If your age and memory goes back far enough you might be able to recall all of the times that Audi switched the name of their mid-sizer between 100 and 5000 before finally settling on A6. Every time they introduced a new iteration of the car line they tried to wash away the stigma of the last one, which was usually the result of quality issues, or at one time at least an unfortunate episode of 60 Minutes.

There’s always an impression that gets immutably glued to a product’s name like a tramp stamp on a sorority girl, never to be shaken. In the case of cars, one bit of bad press – real or phony – can dun a name for all eternity. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the name Pinto? Ka-boom, right? Deserved? No, Ingrained in the social consciousness? You betcha. Some cars just need a name change because their current one is so dang awful. Or worse, boring.   

Car names carry a lot of baggage, and today I want you to recommend those that need to unburden. Are there any cars that in your mind – for one reason or another – really should have a name change? You know, for the children.

Image source: ComicVine