Wally
SuperDork
9/15/10 8:48 a.m.
Or has Audi really made a pile of crap
http://gas2.org/2010/09/13/e-tron-hits-the-fan-audi-electric-car-name-means-excrement-in-french/
Naming cars in this day of globalization has become an exercise of gargantuan proportions. For marketers and brand managers, the trick is to avoid a name that can be translated as something less than appealing in one of the dozens of languages you plan on marketing in. Even so, every now and then we get one that is slightly out of place, but usually it’s not a huge misstep.
Take the unfortunately named Smart ED or Hyundai BlueOn as examples of how you could stretch a name to get something funny out of it but aren’t really major blunders.
But has Audi crossed the line from funny to major blunder in naming their entire upcoming electric car brand “e-tron”? It appears they have because, as it turns out, the word “étron” in French means “excrement.” And Germany and France even share a border!
Audi’s e-tron brand has certainly had its fair share of the limelight—garnering lots of hype from the first entrant, the R8 e-tron. It’s a super sexy electric rocket that Audi says they will produce in a limited run. But now imagine it if you happen to speak french; “super sexy crap rocket” doesn’t really have much of a ring to it.
It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just one car… you can simply rename that car for individual markets (like Buick did with the LaCrosse in Canada—”lacrosse” is slang for masturbation among the French Canadians). The problem is Audi has chosen “e-tron” as the name for an entire brand. For instance the company also has plans for a small electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle under the brand name and has talked about many other models in the near future. Can you change an entire brand name just for one market?
MrJoshua wrote:
Acura, Infiniti, Lexus.
That was for 300 million people, not 60 million.
The Lacrosse thing is not true.
It's our national game.
If anything, it might be se crosse, or se crosser
And before anyone brings it up, that old story about Chevy Nova sales tanking in Spanish speaking countries because the name translated to 'no go' is an urban myth. 
zomby woof wrote:
The Lacrosse thing is not true.
It's our national game.
If anything, it might be se crosse, or se crosser
Maybe it's some bit of local slang in a couple cities - "I'll bet he's playing lacrosse right now by himself" or something like that.
All they need to do is add "Le" to the front for the French market. As in "That car is THE E36 M3!"
I don't think so. If the car was named pocket hockey, then you might be on to something.
It's not a car, but I think THE worst name for a product is:
Aciphex....pronounced ASS effects.
Germans don't give a rat's ass what the French think. It was done on purpose.
Appleseed wrote:
Germans don't give a rat's ass what the French think. It was done on purpose.
Unfortunately, I think you may be on to something here...
We briefly had a political party up here called the Canadian Reform Alliance Party. I can't believe the name made it all the way through all the screenings and nobody figured the acronym might not be optimal.
The acronym for the church First Assembly of God hasn't aged well.
MadScientistMatt wrote:
zomby woof wrote:
The Lacrosse thing is not true.
It's our national game.
If anything, it might be se crosse, or se crosser
Maybe it's some bit of local slang in a couple cities - "I'll bet he's playing lacrosse right now by himself" or something like that.
Either way, knowing Frech Canadian girls the way I do, I'm surprised they even have a word for that in Quebec.
zomby woof wrote:
Either way, knowing Frech Canadian girls the way I do, I'm surprised they even have a word for that in Quebec.
Rallye Defi was insanity. Rally bunnies EVERYWHERE.
Matt B
HalfDork
9/16/10 9:34 a.m.
integraguy wrote:
It's not a car, but I think THE worst name for a product is:
Aciphex....pronounced ASS effects.
First time I saw this ad on TV I nearly had my own rear "effects" from sheer hilarity. It doesn't help that nearly all the forewarned side effects are bowel related. 
