What’s in a name?

Have you ever wondered where brand names come from? Let’s explore the brand names of today’s leading car companies.

Some are easy, others are pretty obscure, so we’ll do the easy one’s first. Buick, Chrysler, Citroen, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Toyota are all named after the originators of the company. It’s hard to believe these international conglomerates were started by an individual.

As for the more obscure ones, Kia is Korean for “out of Asia”; Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades galaxy (the constellation is in the logo). MG stands for Morris Garages; Volvo is Latin “to roll” (Volvo used to be a ball bearing manufacturer); Mitsubishi is Japanese for “three diamonds” (check out the logo); Volkswagen is German for “people’s car”; Mercedes means “grace” in Spanish; and SAAB breaks down to The Swedish Airplane Corporation.

Daimler Benz brings up one interesting fact – Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz never met. And if you’re a fan of the band Reo Speedwagon, you might find it interesting to know it was the name of an actual model (a predecessor to the pickup truck). Named after GM pioneer Ransom E. Olds (of Oldsmobile fame) REO put its name on trucks into 1975.

Q: I am looking to buy a used sport utility vehicle, my preference is the Toyota 4Runner (2002 or 2003) V6 Limited 4×4 but it’s so expensive, what other vehicles compare to the 4Runner that will give me a bang for my buck. I am also looking at the Mitsubishi Montero Sport XLS. Can you tell me if it’s a good choice?

A: Toyota has a great reputation for reliability in Canada. 4Runner’s could be considered “bullet proof.” Mitsubishi also has a great reputation and the Montero Sport is a good product, though the brand is not as well represented by dealerships in this country (prior representation was by Chrysler as many Mitsubishi models were rebranded and sold as “captive imports”). Mitsubishi started its own dealer network about five years ago in Canada. The result of all that is high model depreciation and, naturally, lower used vehicle prices. I would buy one, but look for one approximately two years old.

Dave Redinger has more than 40 years’ experience as a mechanic and has run his shop, Doctor H Honda Specialists, in Toronto for the past 26 years. He’s also a radio talk show host and produces several television shows.

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Tags: buick, Chrysler, Citroen, Ford, honda, Hyundai, Kawasaki, mechanic, Suzuki