POLL: Names or Numbers?

  • Thread starter Liquid
  • 28 comments
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In general, which do you prefer for car names?

  • Names

  • Numbers

Results are only viewable after voting.
Liquid

Liquid

Fission Mailed
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Bratvegas
GTP_Liquid
Just curious to know which you prefer and hopefully why.

Certain manufacturers are known to do one way or another. Off the top of my head, BMW, Porsche, Volvo, Saab, Alfa Romeo* and Ferrari usually go for the numbered approach. And no, I'm not saying that this is literally true for all of their models.

And in case you're unsure, something like an M5 or X3 is a BMW. BMW go for numbers. As do Ferrari with the 512, 288, 355, 458 and so on even if there is word that succeeds the model's number.

I would more accurately call this words or numbers but N&N rolls off the tongue a lot better.

*Alfa might have stopped doing it in the last decade, mind.
 
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Definitely names, names have more passion and soul behind them than a simple number/letter combo.
 
I like numbers, they give expression of machinery and technology. Also love abbreviations, like RC F, GT R, CLK and etc. Better when both, like 911 RS.

Number also give expression of engineers worked on those cars, while names always sound like novelty and marketing.
 
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Why not both? Ferrari in particular tend to combine them both - 550 Maranello, 458 Italia, F8 Tributo, 612 Scaglietti, 488 Pista, 430 Scuderia, 365 GTB/4 Daytona and 360 Challenge Stradale. There are other examples, such as the Corvette C7, Mercedes AMG 500 E Hammer, Porsche 911 Carrera, Nissan Silvia S15, Nissan Skyline R34, Alfa Romeo 147 Twinspark and Lamborghini Huracan LP-610.
 
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Numbers since most of the time when a car gets a name it's something stupid like a Kia Soul. What I hate though is when the numbering scheme doesn't make any sense.

For example, Volvo's makes sense. The S## is a sedan with the bigger number being the bigger car, the V## if for the wagon (vagn), and the XC## is for SUVs. I'm not sure what the C## meant though other than maybe "coupe". Their engine numbering is stupid though, at least when everything wasn't an I4, you got things like a T5 (turbo five-cylinder), T6, and T8. But now they're all T something for petrol and D for the diesel varieties.

BMW's nomenclature makes zero sense, as does Mercedes.
 
well, why label the car 911 Carrera? Is it a 911 or Carrera? Maybe add Letters to the poll: E-Type, F-Type, NSX, etc. Letters & numbers: S2000, E500/500E and the like.

I don't think I have a preference. Corolla, Supra, Maxima, Impala, Falcon, Camaro, Protege, Golf, 240Z, 300C, M3, i30, IS200, 2CV, 109, 928, 508, 9000, 900, 99.
 
05XR8
well, why label the car 911 Carrera? Is it a 911 or Carrera? Maybe add Letters to the poll: E-Type, F-Type, NSX, etc. Letters & numbers: S2000, E500/500E and the like.

I don't think I have a preference. Corolla, Supra, Maxima, Impala, Falcon, Camaro, Protege, Golf, 240Z, 300C, M3, i30, IS200, 2CV, 109, 928, 508, 9000, 900, 99.
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To continue Porsche's silly naming, how about branding non-turbo'd cars Turbo? Or German brands in general starting the trend of calling 4 door cars Coupes?

Like @Bloodytears said, numbers invoke the machine element of the automobile. It's all on how the name/number is utilized. I like BMW's system, or how American pickup trucks use numbers to distinguish the size of the model; F-150, F-250, F-650, C/K1500, Silverado 2500. But I also like Japanese companies utilizing names; Silvia, Fairlady, Integra, Tacoma, Legend.

Ultimately though the names win. Yes you end up with silly names like Soul or any of the goofy 70's cars British Leyland built, but can you imagine the Rolls Royce 3000? No! Phantom, Silver Spur is the only name that fits that monster.
 
CLowndes888
Why not both? Ferrari in particular tend to combine them both - 550 Maranello, 458 Italia, F8 Tributo, 612 Scaglietti, 488 Pista, 430 Scuderia, 365 GTB/4 Daytona and 360 Challenge Stradale. There are other examples, such as the Corvette C7, Mercedes AMG 500 E Hammer, Porsche 911 Carrera, Nissan Silvia S15, Nissan Skyline R34, Alfa Romeo 147 Twinspark and Lamborghini Huracan LP-610.
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R34, S15 and C7 are model codes, I wouldn't really call them part of the car's name, but you have plenty of valid examples that combine numbers and names.
 
Joey D
BMW's nomenclature makes zero sense, as does Mercedes.
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BMW used to have the best nomenclature! The first number was the model (series) and the other two were the engine sizes.

320? 3 series with a 2.0.
328? 3 series with a 2.8.
635? 6 series with a 3.5.
750? 7 series with a 5.0.

I don't know why they changed it and I hope whoever made the decision is in prison.
 
Liquid
BMW used to have the best nomenclature! The first number was the model (series) and the other two were the engine sizes.

320? 3 series with a 2.0.
328? 3 series with a 2.8.
635? 6 series with a 3.5.
750? 7 series with a 5.0.

I don't know why they changed it and I hope whoever made the decision is in prison.
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I think the rot started when the 320 and 325 were replaced with the 323 and 328. The 320 was 2.0, the 325 was 2.5 and the 328 was 2.8 but the 323 was also a 2.5. I guess BMW didn't want people replacing their old 325s with a newer, cheaper and less powerful 325 so called it a 323. And once the precedent had been set there was no going back.
 
