There’s no shortage of sources from which automakers’ marketing divisions can draw names for their products.
These days alphanumeric designations seem to be taking over, but history is rife with actual nameplates: handles derived from superlatives (like Supra or Integra), animal names (like Mustang or Pantera), or locations (like Yukon or Monte Carlo).
Sometimes those names are even taken from places in America. Chevrolet has shown a particular affinity for its home-grown market, giving its products names like Malibu, Orlando, Colorado, and Tahoe. But it’s not alone.
In fact some foreign automakers have been known to name some of their models after famous places in America. But unlike, say, the Toyota Tacoma or Hyundai Santa Fe, not all of them are (or were) actually sold in the North American market. Here are a few notable examples.
Volkswagen California
The last time Volkswagen sold a minivan in America was with the Chrysler Town & Country it sold as the Routan. That was hardly a huge success, but elsewhere in the world, VW sells vans by, well, the truckload. Including the California. The name first appeared in 1988 on camper vans built by Westfalia, and is still in use on the passenger version of the T-Series – known, in other configurations, as the Transporter, Caravelle, Multivan, or… um, PanAmericana. At least you can get the Ferrari California in its namesake state.
Renault Alaskan
What do you call it when a French automaker slaps its own face on a Japanese pickup? Why, you give it an American name, of course! And that’s what Renault did when it came out with its own version of the Nissan Navara, which Mercedes recently showcased in concept form as the X-Class. Each features its own unique bodywork, and as a Renault, is sold as the Alaskan… after people from a state where it won’t be sold.
Fiat Freemont
Even more confusing is the name that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles slapped on the Dodge Journey when they exported it overseas. Sold under the Fiat brand in Europe, South America, Australia, and parts of Asia, the Journey is rebadged as the Freemont. The name could be derived from that of John C. Frémont, a 19th-century American explorer, army general, and political leader – or any of the dozens of municipalities across the United States that was named after him, chief among them the city in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.
Seat Toledo
Okay, okay… we’re stretching a little here. The Seat Toledo, being the product of a Spanish automaker, is probably named after the city in Spain. But it’s also the name of a city in Ohio, where (of course) you can’t buy the vehicle, or any other Seat model, since the brand is not represented in the North American market altogether.
Alfa Romeo Montreal
We conclude with what could be the most blatant example of all. When Alfa Romeo first displayed this Bertone-designed sports car concept at Expo 67 in Montreal, it had yet to give it a name. So the public did the job for it, and the company stuck with the name once it put the model into production three years later. Unfortunately the Italian automaker didn’t homologate it to local emissions requirements, so the Montreal was never official sold in Montreal, nor anywhere else in North America.