[vivriti]

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

Better still would be Skoda Mattuvandi. There would be a terrific response.

Mattuvandis (Bullock carts) are reliable, cheap and easy to maintain.

[VeyronSuperSprt]

Originally Posted by vivriti

Mattuvandis (Bullock carts) are reliable, cheap and easy to maintain.

You got it right. That's exactly the reason.

[bobbafett]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

If our Gurgaon teambhpian wants to name it in Hindi, then, I being from AP would like them to be named in Telugu. Will our Gurgaon guy like this? Then those from Tamilnadu, may say, Tamil names please. Those from Kerala may say Malyalee name please. Where will this end?

.

Sure why not? I would love to have a car named in languages from various parts of the country, I speak Gujarati, but sure - cool car named in Tamil or Assamese or Telugu - bring it on!
If we are ok with cars and bikes named for e.g. after American Indian tribes (Santa Fe, Tuscon, Apache) then I cant understand why anybody should have problems with a sporty hatchback by Tata named "Maratha" or "Rajput" for e.g. or a luxury sedan named "Nizam" ? And if we do have problems, then we should be ashamed, because the problem lies in our insecurity and distrust of fellow Indians.

[sudeep.pandya]

I believe we should accept that western names suit better to automobiles. Even in middle east I do not see any country specific names (Imagine Toyota Al habib, Honda Zaaeera)

[arnabchak]

Indian names may make the naming bit regionalism oriented.
India is a huge democratic nation.

A Tamil head honcho at Honda may want to name the next Honda based on Tamil name.

A Bong is Fiat may want to name the Next "Punto" Fiat Sonal Bangla!!

or a Delhi ite in VW may want the next VW named as Volkwagen Aryan...

May not gel. So we stick to the European names and remain unbiased.
"Laura" pls. excuse. The naming was not appropriate in India.

[ajitkommini]

Interestingly, the Mahindra Scorpio is called the Mahindra Goa in some export markets - so it's acquired an Indian name after going abroad

[Rotorhead]

imagine some names such as

skoda jaldi - skoda rapid
fiat ek numbari - fiat uno
mahindra bichoo - mahindra scorpio
hyundai le le - hyundai getz

skoda laura - ..ok.. lets leave this alone.....

[srishiva]

They can start with Sanskrit names which I dont think would offend anyone. Only the spelling and pronunciation would be a issue for outsiders. Most people here are indirectly saying they wouldn't like a name in other language by citing examples of third, fourth..... persons !

[drsingh]

Well. There is the in house sports car by DC called 'Avanti'

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by drsingh

Well. There is the in house sports car by DC called 'Avanti'

May be 'Avanti" goes because it sounds so Italian.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by srishiva

They can start with Sanskrit names which I dont think would offend anyone. Only the spelling and pronunciation would be a issue for outsiders. Most people here are indirectly saying they wouldn't like a name in other language by citing examples of third, fourth..... persons !

Since India is so diverse any Indian name is going to be non-acceptable to at least some sections of people. I for one, wouldn't touch something named in sanskrit. Modern machines deserve better sounding names.

[rsidd]

If we can have Indian names for planes (Tejas, Kiran), missiles (Prithvi, Agni, etc), even (in the past) scooters (Chetak) and cars (Padmini), why not cars today? I think the reason is, other than Tata and Mahindra, we have no proper Indian car manufacturers. (Perhaps Thar qualifies as an Indian name?) I doubt lack of market appeal is the reason. More a lack of imagination from the makers. Why wasn't the Tata Bolt called "vajra" and Zest "utsah", for example? The same Tatas named their jewellery brand Tanishq, and it sells fine. I suspect it's just because, with cars, "nobody has ever done it"...

[goingelectric]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

May be 'Avanti" goes because it sounds so Italian.

You're right, pgsagar. I believe 'Avanti" is Italian for forward. I double checked with google translate.
Indian names are always plausible, the Premier Padmini was a great example. Although it was a FIAT 1100D they still decided to give it an Indian name and we still love and remember the car by it's Indian name.

[rsidd]

Yes, Avanti is Italian for forward. Before DC, there was the Avanti Garelli moped -- remember that? Garelli being the now-defunct Italian parent.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by blacksport

Since India is so diverse any Indian name is going to be non-acceptable to at least some sections of people. I for one, wouldn't touch something named in sanskrit. Modern machines deserve better sounding names.

Bang on. Western names add mystique / aspirational value for many of us! A Lamborghini Murcielago would not sound as sweet in any Indian language - sorry

Originally Posted by rsidd

If we can have Indian names for planes (Tejas, Kiran), missiles (Prithvi, Agni, etc), even (in the past) scooters (Chetak) and cars (Padmini), why not cars today? I think the reason is, other than Tata and Mahindra, we have no proper Indian car manufacturers. (Perhaps Thar qualifies as an Indian name?) I doubt lack of market appeal is the reason. More a lack of imagination from the makers. Why wasn't the Tata Bolt called "vajra" and Zest "utsah", for example? The same Tatas named their jewellery brand Tanishq, and it sells fine. I suspect it's just because, with cars, "nobody has ever done it"...

Well that is true, but no one wants to be the first one. In today's hyper-sensitive / hyper political environment with fast outraging (social and commercial) media, it is a thankless effort. The amount of headache possible due to bad names is just not worth the effort. Everyone is happier playing it safe than dealing with a bunch of politicians or organizations going batshit crazy (Lest you forget, we are a country where drawing a cartoon or liking posts on FB can throw you in jail).

Surely if the state governments had their say, you can be rest assured that there would be tussles on naming our missiles / aircrafts longer than the decades it took to produce some of them!