<img src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/altmthumb/113/20646113.jpg" border="="> "e-tron” Hits the Fan: Audi Electric Car Name Means “Excrement” in French -- The UnOfficial Nissan LEAF Message Board

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Date Posted: 13:24:52 09/15/10 Wed
Author: Larry
Subject:

"e-tron” Hits the Fan: Audi Electric Car Name Means “Excrement” in French

To anyone who thinks "LEAF" is a silly name for an electric car- take comfort. It seems Audi gave their entire line of electric cars a name that means something like "shit" in France. Wow. That's pretty bad!

http://gas2.org/2010/09/13/e-tron-hits-the-fan-audi-electric-car-name-means-excrement-in-french/

"Naming cars in this day of globalization has become an exercise of gargantuan proportions. For marketers and brand managers, the trick is to avoid a name that can be translated as something less than appealing in one of the dozens of languages you plan on marketing in. Even so, every now and then we get one that is slightly out of place, but usually it’s not a huge misstep.

Take the unfortunately named Smart ED or Hyundai BlueOn as examples of how you could stretch a name to get something funny out of it but aren’t really major blunders.

But has Audi crossed the line from funny to major blunder in naming their entire upcoming electric car brand “e-tron”? It appears they have because, as it turns out, the word “étron” in French means “excrement.” And Germany and France even share a border!

Audi’s e-tron brand has certainly had its fair share of the limelight—garnering lots of hype from the first entrant, the R8 e-tron. It’s a super sexy electric rocket that Audi says they will produce in a limited run. But now imagine it if you happen to speak french; “super sexy crap rocket” doesn’t really have much of a ring to it.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just one car… you can simply rename that car for individual markets (like Buick did with the LaCrosse in Canada—”lacrosse” is slang for masturbation among the French Canadians). The problem is Audi has chosen “e-tron” as the name for an entire brand. For instance the company also has plans for a small electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle under the brand name and has talked about many other models in the near future. Can you change an entire brand name just for one market?"

more here---> http://gas2.org/2010/09/13/e-tron-hits-the-fan-audi-electric-car-name-means-excrement-in-french/

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Replies:

Know what I say about Nissan's ordering BS? They should have called it "etron" instead. (NT) -- Don in Vermont, 17:36:59 10/18/10 Mon