Report: Kia may lose names, use numbers for future models

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:01:00 EST

Would a Kia Forte by any other name smell as sweet, if the name were K3 and those judging the smell were American buyers? That's the question Kia executive are mulling as they decide whether to switch to alphanumeric model designations in the U.S. Some of the company's cars that go by names in other markets wear letter-number identifiers in South Korea, such as the Optima, known in South Korea as the K5. Others, such as the Soul and Sportage, retain their proper names in South Korea.

According to Automotive News, Kia's vice chairman, Chung Eui-sun, believes that alphanumeric names can strengthen a brand as long as buyers don't get confused, but he also notes that Americans may prefer proper names. Kia would probably do well to study Acura's long road from "Legend" and "Integra" to its current system, and Infiniti's period of trial-and-error with its alphanumeric concoctions.

From where we sit, we think that Kia should think long and hard about the equity continuing to build in solid offerings like its Soul and new Sorento, and if they're going to go alphanumeric, they ought to do it sooner rather than later to avoid adding to the confusion. If it were us, we'd leave well enough alone - the automotive landscape is rapidly devolving into an alphanumeric soup and we're not in favor of another automaker reaching into the Scrabble tilebag. How about you? Have your say in 'Comments.'

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd.]

Report: Kia may lose names, use numbers for future models originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shareholders call for DaimlerChrysler to be renamed Daimler-Benz AG

John Neff — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:02:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Chrysler, Daimler

In an article that sums up nicely the current situtation surrounding the potential sale of Chrysler, the Detroit Free Press reveals that two DaimlerChrysler shareholders have called for the company to change its name by dropping "Chrysler" if the Chrysler Group isn't sold by March 31st, 2008. Shareholders Ekkehard Wenger and Leonhard Knoll have crafted a name change proposal that would insert the potential name change into the company's articles of incorporation at its next annual meeting on April 4th. Wenger and Knoll didn't hold back any punches in the proposal when speaking about the Chrysler Group and the perceived failure of this merger of equals:

"Maintaining a corporate name that evokes associations with the failure of the business combination with Chrysler is detrimental to the image of the corporation and its products."
"This is all the more true as unflattering nicknames such as Doting Daimler, Daimler-Crisis or even Crime-ler have long been in circulation."
"The disadvantages this entails for shareholders, customers and employees can only be borne at most for a short transition period until there is a proper separation from Chrysler. If a proper separation cannot be effected within one year, this would only serve to underscore the need to remove this affliction on the image from the corporation's name."

What does it say about the state of solidarity within your company when you have one half being referred to as an "affliction"? Not much. And while we don't read business trade journals in German over breakfast, we've never heard DCX referred to as "Daimler-Crisis" or any of the other nicknames mentioned in the proposal. Of course, now that we have, we'll have to start using them.

The Freep article closes by noting that DCX supervisory and management boards are totally opposed to the namge change, so don't expect them to be ordering new business cards anytime soon.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Shareholders call for DaimlerChrysler to be renamed Daimler-Benz AG originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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