re: defining terms

[Joe Elliott <jee@domain.elided>]

At 6:49 PM -0500 11/26/01, alfa-digest wrote:
>Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 18:44:31 EST
>From: Pottree@domain.elided
>Subject: defining terms
>
>In a message dated 11/24/2001 7:44:36 AM Pacific Standard Time,
>owner-alfa-digest@domain.elided writes:
>
>
> > what does the American term 'station wagon' mean? Surely it is
> > equally archaic, dating from a period when people rich enough to take
> > vacations would take the train to a resort where the hotels would have
> > carriages meeting the trains to bring them and their luggage to and from
> > the
> > station. And now (requisite content) Alfa has swallowed that foreign term
> > whole.
> >
> > What would be a reasonable term for such a car today? 'Kombi' doesn't do
> > it,
> > nor does the current German 'Touring'. Unfortunately the very logical
> > 'Sport
> > Utility Vehicle' has already been preempted.
> >
>You could call it a woody and enjoy both the retro panache that's currently
>so popular and also a sidelong glance at the sexual imagery of promiscuri.
>
>OTOH, some things don't translate well.  Bassoons in Italian is fagotti (I
>think this really refers to its looking like a bundle of kindling), which
>doesn't sound quite kosher in English.  I recall that when I did some work
>for Nissan Motor, they had a program to rename all their models from the
>Japanese originals to names that would have more traction in the USA, so a
>model like the Fair Lady became the Awesome Z car, and I think something
>called the Daffodil or Jonquil or something became the 210, which is bland
>but not nearly as twee.
>
>So, what to call something like the Sport Wagon (seems nearly a contradiction
>in terms to US ears)?  I am not sure, but recently on the shores of Lake Como
>I saw four larger-than-average adults, each with a very full compliment of
>sports and personal gear, climbing out of a 156 sedan that had all four of
>their bikes mounted on the roof... so the idea that a wagon configuration is
>any more practical for sporty uses is a bit of a stretch.

IIRC, Renault sold a Sport Wagon in the USA within the last couple of 
decades, and Volvo an 850 Sportswagon even more recently.  I think 
the name is just fine.  It probably will conjure up negative 
connotations in some people's minds, but hey, the guy I just walked 
back from the dining hall with said that the Subaru WRX was a "pussy 
car" because it was too small.  What are you going to do?

>
>Why not name the models after classes of famous Italians, of which there is
>an unending supply?  Alitalia names each of its aircraft after someone
>famous; once I flew on the Leonardo da Vinci, for example.  Why not call the
>sport wagon the Gina Lollabrigida and the new spider the Sophia Loren?  In
>fact, FIAT probably could even take some money under the table from clever
>press agents for memorializing their clients.  Taking it a step further, you
>could match the model to the personality behind the name: an extra large
>vehicle could be a Pavoratti and a powerful model a Burlesconi.

I'll pass, thanks.  Unless you'd include Vincenzo Lancia and Enzo 
Ferrari among your famous Italians, but I think those names may 
already be trademarked in the auto industry.

>
>And it would be MUCH more interesting than those personality-less number
>designations the Germans use. I mean, really, what is a 156 but the model
>after the 155?  Is that meaningful?  Wouldn't you rather drive the all-new
>Agrippa or a shiny green Verdi?

Well, the logic is (Honda's logic with their Acura brand, anyway) 
that naming the cars after numbers makes the consumer identify with 
the brand rather than the model, which is exactly what Alfa would 
need in the USA, I think.

>
>Charlie
>LA, CA, USA


Joe Elliott
'82 GTV6

--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided