Last week, the encyclopedia entry for Seafaring Car Names sailed into uncharted territory, with regular commenters Jeepster and Manic_King expounding on the many cars named after winds. Well, the chest of automotive trivia booty they blew our way may not have been strictly applicable to the category at hand, but the list was impressive. Furthermore, that sort of “talk amongst yourselves” moment is exactly what makes this series so rewarding, and is something to be encouraged. Therefore, in response, this week we will explore their serendipitous discussion further, while expanding the category beyond wind names to all sorts of meteorological phenomena. If it’s something naturally occurring in the atmosphere, feel free to toss that sucker in the ring. (Assuming, of course, that you can provide evidence that a vehicle has been thus named. I am not the trivia god some of you are, but I strongly doubt that anybody has yet marketed the Thundersnow, Sun Dog, Lunar Halo or Convection Fog, despite all being potentially totally awesome car names. …Wait, no — not that last one.)
The Caveats (there are always caveats):
- Unofficial and internal nicknames don’t count, even if they’re well known. The name must be officially given by the manufacturer (which could include a coachbuilder, famous customizer or or other recognized marketing entity). A good yardstick is that it should physically appear on the car, or at least appear in a press release or sales brochure.
- Sub-brands and trim line names count.
- Concept vehicles, kit cars, and race cars are allowable, as long as it is something legit enough to have a genuine name. Your crazy Uncle Charlie’s band bus doesn’t count, even if he did spraypaint “Hellwind” down the side.
- Motorcycles and trucks are also permitted, but no aircraft. Really, no aircraft; I’m not just saying that because it’s a running joke — this week in particular, a list including aircraft names would swallow our souls.
Difficulty: The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
How This Works: Read the comments first and don’t post duplicates! Bonus points for adding photos. Remember, you can simply paste in the raw image URL now, thanks to the magic of Disqus.
Image Sources: oldcarbrochures.org and the random download car images folder on my Mac.
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