Fun game: car make & model

I've been trying to learn make & models of cars while biking. The first thing was to learn the logos. I picked those up fairly quickly. There were a few weird ones, but I've got those sorted out now, I think. Now I'm working on the models, that's harder because it requires a little more reading, and there are SO many. There are maybe 15 makes (logos). I say the name aloud so my bike ride sounds like this: "Ford, Ford, Toyota, Chevy, Toyota, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Toyota, Subaru!" (With background accompaniment of jingling from the jingle bell on my handlebar.)

Subaru is my favorite logo. I like the stars.

The reason for this is, although I can usually get the plate number, it would be a really good skill to be able to identify a car's make & model by its shape. Even if it is just a honk I start reciting the license plate number to myself, in case something else happens, until I get home, the car is long gone, or another car brings itself to my attention.

But a license plate number is difficult to remember and sometimes you just can't see it all. The plate number is more important to get, but if I could easily know the make & model, that would help a lot.

And it's a fun game to play. The problem is, it is hard to stop! Now I'm doing it when I'm biking, walking, or driving. There are far fewer cars that you can see logo & name, when you are driving. I'm getting pretty familiar with the rear ends of vehicles! :D

We get Car & Driver magazine...my 9 year old DS is a major car nut...and we go to the local auto show quite often, so I'm pretty competent when it comes to recognizing makes, models, and roughly the model year, too.

I think Mazda has the prettiest logo, but I'm admittedly a bit biased. :cool:

I am going to have to disagree, and nominate VW. :)

Neat fact about Subaru's logo - it's the Pliedies (sp?) constellation of the 7 sister stars. The logo only has 6 stars though, because 'the seventh star is the car'.

The BMW logo is known as the roundel, and I believe it was first created to look like a propeller.

I'm a car enthusiast and a total geek, so I love stuff like that.

My favorite car logo is the one for Aston-Martin :)

http://www.fraserwharves.com/mazda%20logo.jpg

I think the symbolism that goes behind car company logos is kind of cool. The Mazda logo is meant to represent a flying bird, or an M...kind of an optical illusion. Sure better than their previous logo...I don't know what the heck that was supposed to represent:
http://www.mx-3.com/emblem/emb-92-96.jpg

Actually the old Mazda logo looks like a stylized M also, to me. But Wikipedia says it's a sun and a flame.

Here's a site that talks about the meaning of car logos. If you trust some random site on the Internet... or Wikipedia for that matter. ;) Interesting what they say about the Toyota logo. I always thought it was just a stylized "T", but it reminds me of the Taurus symbol, and that's a Ford. :cool:

I think the old one looks like a gynecological view...

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Originally Posted by malkin

I think the old one looks like a gynecological view...

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Uh huh...exactly. I'm guessing the Mazda design folks had just as many women in on that decision as Apple did on the iPad naming discussions...0. :p

:) I had never thought of that before. I always thought it looked like a ballerina holding her hands over her head, doing a pirouette.

I'm just glad I'm not the only one that spends her commute studying cars. I'm more of a license plate kinda gal. It's an addition. :o bikerHen

I used to sell cars (a brief stint in my varied occupations), so I notice make and model (and sometimes year) without much thought. I do study license plates, though. I try to make up a phrase about the letters and numbers.

I like the Acura logo--it's the one that looks like an "A" but also a set of calipers.

I'm trying to learn model names now. That is not progressing very quickly. Even if I could recognize one model (such as one I own or have owned), depending on what year the car might look completely different.

Also the model names have no relation to the purpose of the car. So I've come up with the model names the manufacturer's SHOULD use! If all manufacturer's used these model names for all their vehicles, I'd have no trouble recognizing make & model!

Errandboy (or girl): cheap car for getting around town
Homeward Bound: commuter car
Lawbreaker: sports car, comes with ten pre-paid speeding tickets.
Workhorse: the big trucks.

Hehe, model names are funny.

Nissan Murano... named after a place that has no cars, that's famous for glass.

Nissan Armada... because people weren't going so much for the "Inquisition."

