I'm pretty flummoxed by this one.....
From Autocar...
"Renault's decision to call its electric supermini Zoe has caused uproar in France.
"Press reports suggest parents of children named Zoe are reported to have flooded the company with complaints and launched online petitions demanding the name be changed."
"Our daughters have a beautiful first name that must not be associated with a car, so let us unite to bring pressure on a multinational which is going to destroy this pretty name for a children," says a petition launched by Sebastien Mortreus, from Auby."
"It's a scandal that they are able to use common first names for products."
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my daughter number 45676 is really concerned that a new car may be named after her 2
2
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I happen to know a German lady whose first name is Mercedes. Wasn't it Gottlieb Daimler who used the name Mercedes for the cars after his daughter or something like that ?
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Might need a re-think on the Renault Mohammed then.
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Opens up some interesting possibilities though...
How about,
Hyundai "Wayne"
Bentley "Rupert"
Ford "Bill"
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Wasn't the Lotus Elise named after the daughter of the (then) owner of Lotus?
Did we hear of the parents of Elises all over the world kicking up a stink? The world has gone mad.
I would buy a Hyundai Wayne though, Humph. Has a certain ring to it ;-)
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...Ford "Bill"...
Ford Edsel, named after Henry's son.
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What I can't understand is the hostility of these people; do the general public in France really see cars as being too evil to carry a human name?
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Isn't 'Megane' a girl's name ie. the French equivalent of Megan?
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Isn't 'Megane' a girl's name ie. the French equivalent of Megan?
According to Wiki - yes, it is. Wonder why that didn't cause a fuss, or perhaps it just wasn't reported over here.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megane_(disambiguation)
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...Ford Edsel....
Street name for one of the Ford plants in Germany:
Ford - Werke AG Edsel-Ford-Strasse 2-14 50769 Koln (Merkenich) Germany.
I saw it printed on the box for a headlight bulb.
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Don't forget the wonderfully named Nissan Cedric, plus of course the Gloria.
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S'pose there's already a VW Sharan
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why didnt they go ape over the clio then?
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or the citroen "dolly"
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The Renault Zoe reminds me of a rather annoying Radio 1 DJ.
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The Renault Zoe reminds me of a rather annoying Radio 1 DJ.
Radio 2 now - spoils my early Saturday morning drive to/from Asda.
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wait while jan Focus {P} and terries gone :-(
ive been radio experimenting lately and found galaxy fm really funny in the mornings
he-said-she-said always makes me laugh
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>>Radio 2 now - spoils my early Saturday morning drive to/from Asda.
Good grief what time do you go shopping? Re-time your journey for Brian Matthew 8-10. Undemanding and always interesting.
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>>Radio 2 now - spoils my early Saturday morning drive to/from Asda. Good grief what time do you go shopping?
Aim to be in shop by 6:45, out before 8, because after unpacking have to get son (12) to brass band on other side of Reading for 9:15...
Re-time your journey for Brian Matthew 8-10.
...which I use to educate said son :-)
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The Renault Zoe reminds me of a rather annoying Radio 1 DJ. Isn't the radio in the Renault Zoe called the monotone Bimbo or something suchlike??
M
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Citroen Dolly, that was the one with the big headlamps wasn't it ?
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The Daimler-Benz company named one of their early models after a girls' name - Mercedes, and the name stuck as the brand name from then on.
And then we've had the Vauxhall Victor, Nissan Cedric. Not to mention the woman who named her baby boy after the beautiful car she saw through the hospital window, which was a Jensen (Jenson)!
Edited by Sofa Spud on 26/11/2009 at 20:28
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Bryn Terfel's pianist has a sister called Marina !
Don't know what would affront me more, being named after a crappier than crap 70s car or BL pinching my name.
Edited by Pugugly on 26/11/2009 at 20:30
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Don't tell us she married a bloke called Morris.........
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One of my little girls is Zoe and she was thrilled, begging me to get her one so when she is old enough she can drive it - she's only 9!!
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...Bryn Terfel's pianist has a sister called Marina !...
Has she got a brother called Maurice?
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Curses, beaten by seconds by the Scots style guru. :)
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Don't forget the Alfa Leather.
Terrible name, but ever so fast.
See you in the silly thread soon?
