gods and the patron of travellers, provided an excellent name for a car. Vulcan, the good of fire and consequently the first engineer, provided the name of another vehicle. Less Obvious Names. There are many cars with names the origin of which is less obvious. Alvis was the nickname of one of the directors of the company, and it was chosen because it had the additional advantage of ensuring that the car would be well to the fore in any alphabetical list. The Arab was swift. The. Climax was clearly in the opinion of its builders the last thing in motor cars. Omega doubtless received its name for a similar reason. Lagonda is a name without meaning. It was selected because of its euphonious sound. Mercedes was the name of one of Herr Daimler's daughters; the Nomad probably owes its name to the same idea that was in the minds of sponsors of the American Overland and the German Wanderer. Palladium was chosen because it meant "a place of safety." The Phoenix was named after the fabulous bird because of the phoenix's reputation for phenomenally long life. The distinguishing mark of the Standard car is the old Roman standard, which in its day symbolised progress and strength. The Trojan is a good worker, and the reason for the selection of Utilitas as the name of a German car is equally obvious. One British car owes its name to the fact that when the board of directors was unable to come to a decision one of its members remembered his favourite series of novels.