There are a lot of animal-named cars. Some immediately come to mind (Volkswagen Beetle and Rabbit, Dodge Viper, and Chevy Impala spring to mind first for me) while others may be deep cuts, to varying degrees. Surely you recall the Pontiac Firebird, but you are forgiven if you do not recall the Singer Gazelle. I didn’t recall it myself, it popped up on this “cars with animal names” list that came up in my Google search. (Not that you asked: I skipped the AI Overview).
I’m a big fan of all the animal names, especially when the name really suits the car (or motorcycle, or snowmobile, or steamroller, whatever). The names aren’t always great matches (I again give you the Singer Gazelle), but sometimes they’re just perfect. Is there any greater example than the VW Beetle? It looks like a Beetle. It’s right there in the top graphic. You could put four wheels on the beetle and six legs on the Beetle and it would be fine.
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Sometimes an animal name can suit a car on levels beyond appearance. Consider the first-gen Dodge Viper; it is indeed quite snake-faced, but it this was also a car that would happily bite you in the ass, metaphorically speaking, which a viper would happily do literally.
Your turn:
What Animal-Name Cars Best Match Their Names?
Top graphic images: stock.adobe.com; DepositPhotos.com
AMC Eagle… does not look like an eagle however
I named my 504 Winnie the Peugeot. My second one was Simone de Boulevard.
I think David Letterman, or one of his writers, nailed it with Ford Gelding back at the end of the malaise era. The same Top 10 list included the Hyundai Accordion. Those are the only two that stuck in my mind from many years ago.
Sorry… I guess I was sleep typing last night and didn’t remember that I had already posted something almost identical.
David Letterman (and his writers) came up with a Top 10 list of failed car names a long time ago. The two that stuck in my head are:
Ford Gelding
and
Hyundai Accordian
Monteverdi Hai (Shark in German) 426 hemi ,mid engine, very few made.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/monteverdi-hai-450-ss-the-1970-swiss-supercar-with-a-mid-mounted-426-hemi-170106.html
In Norway, the Beetle is known as Boble – “Bubble” – which is also quite fitting, though not very animalesque.
I’ve only ever seen Mercury Cougars driven by middle aged women w daddy issues and too much makeup, if that counts.
Got any phone numbers?
Ha! Nice try.
MG MIdget
Those Toyota TRD pickups really do match their name.
Maybe not from the factory, but plenty of Pintos ended up with faded, patchy paint and mismatched panels.
Man, back in Brazil, where I grew up, “pinto” is also an animal, but it is the name for male chicks. Also, slang for male equipment. 10 year old me had a blast learning that you guys named a car like that – of course it wasn’t after the animal I thought it was, but still funny to my pre-adolescent brain 🙂
Murcielago is Spanish for bat. I guess the car is kind of bat-like
Taurus. Yeah, built Ford Tough is BULL 😛
More like TaurASS
Jaguar is a type of cat, and cats can be high-maintenance.
The Kia K9 is like some breed of dog, I’m sure. Also, Kia dealers can be a bitch to deal with.
Hyundai Pony. They can be temperamental (they still had a manual choke in the 80s), and they were RWD, yeah like a pony car too LOL
What was especially hilarious was when Hyundai replaced Pony with the FWD Excel.
That was the most ironic name application ever.
You probably already know this, but ‘Murcielago’ is also the name of a famous fighting bull, which is why Lamborghini named their car after him.
Yeah I know, but bat is more fun for the purpose of this question 😛
Do you think Lambos are more bull-like than a Ford Taurus? 😉
The Tiburon definitely gave off shark vibes, especially the ones with “gills”
TIL my ex-wife’s car was named after a shark.
Hopefully her divorce lawyer wasn’t one!
A Volkswagen Beetle undoubtedly looks like the insect, but it shouldn’t count.
People started to colloquially call the Type 1 a Beetle (Käfer, Coccinelle , etc.) because of the ressemblance.
Now, one could argue the final version (2010s) was actually sold as a Beetle, which makes my point moot, as I don’t think any other car really looks like a living creature.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, I nominate the Tiguan. I fail to understand how a tiger can mate with an iguana, whether consensual or not… So as a car??
Everyone is doing it wrong.
Camaro. A rowdy beast that spends most of its days relaxing in tall grass leaning on support, such as concrete blocks. Known for its hair that comes down to eye level but extends far down the neck. Revving the engine calls to mind the animal’s mating call; Holdmybeer, holdmybeer! (Full disclosure, I’ve owned Camaros and loved them both.)
You misspelled “Camero.” And I can make that joke as a former owner myself.
I remember reading somewhere that it’s a completely made up yet vaguely Latin sounding word, a Spanish language slang term that actually doesn’t exist, and that someone in the late sixties at one of the competitor automakers apparently joked that it was obscure South American slang for “loose bowels.”
Somewhere in my foggy memory I recall something about a French slang term for comrade.
screaming chicken, i meant firebird.
Might be a stretch, but the early Subaru Rex reminds me of a T-Rex.
The Humber Snipe.
And the Youabian Puma
(At least the part that isn’t a Volvo C70)
Nissan S-Cargo. Sure looks like a snail to me.
Okay I like this one.
The Impala, because just like deer in my area, most are on the side of the road smashed to bits