Carmaker names are not nearly as celebrated as carmaker logos but they’re just as rich in heritage, both good and bad. Automobiles have been around since the late 1700s, but they didn’t take off until after the Industrial Revolution. World Wars I and II would catapult auto manufacturing into what we know today: a landscape dominated by Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors and Ford.
How those carmakers got their names seems straightforward, but the mergers and acquisitions that resulted in their lineups are full of intrigue and anecdotal accounts of industrial subterfuge. Carmakers folded and flourished, dying on the vine so that others could bloom, and picking up neat names along the way.
If you’ve ever sat in traffic looking at the car in front of you and wondered just where its name comes from, this is for you. Here are the stories behind some of the biggest automakers’ names:
