Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: DREDger on January 20, 2010, 09:52:19 AM
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Read a funny article today about car names.
Chevy Nova turns out had abysmal sales in Spain and Latin America. The reason being is that 'no va' as two words essentially means, 'does not go' in Spanish. No one in the Spanish speaking world wanted to drive a car that the company itself named 'does not go'
Rolls-Royce blew it when they launched the Silver Mist in Germany. Turns out that 'mist' in German means manure. :x
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Fail.
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
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One thing that made me smile was the introduction of the Ford Probe here in Germany.
In German, the word "Probe" means a "try" or "test" :)
But nothing seems to indicate it sold less just because of that name.
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In the EU Toyota have a small sports car called M. R. 2. Say MR2 in french. M R deux. Now say it faster and faster. Murde :aok
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Fail.
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
So you found a website that refutes that claim. I read this article in the Wall Street Journal. Tell me which on is more credible?
No in Spanish means no. Va in spanish is dirived from the verb 'Ir', which means 'to go'. Of that there is no debate.
Whether it 'really' adversly affected car sales, who knows, probably the car company has the figures.
At the verly least it is a fauxpas, and from what I understand is referenced in business lectures and textbooks as well. :rolleyes:
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So you found a website that refutes that claim. I read this article in the Wall Street Journal. Tell me which on is more credible?
At the verly least it is a fauxpas, and from what I understand is referenced in business lectures and textbooks as well. :rolleyes:
This "fauxpas" has been incorrectly stated as fact for years... In business lectures and textbooks and even major news outlets... Doesn't make it any less wrong.
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Snopes FTW!
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This "fauxpas" has been incorrectly stated as fact for years... In business lectures and textbooks and even major news outlets... Doesn't make it any less wrong.
Still seems funny to me, that a car name translates into 'does not go'.
Or that a Rolls could be translated in German to "silver manure"
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The "Urban Legend" of the Nova has been debunked since the late 70's. Most of us from the Detroit area know this as they were built at the GM Hydromatic Plant at Willow Run.
It is sort of funny, but around here is worn out. It's just not true.
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Still seems funny to me, that a car name translates into 'does not go'.
Or that a Rolls could be translated in German to "silver manure"
"No Va" translates to "will not"... Nova, on the other hand, was a economy car produced by Chevrolet...
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It is sort of funny, but around here is worn out.
Oh....sorry then. I should have checked with you first.
When you say debunked though, do you mean the name did not actually affect sales in the spanish market. Or do you mean that 'no va' does not mean, 'does not go'?
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In the EU Toyota have a small sports car called M. R. 2. Say MR2 in french. M R deux. Now say it faster and faster. Murde :aok
they used to sell the mr2 here in the us too......it's a piece of trash..it rates right up there with the renault fuego.
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Oh....sorry then. I should have checked with you first.
When you say debunked though, do you mean the name did not actually affect sales in the spanish market. Or do you mean that 'no va' does not mean, 'does not go'?
It sold EXCEPTIONALLY WELL in the Spanish Market. Nova isn't a Spanish word. "No Va" is. But it was still debunked in the Late 70's.
As for your intended jab, you missed your intended target. I live near Detroit, I've heard all of this ad nauseum. I was merely pointing that out, Sluggish is near Detroit as well and would agree. The only funny ones for me nowadays are IROC and FIAT. Those two were never "over used" and still manage laughs.
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they used to sell the mr2 here in the us too......it's a piece of trash..it rates right up there with the renault fuego.
One of the models wasn't trash though. Lotus did the Suspension. :cool: But you forgot the Subaru Justy and Brat. Or do I bring up the Le Car. :rofl
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le car fall on le roof.
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It sold EXCEPTIONALLY WELL in the Spanish Market. Nova isn't a Spanish word. "No Va" is. But it was still debunked in the Late 70's.
As for your intended jab, you missed your intended target. I live near Detroit, I've heard all of this ad nauseum. I was merely pointing that out, Sluggish is near Detroit as well and would agree. The only funny ones for me nowadays are IROC and FIAT. Those two were never "over used" and still manage laughs.
