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.
[Source: Alfa Romeo]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
epilonious @ Apr 9th 2008 1:37PM
I like Me.To, but Furiosa would have lead to lots of Hermione quoting:
"It's not... FurioSAHHH, it's furiOOOOHsah!"
Craig @ Apr 9th 2008 1:42PM
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).
CarbonBlack @ Apr 9th 2008 1:45PM
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)
geo.stewart @ Apr 9th 2008 1:45PM
I wouldnt care if it was #7, I still want one in the US. best looking B-segment EVER/
LDMAN @ Apr 9th 2008 3:30PM
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 @ Apr 9th 2008 3:49PM
^^^^ 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 @ Apr 9th 2008 4:07PM
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 @ Apr 9th 2008 1:50PM
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.
Fatman @ Apr 9th 2008 1:59PM
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.
Craig @ Apr 9th 2008 4:05PM
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 @ Apr 9th 2008 2:03PM
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.
Tucker @ Apr 9th 2008 2:17PM
Don't think of it as Mi.To, think of it as Me Too... as in "BMW's making lots of money, Me Too!"
RobZ4 @ Apr 9th 2008 2:31PM
Good one..Lol !!!
Alex @ Apr 9th 2008 2:22PM
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.
geo.stewart @ Apr 9th 2008 2:37PM
just think of it as "Mi too, I've lost my too and now I cant speak well."
Michael @ Apr 9th 2008 3:00PM
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 @ Apr 9th 2008 3:21PM
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 @ Apr 9th 2008 3:35PM
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 @ Apr 9th 2008 9:28PM
Michael, Turín and Milán are the spanish words for Torino and Milano, wich are the same in english and italian
Throwback @ Apr 9th 2008 2:31PM
Alex I will just say it is an Alfa, and leave it at that.