Apr 15, 2006

drive the Honda Dork Canal

One of my favorite Car and Driver "Ten Best" issue lists was a collection of "Dull Cars Named After Exciting Places," in the January 1994 issue. (I'm trying to track down a copy.) Now, as a perfect complement to my list of Washington state shibboleths, Trey of The Rambling Taoist asks us
to consider place names that name automobiles.
Anyhow, I got to thinking about which towns will never, ever have a vehicle model named after them; the kind of towns with a weird name that doesn't conjure up the kind of imagery that, say, Malibu or Seville does.

Though certainly not an exhaustive list, here's what I came up with. Please feel free to add to the list.

Toad Suck (AR)
Humptulips (WA)
Tittybong (Australia)
Bumpass (VA)
Dogpatch (AR)
Knob Noster (MO)
Chugwater (WY)
Head over to Trey's blog and add to the list.



[link thanks to Emmett O'Connell]

[and yes, Dork Canal is a real place, located near, of course, White Settlement]

2 comments:

MT said...

And then there are the excellent marketing names that are nevertheless just a little bit off. I'm thinking of something like the "Buick Massively Big Penis." Actually, the "Ford Probe" already crosses that line, as far as I'm concerned (I'm sure other people's minds don't so easily succumb to the Devil's influence as mine).

Melissa said...

You're not the only one. I've said many a time that I could never drive a Ford Probe because it calls to mind unpleasant alien abduction scenarios.