(horse neighing)
- Carmakers love naming their cars after animals
but every once in a while,
a car company will name its son
after a more unconventional beast.
On this list we're gonna talk
about cars named after Mongolian weasels,
cars named after extinct cattle
and even bugs?
(cringes heavily)
This is the D-List.
- [Commentator] Datsun honey bee.
- Long before the GTR,
The S chassis and even the original Z-cars Nissan,
which used to be called Datsun produced
a dainty sensible commuter car known
in Japan as the Sunny.
In America a third generation Sunny
was called the B-210.
Because apparently, B-210 is more marketable
than a word literally used
to describe a nice day.
It's really sunny out,
it's a nice sunny day
and this little car couldn't have come
to the US at a more perfect time.
You know because of a little thing called
the oil crisis.
Go to donutmedia.com get your new oil crisis sure.
You can bet your sweet sunny buns
that this boy was a massive success much
like Nolin got like 50 miles per gallon.
It was one of the cheapest cars
that you could buy it around $3,000
but what if three large was still too pricey for you?
Worry not my dude,
just like Dodge did with the Viper
Datsun stripped this Sunny down even further,
this minimalist special edition deleted virtually
all the features.
I'm talking all of them,
even the carpet.
It came in brown,
yellow or white and most importantly,
it had one of the cutest king decals ever.
It was called the honey bee.
I think that's a perfect name for
this buzzy little boy.
Max where'd you put him?
Where's he, down here?
This is buzzy little boy.
(bee buzzes) (slight explosion)
Western honey bee is a hard working, resourceful creature.
It's cute but deep down,
it packs a serious sting.
Max got stung by one this weekend in his car.
And most of all,
you know you can depend on a honey bee because
a world without honey bees is hardly a world
even fit for humanity.
And that is an environmental concern
that you should genuinely be worried about.
Be the change you wanna see in the world.
Mercury Sable.
Speaking of cute little guys
which I tend to do a lot.
Let's move on to the Mercury Sable
the sables mercury's follow up
to the gargantuan Malay's barge known
as the marquis.
One of the only cars named after a sign.
It shared the same platform
as a Taurus except it never came
with the show package.
So basically, it's an even more grandpa'd up version
of Ford's most grandpa'd up car.
But unlike the Taurus,
named after the mythological bull that Zeus took
the form of to win over Europa,
the sable is very little mammal that inhabits
the forests of Russia.
These cute AF omnivorous little babies
are about three feet long.
And while their colors vary depending
on their geographical location,
they all have beautiful, silky coats and because of that,
they fetch a pretty penny in the far trade.
People have been hunting
these low varmints for centuries,
a sable pellet coat was seen as a status symbol,
just like airpod twos and because of that status,
old people love them.
You know what else old people love?
Mercury, the car,
not the liquid metal.
They used to think that Mercury perhaps
would cure syphilis.
So while the Mercury Sable might not have much
in common with its forest dwelling namesake,
you can understand why they decided to name it that,
old people.
- [Commentator] Porsche Cayman.
- The Pee Car Cayman
is a fastback coupe version
of the company's mid engine roadster, the Boxster.
I'm not gonna lie to you
doesn't always get the same respect as the 911.
But it's cheaper and the engine is technically
in a better place.
Mid engine, Trump's rear engine.
Now the name Boxster is a portmanteau of boxer
'cause it's got a boxer engine.
And roadster because it ain't got no top on it,
great name, makes sense.
So surely the Cayman must be an equally clever portmanteau
of some sort, right?
Well, I'm afraid that's wrong, deadass wrong.
(heavy grunting)
Cayman is actually a misspelling of Cayman,
a member of the alligator family
that inhabits Mexico and South America.
Why did Porsche name this fastback coupe after
a scaly South American man eater?
I'd like to think it's because the Porsche came in
has a lot in common with its reptilian namesake.
It's absolute predator, on the road.
It slips through the streets like a gator slips through
the sewers, undetected,
composed until it meets its prey
and then it's...
(hand snaps)
Also I would like to point out
that for forever Porsche didn't name any other cars,
anything besides a bunch of numbers
and now they name everything after a bunch of words
that no one is quite sure how to say.
Muh-can, mah-can I don't know,
Cayman, K Man.
Cayenne, Chayenne.
Taycan, Toucan.
Come on guys.
It's got to go.
