Unfortunate Business Names

[blockhead]

Does anyone know of or actually met a person named Ulick Magee?

[fourthirtythree]

You have to wonder about some parents. Like the couple in Wales who had a son and called him David. In the full and certain knowledge that the Welsh short name for David was Dai, and their surname was Young.

Do you know the funniest part about this - in all the years of watching and talking about Dai Young, both at Cardiff and Wasps, until you pointed it out just now I never copped that

When I was first on here I think I used to call him "Leave an Ugly Corpse"...

Which isn't very nice obviously. But I did, also, blame his parents.

[johng]

You have to wonder about some parents. Like the couple in Wales who had a son and called him David. In the full and certain knowledge that the Welsh short name for David was Dai, and their surname was Young.

Do you know the funniest part about this - in all the years of watching and talking about Dai Young, both at Cardiff and Wasps, until you pointed it out just now I never copped that

When I was first on here I think I used to call him "Leave an Ugly Corpse"...

Which isn't very nice obviously. But I did, also, blame his parents.

He really needs a backs coach called Live Fast as a partner OK.

[fourthirtythree]

So the scrum coach could be called "ugly corpse" then.. that's an idea.

[Vamos los azules]

You have to wonder about some parents. Like the couple in Wales who had a son and called him David. In the full and certain knowledge that the Welsh short name for David was Dai, and their surname was Young.

Do you know the funniest part about this - in all the years of watching and talking about Dai Young, both at Cardiff and Wasps, until you pointed it out just now I never copped that

You're not the only one - I hadn't noticed it either until someone pointed it out fairly recently.

[nelly the elephant]

When I worked in the UK many years ago I worked with a fella whose name was Richard Armour, although he was known to all as Dick Armour.

There was a guy behind me in school called Dick Ovary. I sh1t you not. Not sure of the spelling. I think he was very careful to call himself Richard.

You have to wonder about some parents. Like the couple in Wales who had a son and called him David. In the full and certain knowledge that the Welsh short name for David was Dai, and their surname was Young.

They were obviously committed Black Sabbath fans..

[Mauler]

My PADI Dive instructor was Kevin Seagrave. Not something you want to hear 30ft under off the coast of Donegal.

[Flash Gordon]

Chap in one the German P&G factories I visited called Bert Fuchs. There's a man destined for a one country career!

[olaf the fat]

A guy I know did up and leased out a Chinese take away in Bray for the novelty factor it is called 'Soon Fatt'. I remember a similar take away with a similar name somewhere in Kildare or Laois years ago.

Chinese lad running the place reckons its a popular business name in China, means something along the line of 'easy wealth'

[TheBear]

A guy I know did up and leased out a Chinese take away in Bray for the novelty factor it is called 'Soon Fatt'. I remember a similar take away with a similar name somewhere in Kildare or Laois years ago.

Chinese lad running the place reckons its a popular business name in China, means something along the line of 'easy wealth'

There is a Chinese take away opposite the Central Mental Hospital on the Dundrum Road which was called "The Great Wall" in a former incarnation.

[Schumi]

A guy I know did up and leased out a Chinese take away in Bray for the novelty factor it is called 'Soon Fatt'. I remember a similar take away with a similar name somewhere in Kildare or Laois years ago.

Chinese lad running the place reckons its a popular business name in China, means something along the line of 'easy wealth'

There is a Chinese take away opposite the Central Mental Hospital on the Dundrum Road which was called "The Great Wall" in a former incarnation.

Fantastic. I must have passed there hundreds of times and never got the connection.

[Lamb of BOD]

Came across a few good 'uns here

[suisse]

Came across a few good 'uns here

Few Korean ones thrown in there. Always a problem when words are translated from another language, but also fun.

[offshorerules]

Chevrolet were very suprised their Nova car didn't sell in South America. Unfortunately NO VA means something unintended.

[offshorerules]

double post

[Dave Cahill]

Chevrolet were very suprised their Nova car didn't sell in South America. Unfortunately NO VA means something unintended.