Honda Odyssey... which episode? Maybe Circe, and they drive like they've been turned into a herd of swine.

Subaru Legacy... literally your grandfather's car.

.....

Isuzu Axiom--the car you just kind of take for granted

Mitsubishi Outlander--in a pinch, can time travel back to 17th century Scotland. Plaid interior optional.

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Originally Posted by Melalvai

... If all manufacturer's used these model names for all their vehicles, I'd have no trouble recognizing make & model!

....Lawbreaker: sports car, comes with ten pre-paid speeding tickets....

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I resemble this comment :) Well, my car that I sold last year wasn't a "sports car" but it had a high-compression V-6 engine that made the car as fast as it looked :D Never did figure out how I avoided tickets - it must have been those pre-paid speeding tickets you mentioned :p

My current car may have a rather more sensible engine in it, and may not quite as much fun - but I save a LOT in gas in my current Lancer over the Gallant!

There is some dispute about what the BMW logo stands for (link)
Ford has pretty much the same logo for most of the history
Chevrolet logos was based on a Wallpaper design the Willie Durant saw in Paris hotel, he reportdely cut it off the wall and took it back to Detoirt
Model Names
Chevy Cavalier - doesn't take anything seriously
Chevy Cobalt -what, you want color other than blue
Dodge Plymouth Neon -see cobalt
And most car named after exotic destination aren't themselves exoitic - kia Rio, Chevy Malibu, Murano
Nissian Rouge - always in trouble.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

I resemble this comment :) Well, my car that I sold last year wasn't a "sports car" but it had a high-compression V-6 engine that made the car as fast as it looked

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My dad had a Mazda Miata for a year. He got too many speeding tickets that year. When he sold it, the newspaper ad read "Midlife crisis over. Keeping wife, selling Miata."

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

Nissian Rouge - always in trouble.

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Caught red-handed? :D
"the rouge rogue"

My first boyfriend was a mechanic and I spent many hours in garages, going to car shows, auto wreckers, etc. 3 or 4 other mechanics in my life over the years, then DH wanting to restore classic Vette, so we spent many hours at swap meets collecting parts. I like cars.

I thought I knew cars and logos but I only got 12 right out of 20 :-(

http://www.cramersweeney.com/brandprix/

Edna

More data mining :D:D:D (probably not the correct term when you're purposely filling out a survey/"test")

16/20, and there were a couple of goofs I was kicking myself about because I really knew the right answers.

I got 13. But a lot of those were things you'd only know if you watch commercials. I'm all about netflix and online watching these days, I rarely see commercials!

I got 17

I got 14, but would never have know some of the taglines...

I don't think of myself as watching TV, either. But I do watch football sometimes, and I attend motorcycle races. And I go to enough public places where I pick up magazines like Car & Driver, etc., or even general interest magazines that have car ads.

But yeah. I wasn't proud of my high score. I know perfectly well what it means. :o

I only got 10 right - :confused: When I was a teenager I pretty much knew all makes and models. It was so much easier back then.

My all time favorite model name:

The Chevy Nova - Spanish for "It doesn't go."

That one still cracks me up!

and of course there is the old joke about "you know you're a biker if...."

You can't name the make or model of the car passing you but you can identify the make model and year of the bikes on the bike rack it's carrying.

marni;)

Never really considered doing this sort of activity when on commute/on the road. I usually just look at the colors and wait for omens. Say I want something to happen and I pick a random color and go 'if this color appears it's meant to be'.

The most you'll find me interested in cars is during a racing game simulation. Otherwise, I really don't care. It's high time I should.

I tried this and it is really addictive. The problem is I found myself concentrating on the cars passing me more than on the overall traffic situation.

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Originally Posted by kfergos

I tried this and it is really addictive. The problem is I found myself concentrating on the cars passing me more than on the overall traffic situation.

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That has been my experience! It got worse when I drove a car, so I shut down the game in my head for driving. I've also gotten better at shutting it off when traffic gets a little hairy, while biking.

And what's with these cars that have "SVT" in the model name? They definitely do not give me palpitations...