- [Commentator] AMC Marlin.
- Speaking of eating fish.
(slight giggling)
Speaking of eating fish this next car
is named after a big fish.
I'm not talking
about the Tim Burton movie.
AMC the car company hasn't been around for a long time,
and AMC the movie theater company doesn't look like
they're gonna be around for much longer either.
It might come as a surprise to some of you including me,
that AMC is flagship vehicle back in the glory days
was slick looking fastback known as the Marlin,
named after a large fish in the istiophoridae family
known for its large dorsal fin
and long spear like snout.
Is it the snout, is it the fish beak?
Nobody knows, they can't answer.
The marlin happens to be one of
the quickest fish in the sea,
making it a pinnacle of offshore game fishing.
I lived in Florida,
(drum rolls)
for a number of years when I was a child,
and I would say nine out of 10 households have
a Marlin hanging in their living room.
AMC sold this slippery sucker for
a couple of years in the 60s with moderate success.
It was roomy, luxurious but so as the price tag.
By the time other luxury personal cars entered the market,
like the Charger, and the Thunderbird,
the Marlin really was a fish out of water.
Anyway belly up after about three years of production.
Even though this misunderstood sea creature
had a short life.
It wasn't for not because decades later,
its design nuances lived on in the Chrysler Crossfire.
- [Commentator] Fiat Panda.
- This next car is named after one
of the most ferocious bears
that was ever played by Jack Black.
And by ferocious, I mean friendly!
The panda bear or giant panda
is a dopey little fella that lives
in the mountain ranges of central China.
And with a name like giant panda,
you might expect it to tower over its enemies in terror,
but I googled it.
And these guys are only like four feet freaking tall,
which is shorter than actual Fiat Panda.
And the Fiat Panda is a very, very small car.
It debuted in 1980,
and was designed by literal design god Giorgetto Giugiaro.
We did an episode of the podcast on him,
and I've always said it.
If it ain't by GG, it ain't for me.
This petite little lad is one
of the brands most successful cars despite
never being sold in the US.
It's compact city car meant
to be cheap, reliable, and robustly simple.
In the 40 years that it's been around Fiat
has sold about 8 million pandas.
And in case you're wondering,
the latest census on giant pandas found less
than 2000 alive in the world,
but those numbers are slowly going up.
And the panda has officially been knocked
of the endangered species list.
Congratulations, dudes. (slight cheering)
But that doesn't change the fact that
they are not giant at all.
So I've started a petition to rename the Giant Panda,
the regular panda.
- [Commentator] Triumph Stag.
- Visit a car show in America
and you're gonna see a Mustang,
I guarantee you.
Go to a car show in Japan,
you're gonna see a couple of skylines
ain't no question about it.
Go to a car show in the UK,
and you can bet your bottom knickers
that you're gonna see a Triumph Stag.
This V8 powered four seater convertible
was a competitor for the Mercedes SL
and I'd be lying through my perfectly imperfect teeth
if I told you it wasn't plagued
with severe, severe mechanical issues.
The V8 was actually a twin version
of their pre-existing inline four
and after nearly five years of developing V8
Triumph couldn't figure out how
to reliably use fuel injection,
so they resorted to carburetors instead.
But the carbs didn't make enough power baby.
So they widened the cylinder bores
to get more displacement.
Great idea. Good job.
Except the wider cylinders made less room
for coolant passageway.
So basically what I'm saying is they're inefficient
and extremely, extremely prone to overheating
and there's almost nothing you can do about it.
Just like my uncle Douglas, lazy mad Pumphrey.
But when they're not broken,
these things are honestly pretty sick.
It's just a classic looking convertible.
I mean, Sean Puffy Connery drove one
in Diamonds Are Forever
and he only drives a good course.
Anyway, a stag is an adult male deer
it's also slang for a single guy.
And stagg brand canned chili
is the most depressing name of a product ever.
They might as well call it lonely man goop food, moving on.
- [Commentator] Lamborghini Urus.
The Lamborghini machine urus
is probably the best SUV that money can buy.
And I do not say that lightly, I love SUVs.
This boy's got 640 horsepower V8,
and it kicks to 60 miles per hour in just 3.6 seconds.
That's insane when you consider
that it weighs 5000 pounds.
That's as much as a full small dumpster.
Let me tell you a luxury SUV
from Lamborghini is exactly as nice
as you would expect.
