POLL: Name that Volkswagen

Unbeknownst to us a contest has been going on in Germany to name Volkswagen's new small SUV that's slated to be sold under the Touareg when it goes on sale in Europe next year and eventually in the U.S. VW was apparently displeased with names proposed for the vehicle by its own marketing department and executives were tongue-tied, as well. So they opened it up to the people and asked readers of Autobild, Germany's biggest automotive weekly, to vote for their favorite among five names chosen by the company as candidates. One of the readers who chooses the winning name for the SUV will get one free when it goes on sale.
We thought Volkswagen might appreciate the opinion of Autoblog's readership, so we put the question to you: Which name will best suit VW's upcoming small SUV? The candidate names and their definitions follow.
Nanuk: Eskimo for small polar bear.
Namib: a desert in Namibia.
Rockton: a play on the word "rock" and its strength.
Tiguan: a combination of the words "tiger" and "iguana."
Samun: a hot desert wind that blows in North Africa and some Arabian countries.
[Source: AutoWeek]












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
joe public 11:02AM (6/28/2006)
take a cue from GM, it should be the vw rendezvous
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epilonious 11:06AM (6/28/2006)
The Volkswagon Wii.
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Jason 11:08AM (6/28/2006)
How about "GolfTruck"? It even sounds faintly German.
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Cap'n 11:10AM (6/28/2006)
How about A3 since it looks like a copy of that.
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Vinny 11:11AM (6/28/2006)
How about the "Yasuv" as in, "Yet Another SUV".
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David F 11:14AM (6/28/2006)
The VW Failure.
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Bill 11:16AM (6/28/2006)
New Thing
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Mike G 11:18AM (6/28/2006)
I thought it was supposed to be called the VW Marrakesh. Better than all those goofy names they're choosing from.
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matt 11:23AM (6/28/2006)
i think all those names are pretty lackluster. how about the VW Fillibuster? it may not be a pretty name, but it will definitely be unique...
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Paul 11:24AM (6/28/2006)
how about the "VW Fairly ugly cross over, but you will buy it anyway because you are overly brand loyal"
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Justin 11:28AM (6/28/2006)
Does the Tiguan have magical powers like the Liger?
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Bert 11:29AM (6/28/2006)
How about the
HAVWTAPDAHNIWICTDACFANS
for: Here at Volkswagen we take after Porsche designers and have no imagination when it comes to designing a car for a new segment?
It certainly is long enough and has enough vowels to make it sound German.
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len simpson 11:30AM (6/28/2006)
VOLKSVAN !
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Source1 11:31AM (6/28/2006)
The VW 'XYZ' because there is just no where left to go with an SUV.
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gbh 11:31AM (6/28/2006)
Ugh.
95% cannot even pronounce 'Touareg' correctly in the States. Even better, they know not of the rather nasty desert dwellers for whom the vehicle is named.
How about this. Which one is going to be easier for the average semi-literate to say? Pick that one. Please.
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Zinky 11:31AM (6/28/2006)
None of the above.
How about a pet name many owners give their VWs. POS.
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Richard 11:31AM (6/28/2006)
Volkswagen Sahel
(another word for Sahara)
Or name it after any desert...
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Michael Karesh 11:37AM (6/28/2006)
Samun's probably the best of a bad lot.
What would the combination of a tiger and an iguana be?
Now we know why so many German companies have always used alphanumeric: Germans are incapable of coming up with decent real names for cars.
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Mike 11:38AM (6/28/2006)
How about the VW Fore - follows on from the Golf, but is kind of painful.
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MCS05 11:44AM (6/28/2006)
Scheisse-Auto
der Arschkriecher
die Kacke
I am sure there are others.
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