Indeed. It was originally called the Chevy II. When you consider that that manuals had to be translated and the language logistics that had to be worked out... There's no way that this non-existent "fauxpas" slipped passed GM's spanish marketing team. This was a clever made-up anecdote designed to show the implications of doing business across language barriers.
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"No Va" translates to "will not"... Nova, on the other hand, was a economy car produced by Chevrolet...
Well, I'm not sure you are correct about that. No va means 'does not go', although from what I've read would be an awkward way of describing a non functioning car in Spanish.
Also I think the Nova was more a muscle car, not an economy car. As I recall it was a popular drag racing car in high school.
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One of the models wasn't trash though. Lotus did the Suspension. :cool: But you forgot the Subaru Justy and Brat. Or do I bring up the Le Car. :rofl
i've seen justys and brats with over 300k on em....they looked like poop, and rusted worse than an old chevy.....but they lasted.
lecar........EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW :bolt:
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Also I think the Nova was more a muscle car, not an economy car. As I recall it was a popular drag racing car in high school.
the nova was a economy car, not everybody goes drag racing, some people actually use a car for transportation as strange as that may seem.
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the nova was a economy car, not everybody goes drag racing, some people actually use a car for transportation as strange as that may seem.
ya......but we can race from traffic light to traffic light too........ :D
my 165k mile grand caravan is suprisingly quick off the lights........so far, i've taken a nissan quest....a dodge charger, but that was in the rain.......and a riced out civic.
no one expects some doof in one of these things to try to beat em... :rofl
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Well, I'm not sure you are correct about that. No va means 'does not go', although from what I've read would be an awkward way of describing a non functioning car in Spanish.
Also I think the Nova was more a muscle car, not an economy car. As I recall it was a popular drag racing car in high school.
It depends on what tranlator you use. One thing's for certain, the word "nova" doesn't translate to anything...
The Nova, was a small economy car. It grew over the years and was available with a v8 in the SS package. It was a good car to hotrod because of it's size and the fact that a lot of Chevelle parts would bolt on. It was commonly called the poor man's Chevelle.
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(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Toyota_Aygo_rear_20080227.jpg/800px-Toyota_Aygo_rear_20080227.jpg)
Toyota AYGO = in Greece= Toyota EGG
(http://tarrascao.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/fiat-palio-weekend-adventure-106.jpg?w=300&h=200)
Fiat Palio= in Greece = Fiat old
(http://www.motorbase.com/pictures/contributions/20000319/std_1990_Seat_Malaga_-LF-.jpg)
Seat Mala(k)ga= in Greece= Seat Wan... do it youre self
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Seat Mala(k)ga= in Greece= Seat Wan... do it youre self
My Grandfather had one of those Seat's with a 1.7 (non-turbo) diesel engine in right around the time I got my driving license. He'd often lend me it and - whilst beggars couldn't be choosers - I think its fair to say it was the worst car I've ever driven.
EDIT...
On the Nova name, GM continued with it in UK on the Vauxhall Nova - a small hatchback sold throughout the 80's and early nineties. The same car was sold as the Opel Corsa throughout the rest of Europe. The Corsa name was adopted in the UK too in the mid / late nineties.
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(http://www.badboys-performance.de/projekte/pontiac_catalina/image-01.jpg)
Pontiac in US
and in Greece:
(http://www.rizede.com/Rize/kemencetulum/kemenceci.gif) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Q4iMtBoCc
Pontios
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So you found a website that refutes that claim. I read this article in the Wall Street Journal. Tell me which on is more credible?
I think the #1 rule I remember learning when writing term papers in college was: Don't use Newspapers as sources.
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The Chevy II began in 1962 as an economy car, you could not even get a factory V8 Chevy II until 1964. It became a real serious performance car, in some versions, in 1966, when the 327-350HP L-79 option was available. In 1968, the Chevy II was also known as the Nova (and it began sharing a basic platform with the Camaro), and eventually the Chevy II name was dropped. There were true performance versions all the way up to 1972. After that, there were some pseudo performance versions. The Nova died off in 1979, it was a mere shadow of what it had been.
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they used to sell the mr2 here in the us too......it's a piece of trash..it rates right up there with the renault fuego.
MR2 is far from trash... I preferred it to the Mazda Miata. Earlier MR2 turbos, with a little upgrading, will put a whoopin' on far more expensive hardware on a road course.
