If cars stir the soul, then car names awaken the imagination. While some automakers insist on precision of alphanumerics, these ten awesome commenter-chosen examples demonstrate the spirit, joy and emotion one can endow on a car with just a name.
This is Answers of the Day - a feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Want to see this gallery in one slow-to-load page? Click here.
Photo Credit: Jack Snell, flickr
10.) El Camino
Suggested By: underwear-ninja
Why It's Cool: If a bumbling Brad Pitt in The Mexican can make it look cool, it's cool enough for... Well, anyone. The El Camino is a real cool car, and it's only made cooler by its title. Meaning "the road" in Spanish, because it can haul your stuff and your ass down it. How many times can we say cool in one description? Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool.
Photo credit: YouTube
9.) Plymouth Superbird
Suggested By: PyroZnype
Why It's Cool: What happens when you take a regular Road Runner (a car with a cool name on its own) and add a giant wing & nosecone? You get a Superbird! Able to leap tall grid positions in a single bound, able to stop a speeding vintage Nascar opponent, the Superbird does everything the Road Runner does, but better. And how can you not love the wing?
Photo credit: xiongdudu
8.) Lamborghini Diablo
Suggested By: Dominic Chan
Why It's Cool: Spanish for fighting chicken, right? Wrong. Italian for good god that car is awesome or, you know, devil. The poster child for 1990's Lamborghini craziness, the Diablo singlehandedly shaped the way millions of adolescent gearheads thought about the cars from Saint'Agata. How could it not have? With a name like Diablo, there's no way anyone was going to ignore that car.
7.) Triumph Spitfire
Suggested By: RX-Elise
Why It's Cool: Named for the British World War II fighter plane of the same name, the ground-based Triumph won't be breaking any altitude records, but it will have one of the coolest names to come on a car from England. It's a little misleading though. Owners of Spitfires should expect the cars to spit oil, not fire.
6.) Corvette Stingray/Sting Ray
Suggested By: LuckyChuck
Why It's Cool: Is any underwater creature cooler than a stingray? Yes, if you're Steve Irwin, (too soon?) no if you're a member of the Corvette marketing team tasked with naming the newest member of the Vette family. Low, wide, and mean, the Stingray is a perfect beast to name a menacing muscle car after. There's a reason why GM wants to keep it.
Photo credit: Allsport Auto
5.) Plymouth Fury
Suggested By: Ash78
Why It's Cool: I would think twice before pulling up next to something called a Fury at a traffic light. With a name like that, any other car is asking for it. How did Plymouth lose the thread so horribly? Between this and the Superbird, they've got two of the coolest names out there, and we haven't even looked at the rest of their late 60's - early 70's lineup!
Photo credit: SMC
4.) Pontiac GTO The Judge
Suggested By: Goggles_Pisano
Why It's Cool: Here come The Judge! The slogan was born on the late-60's most brilliant comedy variety show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh In. It became such a cultural touchstone that Pontiac decided to grace their top of the range sports car with the honorable title. Originally meant to be a bottom-of-the-barrel el cheapo version of the GTO, Pontiac decided late in its development to change gears entirely and go all-out, making The Judge their world-beater. And judging by its reputation lo these many years later, I'd say they hit the mark.
3.) Mercedes Benz 300E AMG Mega Hammer
Suggested By: SEXYHAMMER
Why It's Cool: In the 80's, AMG was not yet a part of the Mercedes Benz company. As an independent tuner, they took Mercedes' best and made them better. When they got their hands on 1986's 300E with the 5.6 liter engine, American enthusiasts dubbed it 'The Hammer.' In 1987, Mercedes dropped their 6 liter engine in the front of the car, and AMG got back to work. When they emerged with their next offering, they did the naming this time, and the Mega Hammer was born. How cool is that?
Photo credit: Autoblog.nl
2.) Suzuki Every Joy Pop Turbo
Suggested By: FormerlyPreferredCustomer
Why It's Cool: Somehow, I feel like the Every Joy Pop Turbo may be misleadingly named. Looks kind of like a regular van to me. That being said, with the name it's got, how could you not feel every joy driving down the road? Thank you Japan, for naming your cars things that translate so beautifully into the English language.
Photo credit: Suzuki Forums
1.) Studebaker Power Hawk
Suggested By: Pessimippopotamus
Why It's Cool: Power Hawk. Power Hawk. A car with as cool a name as Power Hawk should be something that comes along only once in a while, and that was in fact the case with this special Studebaker. Produced for only the 1956 model year, the Power Hawk came with a 259 cubic inch engine that was good for 185 horsepower with an optional four-barrel carb and dual exhaust. But really, the Power Hawk would be cool just because it's name is so ridiculously awesome. It sounds like something from a bad 90's after-school cartoon. Up next on Cartoon Network, Tundercats. Followed by Power Hawk.
Photo credit: Concept Carz.com