From snopes.com


It's the classic cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing business in foreign countries that can be found in hundreds (if not thousands) of books about marketing: General Motors introduced their Chevrolet Nova model of automobile into a Spanish-speaking market, then scratched their heads in puzzlement when it sold poorly. GM executives were baffled until someone finally pointed out to them that "nova" translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish. The embarrassed automobile giant changed the model name to the Caribe, and sales of the car took off.

This anecdote is frequently used to illustrate the perils of failing to do adequate preparation and research before introducing a product into the international marketplace. It's a wicked irony, then, that the people who use this example are engaging in the very thing they're decrying, because a little preparation and research would have informed them that it isn't true. (The sources that repeat this little tale can't even agree on where the Nova supposedly sold poorly, variously listing locales such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, South America, or simply "Spanish-speaking countries.") This is another one of those tales that makes its point so well - just like the apocryphal one about George Washington and the cherry tree - that nobody wants to ruin it with a bunch of facts. Nonetheless, we're here to ruin it.

The original Chevrolet Nova (initially the Chevy II) hit the U.S. market in 1962. (This car should not be confused with the smaller, front wheel drive vehicle which was produced in 1985 as a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota and also assigned the Nova name.) Between 1972 and 1978 the Chevrolet Nova was also sold in Mexico and several other Spanish-speaking countries, primarily Venezuela. Shortly afterwards the great "Nova" legend arose, a legend which a little linguistic analysis shows it to be improbable:

First of all, the phrase "no va" (literally "doesn't go") and the word "nova" are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word "nova" as equivalent to the phrase "no va" and think "Hey, this car doesn't go!" is akin to assuming that English speakers would spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn't include a table.

Although "no va" can be literally translated as "no go," it would be a curious locution for a speaker of Spanish to use in reference to a car. Just as an English speaker would describe a broken-down car by saying that it "doesn't run" rather than it "doesn't go," so a Spanish speaker would refer to a malfunctioning automobile by saying "no marcha" or "no funciona" or "no camina" rather than "no va."

Pemex (the Mexican government-owned oil monopoly) sold (and still sells) gasoline in Mexico under the name "Nova." If Mexicans were going to associate anything with the Chevrolet Nova based on its name, it would probably be this gasoline. In any case, if Mexicans had no compunctions about filling the tanks of their cars with a type of gasoline whose name advertised that it "didn't go," why would they reject a similarly-named automobile?

This legend assumes that a handful of General Motors executives launched a car into a foreign market and remained in blissful ignorance about a possible adverse translation of its name. Even if nobody in Detroit knew enough rudimentary Spanish to notice the coincidence, the Nova could not have been brought to market in Mexico and/or South America without the involvement of numerous Spanish speakers engaged to translate user manuals, prepare advertising and promotional materials, communicate with the network of Chevrolet dealers in the target countries, etc. In fact, GM was aware of the translation and opted to retain the model name "Nova" in Spanish-speaking markets anyway, because they (correctly) felt the matter to be unimportant.


The truth is that the Chevrolet Nova's name didn't significantly affect its sales: it sold well in both its primary Spanish-language markets, Mexico and Venezuela. (Its Venezuelan sales figures actually surpassed GM's expectations.)

[Alternative Ulster]

Ford Pinto in Mexico. Where "Pinto" means "Small D1ck"

[Dave Cahill]

No, it doesn't. It means painted.

Pinto is a slang portugeuse term for the penis, but the car was never sold in Brazil, Portugal or Goa!

[Alternative Ulster]

No, it doesn't. It means painted.

Pinto is a slang portugeuse term for the penis, but the car was never sold in Brazil, Portugal or Goa!

Spoilsport. I heard that one long before the advent of internets and stuff. someone obviously embelished it along the way.

[blockhead]

I was once told that Pajero as in Mitsubishi Pajero was a Portugeuse word for sh*t. No idea if its true or not.