My Sport Trac Enigma

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David Crockett

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I don't know if anyone else has ever asked this before, but does anyone know why Ford spells the word "track" like "trac", as it is on our STs?



I know, I know...this is a stupid question, but it bothers me that it isn't spelled correctly (TRACK). I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation for it, so maybe someone here can enlighten me. I just want to feel justified driving a vehicle which contributes to the illitercay of our children.



Also, not that there is anything wrong with Explorer Sport Trac as a name, but what ever happened to cool names for vehicles? Explorer isn't bad, but there are some just plain bad names for vehicles out there these days. For example, just to name a few: Elantra, Gallant, Prius, (any truck named after a state or city), Celica, Maxima, and the all time worst........VIBE. I'm sorry, but no car should be named after a nick-name for a woman's "massage device". These are names which have no meaning and don't bring anything to mind. What ever happened to cool names like Charger, Challenger, Barracuda, Galaxy 500, Javelin, Monte Carlo (I know..it's a city), Fairlane, Maverick, Cougar, Grand Prix, etc?

I'm just glad Explorer Sport Trac sounds cool and has a tone of robustness and masculinity to it, even if Trac is spelled wrong......:p



DD
 
What happened to names like that? they all got picked thats what happened. I mean come on they had some really bad car names back then also like Pacer, Pinto, Thing, El Dorado, Continental, Apache, Sting Ray, Corvair Monza (whatever the hell that means) and the list can go on forever.
 
Sometimes we should be glad we have what we have. Cars that were designed in other countries and sold here are often called something else in their country of origin. I was in Japan and saw what I knew to be a Nissan 280Z. In Japan it is called a "Fairlady"!
 
Part of the problem is that cars are marketed worldwide now. A name may have different connotations overseas. Chevy changed the name of the Nova in Mexico after they discovered that "No va", meant "No go".



This isn't only limited to cars. Portugal used to advertise their Lotto as the "Toto Lotto". The first time my Puerto Rican fiancee saw the sign, she started laughing. Seems in Spanish the prize had nothing to do with money. For the same reason, the little dog in The Wizard of Oz, was given a new name in the Spanish version of the movie. :D
 
The word "Trac" is not a normal word, so it's copyrightable. "Track" is not. That gives Ford exclusive use of the name "Sport Trac"



As for the names they pick, they always go through some exhaustive research to find a name that gives most people a feeling for what the car is used for, so it will sell better. I think they are straying away from normal names to avoid any possible problems with mistranslations and local bad connotations some names may have.
 
I think dreman is right on the money here.



I also think MelsonOKC is right on the TOTO. Isn't that where all of us like to be? :lol:



Being from Miami I can really appreciaet that one. :D
 
Remember the restraunt Chi-Chi's? Can anyone that speaks Spanish tell the class what Chi-Chi's are?





Tom
 
dreman's response makes sense. I just miss the cool names of yester-year's cars. Let the auto makers change the names to something generic and meaningless for over-seas sales, but let's keep the cool names at home.



DD
 
What the heck would a Sport Track be, anyway? Think of Sport Trac as you would many of the Japanese car names; I don't know what an Altima, Sportage, Miata, etc... is, but the name sounds cool.
 
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My (least) favorite car name is Kia Sephia...

You don't know the jokes I have heard about that name, especially at

the G.M. Plant where I work:

"I had a bad case of Sephia, but a couple of penecillin shots later, the

Doc said it was cured!":blink:
 
The Asians, or Nissan at least, like western female names for cars: Silvia, Gloria, Serena and even Cedric, just to name some recent models...I'm not sure why, but they like the names.



As for the "cool" names, the Charger is now being sold; the Galaxy is a van in England sold by Ford...the GalaxIE was the sporty car from the 60's; Monte Carlo has always been around since it was introduced; the Fairlane is sold in Austrailia; Maverick, while a cool name was a uncool car; the Cougar just recently went out of production; and the Grand Prix is still being sold as well. The names haven't gone away, they are still around.
 
Remember when Pontiac dropped the LeMans nameplate, and then brought it

back on that mid to late eighties car manufactured by Renault, or something

like that (foriegn maker, anyways)? I think LeMans has something to do with

racing, but my brother-in-law, who owned one, had a hard time racing his, since

it was always in the shop, or hooked up to jumper cables, somewhere!!!:huh:
 
Would it sound better if they named vehciles after people.



Then you could drive a "Ralph", or a "Rodger", or maybe even a "Suzie" or a "Yolanda".

Or how about "Bubba" crewcab! You know that's gotta be a badass truck. :lol:



...Rich
 
K K K Kia! Put water on the roof and grass hair grows! Oh, that's Chia, sorry.
 
I dont know about you guys, but I would definitly buy something like the FORD INTERCOURSE, or similarly named vehicles that I cant name because this is a family site.
 

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