Endlessly, supple leather, exquisitely accented trim,
and of course, a fire jet stock pit
because at the end of the day,
it's a gosh darn Lamborghini machine.
But it wouldn't be a glorious SUV
without a glorious SUV name
and that's why they called it,
(drums rolling) the urus.
So it turns out we talked
about a couple times the folks over at Lamborghini
are pretty freaking obsessed with bulls
in a very, very weird way.
So they decided to name this legendary family wagon
after one of the best bulls of all time.
The urus is an extinct species of wild cattle.
And let me tell you guys,
these boys were buff.
How cows today are pretty big.
Well the urus was nearly twice the size clocking
in at over 3000 pounds and they were
also fast and aggressive.
Earning a place as one of the most legendary beasts
to ever roam Europe or Asia and I've been to Europe.
I think it's a fitting name for Lamborghini's,
huge chiseled SUV.
And if you want to learn more
about other fast SUVs,
make sure you're subscribed because next week,
I'm gonna be talking about all the fastest SUVs ever made.
- [Commentator] TVR Vixen.
- TVR or Trev car,
that's honestly what they're named after a guy named Trevor.
It's a British company known
for their little ridiculous limited run sports cars.
These guys are literal mad scientists when
it comes to making cars.
Their formula is pretty simple,
lightweight body, big honking engine bonkers name.
From the cerbera to the the chimera TVR
is pretty obsessed with deadly mythical creatures
but many moons ago in the 1960s,
before they were naming cars
after fire breathing lion goat TVR made
a quaint little car called the Vixen.
A vixen is a female fox the more you know,
American car companies at the time were focused
on massive luxury land yachts but across the pond,
in England town TVR was doing the exact opposite.
This quick little lady fox had
a minuscule fiberglass body mounted on a tube frame chassis,
it only put out around 100 horsepower, sure,
but just like a fox,
it's not about sheer power.
It's about being nimble,
and nimble it was.
Tipping the scales at 1,624 pounds
that's less than an empty tiny dumpster.
The coolest part was that TVR sent you
the car completely disassembled.
(sound beeps)
That's not the coolest part, that sucks.
(slight giggling)
Oh yeah, I'll just do all the work.
It's like the car IKEA.
You wanna get in a fight with your significant other,
try and put a TVR vixen together.
Thanks, Trevor.
- [Commentator] Volkswagen Tiguan.
- Capping off this list is a car that
really hits close to home for me,
partially because it's my daily driver
and it's literally parked right in front
of my home right now.
I can... (sound clicks)
but also, because it has the best name out
of any car on this list,
and also of all time.
And out of all the cars I've owned,
it's honestly the best daily I've ever had.
It's just a big old fat golf and I love it so much.
When VW debuted this crossover in 2007,
they held a contest to let the public vote
on what it should be called,
which is risky, just as David Attenborough
and Boaty McBoatface.
Other names on the Tiguan ballot included Namib,
Rockton, Liger, Salmon, and then Nanuk.
With the public ultimately decided on Tiguan
and I'm damn glad they did
'cause I don't wanna drive around in a car called Rockton.
Sounds like lacrosse player.
Tiguan means tiger iguana!
Super fitting for a vehicle that blends reptilian resilience
with tiger-like agility.
And just like it's (machine voiceover)
name, the Tiguan is (machine voiceover)
of everything good VW has offered.
200 horsepower turbo two-liter check,
six speed manual check,
corny 2,200 pound tow capacity check.
I can pull my golf with my Tiguan.
I love daily job with my little lizard cat
got some KWV3s on there got some
20 inch rotor forms,
some Toyos and APR stage one plus tune.
(sound beep) Some cherry.
- I've not seen these yet so no--
- [Narrator] Boost creeps, hoodie who's that handsome boy
man what a good looking hoodie.
We reworked the logo a little bit now
it's in yellow it really pop skins that black.
We added an arm head so you can fly
that doughnut flag.
I'm gonna rock mine all fall, all winter,
go to donutmedia.com and get you
one they're probably going to sell out,
so I would get it sooner than later.
If you wanna learn more about TVR check out
this episode of up to speed.
If you wanna know more about really, really dumb car names
like Scrum wagon, check out this episode wheelhouse.
Thank you for liking and subscribing.
Either subscribe to the channel
or I will pee in your gas tank.
I love you!