Alfa reveals voters' choice for new MiTo badge
Alfa Romeo has mounted a concerted campaign to get the public involved in shaping the brand image of its new Mi.To hatchback. One of the earliest steps was to hold an online contest to determine the vehicle's name, but ultimately rejected the winning proposal "Furiosa" in favor of the quirky MiTo nameplate. Since then the Italian automaker took a page out of our favorite playbook by launching the MiTo blog, and most recently held another contest to select the car's badge.
Out of all the proposals, this is the one that won out. The dynamic script that was our first choice came in second, followed by five more proposals that scored farther down the chart. Although we think it was a mistake to ditch the more evocative Furiosa name in the first place, we wonder what people were smoking when they picked this badge. Where's the rest of it? If you think otherwise, voice your opinion in our comments section below.
Gallery: Alfa Romeo Mi.To
[Source: Alfa Romeo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
epilonious 1:37PM (4/09/2008)
I like Me.To, but Furiosa would have lead to lots of Hermione quoting:
"It's not... FurioSAHHH, it's furiOOOOHsah!"
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Craig 1:42PM (4/09/2008)
I hate the name, but the text looks cool. Cars like this and the Mitsubishi i are unfortunately named as they ultimately look confusing in written articles. I don't think it makes much sense from a marketing standpoint - you would want people to be able to read articles about your product without getting confused or having to "decode" it. Sure it looks different and people may remember it, but most likely they'll remember it for the wrong reasons (hating it).
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CarbonBlack 1:45PM (4/09/2008)
I agree, I don't particularly care for the name "mi.to".
It kind of makes the car seem childish (mi.to, sounds like the name of some stupid pokemon character)
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geo.stewart 1:45PM (4/09/2008)
I wouldnt care if it was #7, I still want one in the US. best looking B-segment EVER/
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LDMAN 3:30PM (4/09/2008)
Wait until you see it in the flesh. You might be slightly disappointed. It is tiny and really based on a Grande Punto platform, designed for Europe. I would wait for the bigger Alfas.
Travis 3:49PM (4/09/2008)
^^^^ Ummm, some of us want a small car, and don't have the need to fit a family of 5 + a weeks worth of luggage every time we leave the house. I'd love an alternative to the Mini, and that goes doubly so for an even smaller/lighter car (like the Abarth 500 SS). My current "compact" is a Scion tC, and about 95% of the time it's just me driving, and the other 5% is me and my wife. I'm looking to downsize, and aside from the Mini, there's really nothing in the "small, fun-to-drive, good-power-to-weight-ratio" category.
Craig 4:07PM (4/09/2008)
I agree - front on it looks to have a lot of features expanses of bumper. The Alfa grille looks good in most cases, but this time around I think it's too tall to work right. Probably has some to do with the pedestrian laws as well (placing grille openings higher might inflect damage).
quandmeme 1:50PM (4/09/2008)
I want this car so I've let the name grow on me. I'm predicting that the logo will just be something to grin an bear. On the other hand, Europe had its contests, maybe cooler heads will prevail here.
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Fatman 1:59PM (4/09/2008)
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are or if parts of the lettres are mssiing.
Well, it is interesting, but not my first choice either.
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Craig 4:05PM (4/09/2008)
It's less to do with letters in these cases, than making it look like confusing grammar.
In the Mitsubishi i, it makes it look like someone is talking in the first person yet awkwardly. EX: "The Mitsubishi i has some great features."
In the Mi.To, it makes it look like on sentence is broken into two. EX: "Don't think of it as Mi.To, think of it as Me Too." Hopefully most will spell it MiTo. Still sounds childish to say though.
Flea 2:03PM (4/09/2008)
I'm really at a loss about the taste of my other co-nationals.
How can they like that sort of badge? It looks like it had some pieces chipped off, and has NOTHING to do with the traditional Alfa font, which is a lot more elegant. the 2nd and 3rd most voted logos are a MILLION times better than this thing which would better suit a japanese electronic gadget...
Hopefully the car's other qualities will help us forget it's tormented name and badge.
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Tucker 2:17PM (4/09/2008)
Don't think of it as Mi.To, think of it as Me Too... as in "BMW's making lots of money, Me Too!"
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RobZ4 2:31PM (4/09/2008)
Good one..Lol !!!
Alex 2:22PM (4/09/2008)
I'm with the others who are anxiously awaiting this car. I have come to grips with the name and have worked on my pronounciation so it doesn't sound like "me too". They could call this car drIver-sux and i would still want it. Hell, i'll just take the badge off if its that bad.
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geo.stewart 2:37PM (4/09/2008)
just think of it as "Mi too, I've lost my too and now I cant speak well."
Michael 3:00PM (4/09/2008)
I don't really think it is "me too." They named it after Milano and Torino, which suggests to me that it should be pronounced "Me-Toe." Which sounds better as well. Just my thought.
geo.stewart 3:21PM (4/09/2008)
I think you are right. I vaguely recall seeing that somewhere early (pronunciation, not origin). Mito means Myth.
links to Milan (co. origin)and Turin (car assembly), not Milano cookies and Ford Torino ;-)
Michael 3:35PM (4/09/2008)
Except that in Italian "Milan" is Milano and "Turin" is Torino. I don't think the Italian company was speaking English when they came up with the name.
RamiroBA 9:28PM (4/09/2008)
Michael, Turín and Milán are the spanish words for Torino and Milano, wich are the same in english and italian
Car Designer 2:47PM (4/09/2008)
as far as a badge goes, I love it. Great use a gestalt, very modern, and for those not familiar with gestalt, it means that even if part of something is missing visually, your mind will still complete it, for example the 'o' is still seen as a full circle even though a large chunk is missing...the name? ehh.
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