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Old 3rd January 2018, 14:47   #16
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

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Originally Posted by vb-san View Post
I feel from a buyer point of view it kind of makes sense not to display the variant. In our society, there is already a class-factor in play (based on the vehicle you drive) and this can add into that.
Probably the reason why some manufacturers most definitely want to highlight a variant, at least here in India.

For the class conscious folks, and there are many, owning a ZXi is always a matter of pride so I'm sure they'd want to put it out in big bold letters.
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Mercedes send their regards, may the 4Matic be with you !
You beat me to it!

We should be thankful that SUVs with rear diff locks are still labelled 4x4 or 4WD instead of 4x4+DL or something of that kind.

As for ESP getting names likes VSC (Toyota) I think it has to do with manufacturers trying to tell us that their ESP is much more efficient/intelligent etc. than the other folks which is why they'd rather call it VSC.
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Old 3rd January 2018, 15:06   #17
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

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Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks View Post
Mercedes send their regards, may the 4Matic be with you !
Mercedes had a real bad one - 7G-Tronic badge on the boot; I think they have stopped it in the current gen models
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Old 3rd January 2018, 16:09   #18
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

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Originally Posted by aadya View Post
Is there any conscious effort from the manufacturers to differentiate the naming of variants from others?
Similar sounding variant badges are common among auto manufacturers. Maruti has ZXI, Honda has ZX while Tata has XZ. Ford used to have a ZXI in their lineup as well, before the Titanium came in.

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Originally Posted by aadya View Post
Is there any regulatory push towards naming the features like ABS/4x4/AWD etc?
No such regulations. You can highlight a particular set of features in your car model, if you want to. But nowadays most car companies go for the clean & clear look so such badges are avoided. The highlighted ones usually are - "4x4/4WD", "Trail-Rated", "Smart Hybrid", "F-Tronic", "L&K (Laurin & Klement)", etc.

Maruti cars in the sub-10 lacs range come with a separate "ABS" sticker, right under the variant badging. You can see plenty of Swifts with the VXi/VDi ABS, ZXi/ZDi ABS badges.


Quote:
Originally Posted by vb-san View Post
I feel from a buyer point of view it kind of makes sense not to display the variant. In our society, there is already a class-factor in play (based on the vehicle you drive) and this can add into that.
For example, someone buy a 3-series with a Prestige name fixed on the boot s/he can be the one who care about the prestige of the BMW but cannot afford the luxury of the Luxury variant, or sportiness of the Sport variant
Related read

Which is why the "//M","AMG" or the "Quattro" badge are given high esteem, and are rarely removed/de-badged.
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Old 4th January 2018, 00:13   #19
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

There is one basic pattern to the way most car makers badge their cars, they try to subtly pronect that the higher variant is more expensive and vice versa, so it can be some sort of status symbol. Alpha for Maruti, Titanium for Ford, Highline for VW though they never badge.
The Germans shame you for buying a base model, a 316 or a E180 sounds embarrassing. I wish they just get rid of this badge snobiness, there is no point in displaying the variant outside.
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Old 4th January 2018, 21:00   #20
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

Sir you have raised a very valid question based on your observations.
I would also like to ad that manufacturers also make use of some cosmetic enhancements to distinguish between different trims.
For example:
  • Higher variant may have body coloured door handles and ORVMs.
  • Projector headlamps in higher variants whereas lower ones being fitted with simple halogen bulbs.
  • Presence/Absence of wheel caps.
  • Providing exclusive paint colour only to higher variants eg : The new brown colour on XUV500 was only limited to w10 variant.
  • Using black / matt wraps on roof or orvms.
  • Usage of chrome as an embellishment

These are some of my observations when I saw car on roads.

On lighter note I would like to add that Honda treated the base variant of Honda City ZX with so much contempt that they never produced a single car with the EXI badge. Though the pre-facelift NHC had them .

Last edited by ampere : 4th January 2018 at 21:27. Reason: Formatted post
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Old 4th January 2018, 21:01   #21
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

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Originally Posted by tharian View Post
Agree to this. There is no need to display the variant badge on the cars. It is something that the buyer needs to know since he uses that to choose the variant he wants.
I cannot generalize but in the USA ford offers S, SE, SEL, Titanium, Platinum (for some cars) etc and sometime more for cars like F150 sold in masses and all of them display a badge. Personally, i look at the badge to see the variant but it would not make a difference unless it was a 'RS' version or something.

