Skip to main content

Volkswagen Chooses An Interesting Name for Its New Chinese Brand

China’s all about electric vehicles and clean, green everything, or so the tankies granola types claim, and automakers from Detroit to Germany can’t wait to get their hands on a piece of that market. In Volkswagen’s case, China’s thirst for EVs spawned a brand new brand.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with language, the name of VW’s EV-focused brand could mean something very bad, depending on who reads it.

SOL.

A joint venture between VW and Chinese partner JAC, the SOL brand came about after China rejected the use of the Seat brand name in its market, Car News China reports. The German automaker then asked if “Xiyate” (Seat in Chinese) was okay. Apparently, it was not.

As the report shows, the first SOL-branded vehicle is a small, four-door crossover festooned with blue accents — a not-so-subtle hint at the vehicle’s electric powerplant. It’s also not a Volkswagen in any sense; rather, it’s a rebadged JAC model. This particular SOL supposedly generates 114 horsepower and attains a top speed of 130 km/h (roughly 80 mph).

But back to that name, which appears in all caps. Sol, as many know, is Spanish for “sun.” Given that Seat is a Spanish brand, the inspiration for the name seems obvious. A sun rises, much like this brand, and it also generates electricity, which this car uses. The sun is a happy thing that makes plants grow. Sol is also a brand of Mexican beer and the name of a famous French Canadian clown. However, if you’re hip to the lingo these days, SOL is the acronym for “Shit Outta Luck.”

This author is reminded of past naming goofs, such as the Latin American-market Chevrolet Nova and the Canadian-market Buick LaCrosse. In the former case, “no va” translates into “doesn’t go,” though the story gained prominence through an urban legend, not a real-world PR crisis. GM was apparently aware of the coincidence and didn’t care. It wasn’t okay with selling the first-generation LaCrosse in Canada, however, as the model’s name means “masturbation” in Quebecois slang. The Buick Allure debuted in Canada instead. (As of the current generation, the LaCrosse name has returned to Buick’s full-sizer in the Great White North.)

Whether or not VW or JAC brass was aware of this connection is unknown, though it’s possible they were and felt it just wasn’t a big deal. Volkswagen aims to build 40 electric models in China, spurred by the investment of $12 billion over seven years. Many of these models will have their roots in borrowed or dedicated Chinese architecture. Others, however, will borrow the MEB platform destined for the U.S. in the form of the I.D., I.D. Crozz, I.D. Buzz, and I.D. Vizzion.

a version of this article first appeared on thetruthaboutcars.com

The post Volkswagen Chooses An Interesting Name for Its New Chinese Brand appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2tK0dQa
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...