The world’s worst car names

Whether a car name is good or bad is a matter of personal opinion to an extent, but there are certainly some names where the majority view seems to coalesce around the latter viewpoint. These are the world’s worst car names. 

Let’s be clear that car makers don’t have it easy when it comes to naming cars. They must find a title for their latest creation that seduces buyers and speaks to the model’s market positioning, while running the gauntlet of different connotations and meanings that words inevitably have in different cultures around the world. They also can’t use anything that’s already been used or trademarked by a rival car brand, or any other company that might object for that matter. Anything that sounds similar or could create confusion with an existing name is also out. 

With all this in mind, you can understand how some of the stranger car names we’ve seen over the years come into being. There is, however, no excuse for the most obvious crimes against car naming that we’ll delve into below. Why did they do it? Sometimes these things are best left as a mystery but it doesn’t make the names themselves any better…

BYD Seagull

Whether it was chosen by AI or a life coach, BYD (also known as Build Your Dreams) is a rather silly name for a car company, and the firm’s models don’t fare much better.

While some cars are named after animals to great effect, such as the Chevrolet Impala or Dodge Viper, BYD wasn’t able to generate the same emotion when it called its smallest EV the Seagull, after what is in essence a seaside pest. 

Honda e:Ny1

Anyone could be the source of a better name for this electric SUV from Honda – and we mean that quite literally; the e:Ny1 is supposed to be an approximation of ‘anyone’, meaning it’s an accessible EV for all.

The Honda’s lofty price tag aside, the e:Ny1’s name is the least accessible part of it, at first glance looking more like a clumsy and random combination of numbers and letters.

LaFerrari

It may appear heresy to include a Ferrari on this list (especially a model as highly regarded as the LaFerrari), but the name seems like a bit of a cop-out. 

Yes, we realise the car is known as LaFerrari because it was, at the time, supposed to be the brand’s definitive model, but we think simply calling it the F70 would have tied it in with older halo models and have prevented people accidentally calling it the Ferrari LaFerrari.

Mazda Bongo Friendee

The Japanese firm has a knack for concocting weird and wonderful car names (we’re looking at you, Mazda Titan Dump) and this list would be a lot longer if we included all of them.

So representing the bonkers thinking of the Hiroshima company is the Bongo Friendee – a small camper van for the domestic market. If the Friendee’s name is a bit too friendly for you, Mazda now offers the latest model in commercial Bongo Brawny guise.

Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door 63 S E-Performance Carbon Edition

A car name should be punchy and memorable – things the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé 63 S E-Performance Carbon Edition isn’t.

Even without the Carbon Edition trim level adding a further five syllables, the four-door super-saloon still sounds rather ridiculous.

Mitsubishi Pajero

These days, car branding teams employ experts fluent in different languages to ensure no car ever makes it to market with a rude or offensive name, and the Mitsubishi Pajero is a prime example of why.

The rough-and-tough 4x4 actually shares its name with the Spanish word for… well, let’s just say it’s too rude to write here.

Ora Funky Cat/03

As you’ve probably noticed, Japanese car names don’t typically translate well for the European market, and the same applies to those from China, too. 

When it launched a few years ago, the Ora Funky Cat was derided for its name. With the brand suspecting lacklustre sales could be linked to this, Ora later rebranded the electric supermini as the Ora 03 which, while not quite as silly, does strip the car of some character.

Peugeot Bipper Tepee Outdoor

With a name like Bipper Tepee Outdoor, Peugeot’s van-based MPV sounds more appropriate for a product from Little Tikes rather than a fully fledged car company.

Fittingly, when Auto Express reviewed the Peugeot more than a decade ago, we found the interior quality to be just as plasticky as that of Little Tikes’ own Cozy Coupé, despite costing an awful lot more.

Volkswagen Thing

The marketing team at Volkswagen may have been a tad understaffed on the day the Type 181, also known as the Trekker in the UK, was dubbed the VW Thing for North America. 

We must admit, though, that while it is one of the poorest excuses for a car name in history, it does manage to accurately reflect the bare-bones nature of the model it adorns.

Are these the worst car names ever? Head to the comments below to have your say and tell us any we've missed......