Canadian writer has short memory 

"Bob LeDrew" (bobledrew1) 01/22/2015 at 13:54 • Filed to: hacks, auto journalism, journalism, the name game, triumph of the ill, peter cheney, to inifiniti and beyond

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The usually entertaining Globe and Mail automotive writer Peter Cheney (my favorite piece was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) wrote a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! today.

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There are stupid car name conventions, to be sure. I've never liked Infiniti's, for example. But here's what ground my gears: "Alphanumeric car names are part of a global movement toward standardization. The rationale isn't hard to understand: alphanumeric names are orderly and digital – they look at home in a spreadsheet... The first alphanumeric name I recall is the 240Z, a 1970s sports car made by Datsun (the company now known as Nissan). The story behind the 240Z tells us a lot about why alphanumeric names have come to dominate the industry..."

I don't think I need to tell this audience that alphanumerics go so far back and can be every bit as evocative as a "Comet" or "Cougar", which Cheney notes approvingly.

I'll just leave this here.

505Turbeaux > Bob LeDrew 01/22/2015 at 14:01

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mercedes should retaliate (and this isnt even the oldest one by FAR)

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Bob LeDrew 01/22/2015 at 14:02

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Ford Model T. Enough said.

Racescort666 > Bob LeDrew 01/22/2015 at 14:02

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The first alphanumeric name I recall...

Maybe he could have, I don't know, done some research.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Bob LeDrew 01/22/2015 at 14:12

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Or even earlier:

Benz 10/30, 1921

Earlier:

Peugeot Type 1, 1886

Heck, Peugeot didn't use anything other than alpha numeric names till 1994!

thebigbossyboss > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 01/22/2015 at 14:20

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But the Ford Model A came first...

Racescort666 > 505Turbeaux 01/22/2015 at 14:21

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I think you were nibbled.

472CID > Bob LeDrew 01/22/2015 at 18:34

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I think the vast majority of cars outside the US, and maybe Japan have always had alphanumeric names.