As to the Fuego, it was a very comfortable tourer, and no less reliable than any other Euro car of its day.
My regards,
Widewing
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i've seen justys and brats with over 300k on em....they looked like poop, and rusted worse than an old chevy.....but they lasted.
lecar........EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW :bolt:
We owned a 1980 Renault Le Car (AKA R5) for commuting. It was utterly bulletproof. Over 98k of use, it never suffered a single repair other than a frayed throttle cable. Torsion bar suspension... Better ride than many full size cars. Of course, we also had Jeep CJ-5, a Toyota, Buick Regal Turbo and an MG Midget at the time.
I used a hair dryer to remove the "Car" portion of the Le Car graphic. Replaced it with "Pew"... Yep, Le Pew.
My regards,
Widewing
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We owned a 1980 Renault Le Car (AKA R5) for commuting. It was utterly bulletproof. Over 98k of use, it never suffered a single repair other than a frayed throttle cable. Torsion bar suspension... Better ride than many full size cars. Of course, we also had Jeep CJ-5, a Toyota, Buick Regal Turbo and an MG Midget at the time.
I used a hair dryer to remove the "Car" portion of the Le Car graphic. Replaced it with "Pew"... Yep, Le Pew.
My regards,
Widewing
My god man, how many cars have you owned?!?
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MR2 is far from trash... I preferred it to the Mazda Miata. Earlier MR2 turbos, with a little upgrading, will put a whoopin' on far more expensive hardware on a road course.
As to the Fuego, it was a very comfortable tourer, and no less reliable than any other Euro car of its day.
My regards,
Widewing
i worked on quitre a few mr2's back in the day....every one of em was....well......trash.
same with the fuegos........none of them were even in the same ballpark as a dodge omni......
not tryin to argue....i tend to base my opinions on my experience though....and i work on pretty much everything eventually......
been lucky enough to not havre to work on too many jags or land rovers........
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LeCar" French for ... "Forward-Looking Statement" oh some statement that car made lol
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It depends on what tranlator you use
My two years of Spanish help me translate "No va" into "He/she/it doesn't go." But I agree that Nova is English and didn't have an effect on sales.
I think the #1 rule I remember learning when writing term papers in college was: Don't use Newspapers as sources.
Just finished my dual credit term paper. I always assumed newspapers were bad sources in any situation, but my English teacher (11th/12th/and I know of two different colleges [woman teaches everywhere :/]) suggested using them plus other media as a source for quotes on certain topics.
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My god man, how many cars have you owned?!?
Too many... Somewhere around 25, I guess. Plus four motorcycles. We currently own a lightly modified '08 Wrangler, an '09 Grand Vitara, and an mildly hot rodded '03 Aerio sedan. The Aerio has just 17,000 miles on it... Get's little use, especially in Winter. Aftermarket suspension, wheels and tires. Cold air kit, reflashed chip. Catback exhaust upgrade. Handles very well, but with only adequate power (perhaps 155 hp).
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4292557888_caf8245199_o.jpg)
My regards,
Widewing
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Too many... Somewhere around 25, I guess. Plus four motorcycles. We currently own a lightly modified '08 Wrangler, an '09 Grand Vitara, and an mildly hot rodded '03 Aerio sedan. The Aerio has just 17,000 miles on it... Get's little use, especially in Winter. Aftermarket suspension, wheels and tires. Cold air kit, reflashed chip. Catback exhaust upgrade. Handles very well, but with only adequate power (perhaps 155 hp).
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4292557888_caf8245199_o.jpg)
My regards,
Widewing
My god man! WOW!
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they used to sell the mr2 here in the us too......it's a piece of trash..it rates right up there with the renault fuego.
:headscratch: 1st gen was brilliant, 2nd gen good but somewhat tricky handling (esp the boosty turbo version), 3rd gen brilliant again. its a rwd mid-engine coupe for the price of a small hatch - kudos to toyota :aok
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Names don't matter ... hell .... KIA is far from failing on the american market because people associate it with Killed In Action. :lol
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ya......but we can race from traffic light to traffic light too........ :D
my 165k mile grand caravan is suprisingly quick off the lights........so far, i've taken a nissan quest....a dodge charger, but that was in the rain.......and a riced out civic.
no one expects some doof in one of these things to try to beat em... :rofl
I used to whoop on just about everything I lined up with in our 140,000 mile 92 Caravan with the big v-6. People would get down right pissed. The kids enjoyed sitting in the back seat and waving to the slower car while smiling or laughing.