Centroid
I think the rot started when the 320 and 325 were replaced with the 323 and 328. The 320 was 2.0, the 325 was 2.5 and the 328 was 2.8 but the 323 was also a 2.5. I guess BMW didn't want people replacing their old 325s with a newer, cheaper and less powerful 325 so called it a 323. And once the precedent had been set there was no going back.
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And then there's the 333i from South Africa.
 
Names/words. It gives the manufacturer a chance to be clever. Trim levels are a different story, but an overall model should have a name.

I can't keep straight all these alphanumerics anymore. They enforce an "appliance" mentality toward cars, which is annoying from my enthusiast perspective - obviously we here are in the minority, though. Especially when you look at a brand like BMW, where for example all of their sedans look the same to someone who doesn't have a close personal interest in the brand.
 
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Sadly there's no option for both. Names are great. But numbers are powerful, too, especially if they actually represent the car in question.
 
I think names have the possibility to be more extreme at both ends than numbers; some names are really awesome and inspiring but they can also be so dreadfully awful and repulsive.

On the other hand numbers seem to be a bit more middling; very good if framed correctly or very bad if overly technical sounding but more or less okay enough.
 
I don't have any strong feelings either way, but it bugs me when a manufacturer changes their nuneric (or alphanumeric, as the case may be) naming convention from something easily deciphered to something decidedly less so. I'm looking at you Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari.
 
Liquid
Just curious to know which you prefer and hopefully why.

Certain manufacturers are known to do one way or another. Off the top of my head, BMW, Porsche, Volvo, Saab, Alfa Romeo* and Ferrari usually go for the numbered approach.
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You sure about that?

911
Boxster
Cayman
Cayenne
Panamera
Taycan
Macan

:lol:

In some ways I like names better but they have a habit of enslaving the car they are attached to to a certain narrow character - the name can become too iconic.
 
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TexRex
I don't have any strong feelings either way, but it bugs me when a manufacturer changes their nuneric (or alphanumeric, as the case may be) naming convention from something easily deciphered to something decidedly less so. I'm looking at you Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari.
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The Infiniti naming conventions are particularly confusing now. It used to be quite simple, but now it's all over the place.
 
Names, by far; with an exception left for alphanumerics that are acronyms (like Cadillac originally changed to). Names allow you to build cache and history with a model. Names alloy you to build nostalgia for a model. Even if it overwrites the brand itself, it's not a coincidence that Escalade and Navigator haven't gone away even as Cadillac and Lincoln have burned through like 5 different naming schemes each since both of those models debuted. It's probably also not a coincidence that Acura has more or less been irrelevant for 20 years. Alphanumerics, assuming they bother keeping the same ones between model generations, don't do that. The only ones that really probably did that in recent times is the Infiniti G and Cadillac CTS; and de Nysschen made sure to destroy both of those in his victory laps burning both companies to the ground before going back to Volkswagen



On the other hand, names also allow you to build bad history very quickly; and I think that's part of the cynical reasoning companies have gotten away from them (beyond just the insatiable desire to copy everything the German brands do). I can't imagine there's a lot of love lost for all of the storied GM nameplates from the 1950s and 1960s after GM of the late 1980s was done with them; and changing the name on your crappy compact car every time you replace it is also kind of brilliant. "My Cavalier was garbage, but this Cobalt is sure to be great!!" "My Cobalt was also trash, but I'm sure they got it right this time with this new Cruze!"





CLowndes888
The Infiniti naming conventions are particularly confusing now. It used to be quite simple, but now it's all over the place.
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No, you just don't understand de Nysschen's brilliance. You see, he took the thing that Audi already had been doing for a decade before he started running it.

And then he just did that, but with an "0" appended to the end.






And then when he was poached to Cadilac, he had another brilliant idea. You see, he took the thing that Audi already had been doing for a decade before he started running it.

And then he just did that, but with a "T" in the middle.
 
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Tornado
N

On the other hand, names also allow you to build bad history very quickly; and I think that's part of the cynical reasoning companies have gotten away from them (beyond just the insatiable desire to copy everything the German brands do). I can't imagine there's a lot of love lost for all of the storied GM nameplates from the 1950s and 1960s after GM of the late 1980s was done with them; and changing the name on your crappy compact car every time you replace it is also kind of brilliant. "My Cavalier was garbage, but this Cobalt is sure to be great!!" "My Cobalt was also trash, but I'm sure they got it right this time with this new Cruze!"
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I think you can even go further back then that, all the way to the Chevette maybe.

Chevette
Citation
Cavalier
Cobalt
Cruze

At least they kept at it! (I realize these aren't all in the same class, but close enough!)
 
Audi's new naming convention is just absurd. A 40 TFSI tells you next to nothing other than it's a petrol turbo. Especially as they differ in each model line, too.
 
I like numbers and names combos, Like Mustang GT350

Letters should be in this poll

GT-R R34
Supra Mk4
 
VXR
Audi's new naming convention is just absurd. A 40 TFSI tells you next to nothing other than it's a petrol turbo. Especially as they differ in each model line, too.
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👍 A Q7 '40' TDi may well have the sort of power you may at one time have expected from a 4.0 ltr engine. That makes a degree of sense. But an A3 '40' TFSi is meaningless on its own. There's just no frame of reference.

At least with BMW's 320, 340 etc there's a lineage that people understand, even if it no longer has the same relevance.
 
TheCracker
👍 A Q7 '40' TDi may well have the sort of power you may at one time have expected from a 4.0 ltr engine. That makes a degree of sense. But an A3 '40' TFSi is meaningless on its own. There's just no frame of reference.

At least with BMW's 320, 340 etc there's a lineage that people understand, even if it no longer has the same relevance.
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I figured a 40 TFSI in an A4 would be over 200hp. It's only 181ps, so less than my old 2.0T and more akin to the output of the old 1.8T. Just nonsense.
 

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