Will anything come after alphanumeric naming schemes?

"E. Julius" (soonerfrommi) 02/22/2015 at 21:01 • Filed to: None

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As we all know, almost all of the luxury car market has converged on the alphanumeric naming system. Ascending numbers for the size of the car, ascending numbers with an 'X' thrown in for SUVs (letter prefix optional). Even the old stalwarts of this scheme, Mercedes and BMW, have turned it into something that might as well convey the same meaning as Q50. Originally the premise of this post was to ask what would come after the inevitable death of the alphanumerocracy, but now I'm not 100% sure.

On the one hand, it seems naïve to think that the world will stay this way forever, with the Germans dominating the luxury car market and everybody trying to hit their benchmarks. On the other hand, regardless of who the market leader is, there is a strong logic behind the alphanumeric systems. Even if it's not descriptive like the classic BMW nameplates, I can definitely see an advantage to being able to retain the same name for a car no matter where you sell it. Whether the buyer is in Africa, Asia, or America they know that A8 is bigger than A4. This streamlines marketing efforts, builds a stronger global brand, and eliminates the work of having to come up with different names to appeal to different cultures. So for those reasons, I'm not really sure how I feel.

Maybe in 50 years cars will be autonomous gadgets, more like cellphones than what we'd recognize today. When they're completely reduced to this role as appliance and fashion accessory, perhaps we'll see a resurgence in actual names like "Aphrodite" or something. Maybe when the vast majority of the market is electric, manufacturers will use the nameplate to advertise the range. "The new Cadillac 2000 [miles]". Or maybe they'll be called S550s until they're powered with antimatter reactors.

I really have no idea. Any other guesses?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:04

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Shapes

bob and john > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:04

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names again.

scoob > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:06

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ASCII art.

TheHondaBro > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:07

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This ain't no SUV.

E. Julius > bob and john 02/22/2015 at 21:08

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Led by a resurgent American triad of Cadillac and Lincoln with new upstart Tesla? Chinese luxury cars that will dominate the market in 60 years? The Koreans? The Japanese? Any guesses as to how? Just curious.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:08

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Hieroglyphics, clearly.

E. Julius > TheHondaBro 02/22/2015 at 21:09

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Maybe that's why nobody is buying them. People see the X and are confused when they see it sitting so close to the ground.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:09

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We will see a new naming trend: honesty.

The 2025 BMW M-Fuck You That's Why

The 2027 GMC Get Out of My Way BIGZ 2.0

The 2018 Mitsubishi I've Made a Huge Mistake

E. Julius > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/22/2015 at 21:10

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This one is my favorite so far.

TheHondaBro > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:12

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The TLX is selling well. Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis?

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:13

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Hashtags.

Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:13

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luxuries? Not entirely sure. BMW will (Should) go back to the M3 and not the M4 for the 2 seater.

Only the American Luxury car makers would be able to go back to actual names, since they used them during the 1960s

E. Julius > TheHondaBro 02/22/2015 at 21:16

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Well it seems I've been slacking off on my market research #embarrassing. Glad to hear it.

E. Julius > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 02/22/2015 at 21:16

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This is depressingly possible haha

E. Julius > Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion 02/22/2015 at 21:22

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I don't buy that reasoning. It might be hard to imagine now, but if the situation is reversed a few decades from now and the companies that are benchmarking the entire market are using actual names, I could see BMW and Mercedes changing things up. Failing to adapt is a great way to drive a business into the ground. Of course, going all New Coke is a great way to mess it up too, so it could go either way.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion 02/22/2015 at 21:23

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The M4 isn't a 2 seater though. It's just the M3 coupe with 4 instead of 3.

ranwhenparked > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 21:27

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I have a feeling that sooner or later all the reasonable letter/number combinations are going to be used and certain brands are going to be forced to start using names again. If it happens, it will start slow with one or two more niche models and gradually expand.

What would really start it is if one company below the Rolls-Royce/Bentley/Aston-Martin super-luxury category does it. Just takes one to try it first and have it work for it to become a trend.

E. Julius > ranwhenparked 02/22/2015 at 21:37

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Yeah, I think a breakout success would be more likely to spur a change than running out of combinations. BMWs been using 3xx for decades, and I don't think anybody is going to care if they repeat. I think it's going to be difficult though. This is pure speculation, but I think alphanumeric schemes pay into the company's success in a way. The logical progression from 3 to 5 to 7 or C to E to S keeps the customer aspirational.

In the mass market, you don't need an alphanumeric scheme because people pick their cars based on need. People buy a compact car because they're thrifty, a midsize car because they have a family, and a full size sedan because they're 70 years old. In the luxury market though, you want the customer to feel like they always need more. That's how you get them to keep trading in, keep upgrading, keep buying more options. Someone may buy a C class, but they really want to be in the S class, dreaming of making their way to the end of the alphabet.

This is obviously a huge generalization, and once again put speculation, but I think the clear hierarchy plays a part in promoting demand. It would be difficult to replicate that with distinct names, since you have to take the extra step of teaching the customer your hierarchy. Just some thoughts.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 22:21

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Cars have been named alphanumerically since the beginning. It's always been a mixture of worded names and alphanumerics, maybe it's just the perception of how many of each.

Snooder87 > E. Julius 02/22/2015 at 22:22

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Tesla? Model S, X, 3 etc is about as alphanumeric as they get.

Names might come back into play, but it'll be a movement from the higher end luxury marques. Like porsche, maserati, aston, lotus, etc.

E. Julius > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. 02/23/2015 at 04:57

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I meant as the prevailing market trend. Like you said, there's always been a mix and there always will be, but it's undeniable right now that alphanumerics are dominant among market leaders. This was not the case in the era of American luxury, for instance.

E. Julius > Snooder87 02/23/2015 at 04:59

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Just because they're alphanumeric now doesn't mean they won't change. That's the entire point of this post—if and when the companies start to do something different, what will they do? I don't think those companies would really have too much influence on the mass luxury market though. Most of them already use exclusively non–alphanumeric names or a mixture of both, and it doesn't really seem to affect what the German 3 are doing, which is all anybody seems to care about since everybody is throwing their money at them.

Snooder87 > E. Julius 02/23/2015 at 08:53

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What I mean is that any impetus toward regular names will have to be in response to inroads by those carmakers.

Let's say the Ghibli is wildly successful and Maserati drops something even below that for the real entry level lux market. Or Lotus partners with someone (maybe the koreans) and convinces them that full names starting with "E" is the best way to sell a Lotus to the average Yuppie. That's how I see names coming back in.

E. Julius > Snooder87 02/23/2015 at 10:15

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Makes sense.

Eggplant > E. Julius 02/23/2015 at 19:49

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Do you remember Prince's "The Artist Fomerly Known as Prince" period? Something like that, I suppose.