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Cadillac used the name "DeVille" from 1949 and retired the name in 2005.
Cool name for a cool car.
18 ft. of surprisingly fast american steel!
I think the name means town or village.
It will hold alot of people and alot of cargo.
I'm kinda partial to the 99 models, this is my second one.
(http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3309/picture057x.jpg)
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Cadillac used the name "DeVille" from 1949 and retired the name in 2005.
Cool name for a cool car.
18 ft. of surprisingly fast american steel!
I think the name means town or village.
It will hold alot of people and alot of cargo.
I'm kinda partial to the 99 models, this is my second one.
(http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3309/picture057x.jpg)
head gasket
head gasket
head gasket
head gasket
head gasket
head gasket
head gasket
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Is that the one with POS Northstar engine?
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Is that the one with POS Northstar engine?
the earlier ones had 4.1's in em. ginormous pile o trash of an engine. then they went to a 4.9. almost as bad as the 4.1. then they went to the 4.6. i think the 4.6 is the northstar. almost as bad as the first two.
a clue should be an engine that's designed to have sealer added to the coolant. that rates right up there with the designed in oil leaks of the past.
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I've NEVER had a problem with either of my 1999 deVilles.
Well allright, the window switch in both of them went.
Still have my 1st one--runs great 187k on it.
My second one (pictured) just turned 70k.
Sealer to the coolant??
Never have.
And I have flushed and re-filled both engines.
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The Northstar was the quad cammer. Supposed to be a minature LT-5 or some such sillyness..
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I've NEVER had a problem with either of my 1999 deVilles.
Well allright, the window switch in both of them went.
Still have my 1st one--runs great 187k on it.
My second one (pictured) just turned 70k.
Sealer to the coolant??
Never have.
And I have flushed and re-filled both engines.
YA. we call em cadillac asperin.
i don't think i can even count how many head gaskets i've done on those pieces of trash.
don't get me wrong. the car is fantastic. beautiful, incredible ride, and roomy enough for andre the giant.
it's just those dam engines.
i did valve cover gaskets on an 03 cts last week. almost makes the ht4100 look good.
i don't try to be mean....i just say it like i see it. i work on close to everything. have been for just about 30 years.
you probably got a pair of Wednesday cars. :D
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The Northstar was the quad cammer. Supposed to be a minature LT-5 or some such sillyness..
That silliness hauls my 2 ton plus car from 0-60 in 7 seconds. (with head gasket still intact)
I love the looks on the faces of guys in their "hot rods" as they try to pass me on the highway.
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That silliness hauls my 2 ton plus car from 0-60 in 7 seconds. (with head gasket still intact)
I love the looks on the faces of guys in their "hot rods" as they try to pass me on the highway.
the guy that i used to work for......he's had a few of em. not a one of em would touch my hot rod.
they did get me in my dakota though........only if he was willing to go over 100, as i wasn't in that. :aok
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the guy that i used to work for......he's had a few of em. not a one of em would touch my hot rod.
they did get me in my dakota though........only if he was willing to go over 100, as i wasn't in that. :aok
Whatcha running??
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Whatcha running??
she was consistantly in the 12.20's at 117mph, easily capable of cruising over 100 mph, and topped out over 150 mph. all this averaging about 24 miles/gallon.
i never ran the dakota at the strip......but going by feel, she'd run mid 14's i think. crap mileage though.......
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she was consistantly in the 12.20's at 117mph, easily capable of cruising over 100 mph, and topped out over 150 mph. all this averaging about 24 miles/gallon.
i never ran the dakota at the strip......but going by feel, she'd run mid 14's i think. crap mileage though.......
Sounds like a keeper!! lol
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Sounds like a keeper!! lol
she was....till an old lady in a saturn tried testing the laws of physics, using me and my car.
the drivetrain lives on in a big old fairmont though. :aok