![]() 05/05/2014 at 17:02 • Filed to: Car name meanings | ![]() | ![]() |
Why did Toyoda name his cars Toyota? What does Audi mean? What is a Camaro? What is the real name and meaning of the first VW? Deep stuff, I know.
Here is your explanation brought to you by Mental Floss.
![]() 05/05/2014 at 17:12 |
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My slate's dull as dishwater:
Ford: some guy named Ford (you don't say?!)
Mercedes-Benz: guy named Benz, girl named Mercedes
Land-Rover: car what roves around, land-roving as opposed to road-roving version
Model names aren't much better: Ranchero is spanish for Rancher (hurr), Series IIa (revised second model - IMAGINATION), and 300D for 3l diesel (MORE IMAGINATION).
![]() 05/05/2014 at 17:16 |
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The embed starts after the video is already over.
Thanks for the share!
![]() 05/05/2014 at 17:18 |
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I wish he didn't do Jeep. Yes, most people believe it's from GP, but pretty much anyone with any authority will agree that that is NOT true. Sure, no one can agree on exactly where it came from, but we know it wasn't GP.
![]() 05/05/2014 at 17:25 |
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My car means "The Sword" (I think)
![]() 05/05/2014 at 17:25 |
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Try it now. I changed it after a talk with Kinja. It worked for me but no guarantees. We all know Kinja is a habitual liar.
![]() 05/05/2014 at 17:28 |
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One time Kinja told me that it left its wallet at home and that it would totally pay me back for dinner and drinks if I fronted it some cash, but Kinja never payed me back. Habitual indeed.
![]() 05/05/2014 at 20:12 |
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The video is captioned, so I don't know what he said about #4. Volkswagen Typ 1 was formally known as simply Volkswagen. "Typ 1" was added after WWII.
![]() 05/05/2014 at 20:31 |
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Hitler named it the "Strength through Joy" car in 1939. The German for that is shortened to KDF acronym. (Ask Nakita). After WWII is was called by its informal name of "Beetle." Type 1 was the official designation by the factory.
![]() 05/05/2014 at 20:44 |
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Ah, I already know those. I just wanted to make sure the video got it right. It was called simply Volkswagen before Hitler took over the development and called it Kraft durch Freude Wagen (KdF-Wagen). The first use of "Volkswagen" took place in 1923, but the car didn't exist until 1930. Thank you for the clarification.
P.S. I'm the one who is teaching Nakita German. :)