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Poor woman - Princess Marina with a brother called Maurice.
Jetta is a popular danish name
Guilia? Guilietta?
Was Romeo an Alpha male?
Why did my mum name me after an old make of pushbike? Or was I a misspelt TV/video recorder?
Daft
Phil
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And then we've had the Vauxhall Victor Nissan Cedric. Not to mention the woman who named her baby boy after the beautiful car she saw through the hospital window which was a Jensen (Jenson)!
>>
You're on the button with that one!
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The previous Duchess of Kent was called Marina: fortunately for her she died before the pedestrian Morris appeared.
I knew of a child who was called Michael George Brian in honour of the sports car that his dad was restoring. Praise be that it wasn't an Armstrong-Siddeley....
And so we come back to Octavia (mentioned in another thread) - a common name in ancient Rome, 2,000 years before Skoda. There are also several people in Roman history called Fabius, so presumably there were some called Fabia too.
Felicia is actually rather a nice girl's name, an alternative to Felicity.
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Austin Healey
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I have a great-niece called Zoe.
She's going to be well chuffed when I tell her.
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Mini Driver
Maxi Priest
Vauxhall Victor
Portia (Merchant of Venice) - OK, that's pushing it a bit
And then there are the commercial vehicle manufacturers Guy and Dennis
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Guy and Dennis
and their friend Simon Snorkel.
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Lancia...Flavia
Austin ..Allegra............nearly
Maud...slay
Iris....It runs in silence...forgotten vintage.
Somerset.......Maughan
Borgward....Isabella
Citroen....Dyane
Gilbern...Jeannie Genie....OK.
Elva.....knew a girl once.
Dawn...Rolls
Estelle
My brain hurts
Ted
Estelle Morris...two for the price of one !.
Edited by 1400ted on 27/11/2009 at 00:08
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"Estelle Morris...two for the price of one !."
Very appropriate name, given her - handling - of education when in office.
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I used to have a regular customer named Fabia, whom I picked up in my Octavia...
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Nissan Serena
And presumably rugby-player Austin Healey was conceived in a sports car.
Edited by Reentrant on 27/11/2009 at 09:06
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Zoe is a GREAT name for a car.
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Eddie Stobart - Louise
Eddie Stobart - Sarah Jane
Eddie Stobart - Mary Ann
Eddie Stobart - Lucy
etc
etc
But not SFAIK a horrible name like Zoe.
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All I can add is that clearly the French have nothing better to whinge about at the moment.
Watch out though because they'll probably blockade the ports now in protest!
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I know I've mentioned this before but years ago in Somerset I had a neighbour called Austen Morris. He had the perfect job - traveller for White Horse whisky IIRC - but he drove a Mk 3 Cortina GXL.
I read somewhere the other day that the most-chosen name for boys in France at the moment is Enzo. How pathetic is that? No problem with car association obviously! I actually came across one of them the other day and he didn't look as if he had the wit to grow up to drive a Citroen C1.
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There was a court case brought by French Social Services against a couple who'd named their lad Zébulon (or known to us as Zebedee) from the Magic Roundabout.....their suggestion was he'd get teased in school. Time for bed ?
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There's a guy in the States who has the surname "Day" and was christened "Zippetydoodah" Not sure what he drives mind. Might be a Renault.
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He must be quite happy with it then - Do Renault still survive in the US ? I remember they sold the 5 as "Le Car" -and the 9 as something else - the Americans weren't impressed IIRC. They owned American Motors for a while...
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I know a Soames family in Cromer. They are known as the Cromer-Soames
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and, what about the rugger player Austin Healey?
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I wouldn't be offended if a car was called an Armitage - not likely anyway! I think the French should worry more about the Dwarf President and their race riots than the names of cars! We had a pop group named after Her Majesty and I didn't hear her grouching about it!
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My wife had a friend called Theresa Green
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No word of a lie, my friend went to work for a large company in his first proper job and was put under the wing so to speak of his new line manager. His boss greeted him with a cheery smile, a handshake and the words " hi, welcome to ABC Ltd, my name is Richard Head but everyone calls me......"
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They could always brand something the Renault Papa...
...or even the Renault Artois?!
Edited by Muggy on 30/11/2009 at 17:16
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