4 ms·

Why in the world did GM make a car with the name Citation? Are there any good connotations of that word?

dmurray 3y ago
It's also the name of a brand of private jet, and of what used to be the most successful racehorse in the world. I'd guess both the car and the plane owe their names to the horse.
hotnfresh 3y ago
There’s also the aircraft series: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_family https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_family Those are named after a race horse. Car may also be for the race horse. Or maybe the car’s named after the plane(s).
- GauntletWizard 3y ago
  I would love to drive a Chevy Potoooooooo
jstanley 3y ago
Simple, it's so that every time someone reads "citation needed" on Wikipedia, it triggers the buy impulse.
hinkley 3y ago
Technically Chevrolet did but the entire thought process for that vehicle was questionable so the name is IMO a harbinger. This is not a place of honor.
PaulHoule 3y ago
I think it's funny how GM came out with the "Cavalier" to compete with Honda's "Civic". Or that matter, there was a Chevy Cobalt (e.g. a "Kobold" is a demon that causes mine accidents) or an AMC Gremlin.
- danaris 3y ago
  ...But cobalt is both a color and an element...? Sure, the name is derived from "kobold", but that's like saying you should never call anything good "terrific", because it derives from the root "terror". Etymology isn't destiny.
- jstarfish 3y ago
  There's always the business-school legend about the failure of the Nova with the Spanish market.
  - genewitch 3y ago
    Dat Soon?
  - istjohn 3y ago
    > The statement refers to a popular anecdote in international business and marketing about a supposed blunder made by American automaker Chevrolet with the car model, "Nova." > According to the story, when Chevrolet tried to market the Nova in Spanish-speaking countries, the car reportedly did not sell well because in Spanish, "no va" translates to "doesn't go". This led people to joke that a car named "doesn't go" wouldn’t be a popular choice. > However, it's important to note that this is largely a myth. In reality, the Chevrolet Nova was relatively successful in Spanish-speaking markets. "Nova" as a word is understood to mean "new star" in Spanish, and it's unlikely Spanish speakers would naturally break up the term into "no" and "va", just like English speakers wouldn't naturally break up "notable" into "no" and "table". > But the story remains popular as a cautionary tale of the consequences of not considering linguistic and cultural differences when naming products for international markets.
hydrok9 3y ago
Citation just means to be noted for something ("Cited for valour.")
- dotancohen 3y ago
  But in the context of motor vehicles, the term is highly associated with infractions and monetary fines.
  - toast0 3y ago
    I mean, people like fast cars, so the Chevy Speeding Ticket should be a good seller.
    - dotancohen 3y ago
      You do have a point!
dotancohen 3y ago
> Are there any good connotations of that word? A few other GM vehicles have this issue, Chevy in particular. A well known example is the market failure of calling a car Nova (No-Va) in South America.
- danaris 3y ago
  Except that's not actually true: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chevrolet-nova-name-spanish/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chevrolet-nova-name-spanis...
  - dotancohen 3y ago
    You know, I've heard that rebuttal, but I've been told this anecdote of the car's notoriety by family members from Columbia and more recently from a friend from Argentina. So perhaps "no va" and "Nova" are pronounced differently, and perhaps the car did sell well, but the Spanish-speaking peoples most certainly did find the term "no va" in the car's name. You should know what they say about the Mitsubishi Pajero, too!
    - Shorel 3y ago
      It's the same difference as between papa and papá. We are trained to perceive different accented syllables as different words with different meanings.
      - dotancohen 3y ago
        Sure, we have these in my language as well. For instance, the car Kia should be written like "vomit" - so we have a convoluted spelling and say the name slightly wrong to distance the word from "vomit". But it's still clear to everybody how the name should be pronounced and spelled. Doesn't seem to affect sales, though, probably like the Chevy Nova. Those Kia are everywhere.
tacon 3y ago
>Are there any good connotations of that word? Of course there are: "a mention of a praiseworthy act or achievement in an official report, especially that of a member of the armed forces in wartime" Don't focus on the North American usage of "a traffic citation". Citation is almost a contranym, which is a word that has at least two meanings that are opposites of each other, i.e. bolt, bound, buckle, cleave, clip, consult, ... https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_contranyms https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_contranyms
bombcar 3y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_family https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_family Relatively famous business jet.