Last edited by ampere : 4th January 2018 at 21:26. Reason: Formatted quoted post
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Old 4th January 2018, 22:25   #22
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

The best, and most logical naming convention has to be Kia in the UK. Most of their models follow the same basic logic.

Its simply 1,2,3 and so on. Higher number is the better variant.
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Old 5th January 2018, 00:52   #23
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

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Originally Posted by pedrolourenco View Post
Actually the "i" variants first appeared on the Esteem and Zen when they got MPFi engines.
Don't think its entirely true. There is an Alto LX version which has an MPFi engine but no power steering. Same with the Zen LX variant. I remember reading an article long back which states that the i in Maruti stands for Electronic Power Steering.
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Old 5th January 2018, 06:38   #24
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

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Originally Posted by StarrySky View Post
There are hardly any variant badges stuck on cars here in Finland (and most of EU, I guess).
In Australia as well there are no variant badges on cars. Only brand, model and engine capacity (in some cases).
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Old 5th January 2018, 07:54   #25
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

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Originally Posted by glenmz View Post
Don't think its entirely true. There is an Alto LX version which has an MPFi engine but no power steering. Same with the Zen LX variant. I remember reading an article long back which states that the i in Maruti stands for Electronic Power Steering.
But then like I mentioned there is Esteem LX, VX and AX all with EPS but no MPFi.
Looks like Maruti themselves are not too sure. Possibly it was initially intended to differentiate the MPFi and carb engine cars but after all cars became MPFi they used the "i" to differentiate the Power Steering and Non Power Steering cars. Then there was another exception; the Wagon R AX with both Power Steering and MPFi.

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 5th January 2018 at 18:42. Reason: typo corrected
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Old 5th January 2018, 08:10   #26
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How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

Apparently Elon Musk wanted S-E-X in his line up of Teslas. He could not get Model E as it was already with Ford.

So we have models S-3-X now.

OT:Similarly the Indigo airline call sign of 6E, always pronounced as sexy.

Apparently a lot of research goes into some. Like the Gold Flake Honey Dew on the packets. Research says that it plays on as (I need you)

Last edited by Arjun Reddy : 5th January 2018 at 08:15.
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Old 5th January 2018, 14:22   #27
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

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Originally Posted by RavenAvi View Post
Similar sounding variant badges are common among auto manufacturers. Maruti has ZXI, Honda has ZX while Tata has XZ. Ford used to have a ZXI in their lineup as well, before the Titanium came in.
Add Renault to the list as well with top most version as R(enault)xZ. And it also follows the E, L structure.

Entry Level : RxE
Higher (Luxury) Level : RxL

Then they added two more :

RxS : Special (?)
RxZ : Top most variant

Pawan
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Old 5th January 2018, 15:32   #28
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

Apart from variant branding, I wonder why the manufacturers feel the need to have the badge for engine capacity?
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Old 5th January 2018, 16:09   #29
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

Probably relevant to point out here that most upmarket brands do not display the name on the car. Only the variant.

Hence you will not find BMW, Audi or Mercedes having a name badge. You might find the name within the logo though but not as a badge. This goes for more expensive cars such as Bentley, Rolls etc.

VW entered India with their cars displaying the full VOLKSWAGEN name on a badge. India was the only place where VW displayed it's name on a badge ostensibly to build visibility and the resultant brand equity. However now the name has been removed as VW probably feels it has got the required visibility. Removal of the name badge would also equate it with the other upmarket brands.

The converse has happened with Skoda where initially all Skodas had only the variant name. Now however Skoda has a full nameplate on the Rapid -probably instructed by VW so as to lower its brand equity in comparison to VW.

Hyundai, Maruti, Renault and several other mid to low level brands display both the manufacturer name and the variant name.

Last edited by AMG Power : 5th January 2018 at 16:11.
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Old 5th January 2018, 17:29   #30
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Re: How do manufacturers choose variant names & badges?

How can someone forget the recent additions in Maruti; VXi +, ZXi +, VDi +, ZDi +
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