The best, worst and weirdest car names

Then there are just inexplicable misspellings, such as the Chevrolet Luv truck. Ditto for the Pontiac Aztek.

Those car names that just don't make any sense to us include, among others, the Buick Reatta; Oldsmobile Achieva, Bravada, Firenza and Futuramic; Pontiac Astre and Fiero; and the Saturn Vue.

The other set of worst car names consists of those that seem to be calculated attempts to play upon consumer class-consciousness and social insecurities. These names conjure images of country clubs and glamorous lifestyles, yet, for the most part, are cars that were targeted at buyers of more modest means. We doubt any celebrities ever owned Chevrolet Celebrity station wagons, for example.

Among the other cars we include in this group are the Buick LeSabre; Chevrolet Greenbrier; Chrysler LeBaron; Dodge Coronet, Crestwood, Diplomat, Dynasty and St. Regis; Ford Aspire; Lincoln Versailles; Pontiac Executive; and Rambler Country Club.

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The best part of researching this story, however, was the process of combing through the names of cars sold in Japan with odd English titles. There are a couple of European models on our list, but Japanese automakers are the true champions of putting out the wildest car names.

Among the ones that made us smile are the Daihatsu Motor Naked; Honda Life Dunk and That's; Isuzu GIGA 20 Light Dump and Mysterious Utility; Mazda Motor Bongo; Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear and Pistachio; Nissan Fairlady Z and Prairie Joy; Rickman Space Ranger; Rinspeed X-Dream; Suzuki Cappucino; Toyota Motor Deliboy and Toyopet; Volkswagen Thing and Volugrafo Bimbo. We think it's a shame that the Honda Life Dunk doesn't sell over here. Its goofy yet inspiring name would probably attract a fair number of buyers.

And what we wouldn't give to see a French dealership offering a Royal Honda Prince Life Dunk, or somesuch.

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