[Smt-talk] Car names

[Gregory Karl]

Well, if you are going to include "Accent," then I guess the Honda  
"Accord" might count as well. And then of course there is the "Hot  
Rod Lincoln:-)"

The prestige theory is plausible, but given that Hyundai and Kia are  
parts of a single corporate entity and the makers of Coda are a come- 
lately drafting on their success, perhaps we should be cautious about  
reading too much into it. The root of this trend was the Sonata, a  
model name with several things going for it when it was chosen in the  
early 1980s. It is sonorous, shared the accent profile of then  
successful models like Corolla and Corona, and would have been  
(vaguely) familiar to the many western consumers to which it was to  
be marketed as distinctly European, and thus non-Korean, sounding.

Greg Karl
Jay NY




On Jul 23, 2012, at 12:27 PM, William Caplin wrote:

> What do you all make of the latest trend of Asian car manufacturers  
> naming their cars after musical terms?
>
> We already have Hyundai's "Sonata" and "Accent" (two of my own  
> major areas of research).  Then there's Kia's "Rondo."  And just  
> today I read about a new electric car from China named "Coda."  (I  
> suppose a "Cadence" can't be too far in the future.)
>
> Clearly there's a prestige factor associated with music in Asia  
> that doesn't seem to resonate with North American or European makers.
>
> Have I missed others?
>
> Wishing you all a pleasant summer!
>
> Bill
>