Amusing: Renault pressured to change name of Zoe EV by woman named Zoe Renault

Any marketing person will tell you that coming up with the right name is one of the most difficult aspects of launching a new product. Big companies will spend millions of dollars researching names to make sure that they aren't already trademarked or have strange or offensive meanings in other countries.

Renault, however, has a slightly different problem with the name of one its upcoming electric vehicles. The Zoe Z.E. is a compact, urban commuter due to be launched in 2012. Renault is not an uncommon name in France, wit its namesake, Louis Renault having begun building cars in the late 19th century. Unfortunately for a certain Parisian woman, having both her first and last names associated with a new car is apparently just too much. Thus, according to Autocar, Zoe Renault is threatening to sue Automaker Renault unless it changes the name of its forthcoming EV.

While we can certainly sympathize with Ms. Renault, her complaint here seems to be a bit of a stretch. The automaker apparently chose the name Zoe because it means "life" in Greek. Unless automakers start using nothing but made up or alphanumeric names, there is bound to be someone, somewhere that will have an issue with just about every name. It's time to get over it.

[Source: Autocar]