It's also the name of a brand of private jet, and of what used to be the most successful racehorse in the world. I'd guess both the car and the plane owe their names to the horse.

hotnfresh 3y ago

There’s also the aircraft series: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_family https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_family Those are named after a race horse. Car may also be for the race horse. Or maybe the car’s named after the plane(s).

GauntletWizard 3y ago
I would love to drive a Chevy Potoooooooo

jstanley 3y ago

Simple, it's so that every time someone reads "citation needed" on Wikipedia, it triggers the buy impulse.

hinkley 3y ago

Technically Chevrolet did but the entire thought process for that vehicle was questionable so the name is IMO a harbinger. This is not a place of honor.

PaulHoule 3y ago

I think it's funny how GM came out with the "Cavalier" to compete with Honda's "Civic". Or that matter, there was a Chevy Cobalt (e.g. a "Kobold" is a demon that causes mine accidents) or an AMC Gremlin.

danaris 3y ago
...But cobalt is both a color and an element...? Sure, the name is derived from "kobold", but that's like saying you should never call anything good "terrific", because it derives from the root "terror". Etymology isn't destiny.
jstarfish 3y ago
There's always the business-school legend about the failure of the Nova with the Spanish market.
- genewitch 3y ago
  Dat Soon?
- istjohn 3y ago
  > The statement refers to a popular anecdote in international business and marketing about a supposed blunder made by American automaker Chevrolet with the car model, "Nova." > According to the story, when Chevrolet tried to market the Nova in Spanish-speaking countries, the car reportedly did not sell well because in Spanish, "no va" translates to "doesn't go". This led people to joke that a car named "doesn't go" wouldn’t be a popular choice. > However, it's important to note that this is largely a myth. In reality, the Chevrolet Nova was relatively successful in Spanish-speaking markets. "Nova" as a word is understood to mean "new star" in Spanish, and it's unlikely Spanish speakers would naturally break up the term into "no" and "va", just like English speakers wouldn't naturally break up "notable" into "no" and "table". > But the story remains popular as a cautionary tale of the consequences of not considering linguistic and cultural differences when naming products for international markets.

hydrok9 3y ago

Citation just means to be noted for something ("Cited for valour.")

dotancohen 3y ago
But in the context of motor vehicles, the term is highly associated with infractions and monetary fines.
- toast0 3y ago
  I mean, people like fast cars, so the Chevy Speeding Ticket should be a good seller.
  - dotancohen 3y ago
    You do have a point!

dotancohen 3y ago

> Are there any good connotations of that word? A few other GM vehicles have this issue, Chevy in particular. A well known example is the market failure of calling a car Nova (No-Va) in South America.

danaris 3y ago
Except that's not actually true: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chevrolet-nova-name-spanish/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chevrolet-nova-name-spanis...
- dotancohen 3y ago
  You know, I've heard that rebuttal, but I've been told this anecdote of the car's notoriety by family members from Columbia and more recently from a friend from Argentina. So perhaps "no va" and "Nova" are pronounced differently, and perhaps the car did sell well, but the Spanish-speaking peoples most certainly did find the term "no va" in the car's name. You should know what they say about the Mitsubishi Pajero, too!
  - Shorel 3y ago
    It's the same difference as between papa and papá. We are trained to perceive different accented syllables as different words with different meanings.
    - dotancohen 3y ago
      Sure, we have these in my language as well. For instance, the car Kia should be written like "vomit" - so we have a convoluted spelling and say the name slightly wrong to distance the word from "vomit". But it's still clear to everybody how the name should be pronounced and spelled. Doesn't seem to affect sales, though, probably like the Chevy Nova. Those Kia are everywhere.

tacon 3y ago

>Are there any good connotations of that word? Of course there are: "a mention of a praiseworthy act or achievement in an official report, especially that of a member of the armed forces in wartime" Don't focus on the North American usage of "a traffic citation". Citation is almost a contranym, which is a word that has at least two meanings that are opposites of each other, i.e. bolt, bound, buckle, cleave, clip, consult, ... https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_contranyms https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_contranyms

bombcar 3y ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_family https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_family Relatively famous business jet.