07 Aug 06
Mitsubishi opens its account with the Mini Active Urban Sandal, Nissan with the Prairie Joy. Subaru wasn't trying hard enough with its Gravel Express while Daihatsu sadly mistook quantity for quality when it came up with the Rugged Field Sports Resin Top. Meanwhile, Suzuki came up with the disappointingly unfunny Van Van for one of its products but, with a brilliant slice of lateral thinking, saved the day and its dignity by ascribing it to a motorbike.
Indeed some Japanese companies find it hard to abandon their inhibitions and join in. The only clearly deranged Toyota I could find was the Estima Lucida G Luxury Joyful Canopy, while Honda's contribution is the rather joyless Joy Machine, although it did take at least one stab at the profoundly silly with the Life Dunk. If only all its rivals were not prepared to go so very much further in their pursuit of pure, unadulterated nomenclatural daftness.
Isuzu, for instance, goes straight for the schoolboy vote, first with the unforgettable Big Horn and then the Giga 20 Light Dump. I'm not clear about who they were aiming for with the Mysterious Utility Wizard but, whoever it is, I'm sure they're laughing their heads off right now.
The guys at Nissan must have been pleased with the simple eccentricity of the Cedric but I reckon the real achievement was the Leopard J Ferie. Others, on the other hand, might think the Big Thumb Harmonised Truck was its finest hour.
Subaru might not be one of the biggest Japanese car companies, but when it comes to thinking up certifiable names for your cars, it takes a hell of a lot of beating. There's the Domingo Aladdin, the Vivio Bistro and, my favourite, the Sambar Dias Astonish!! The exclamation marks are theirs, not mine. It's good but, incredibly, not unbeatable.
