STUDY OF NAMES.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19812, 27 December 1929, Page 5

STUDY OF NAMES.

CAR PIONEERS

SOME STRANGE ORIGINS

Gar nomenclature affords an interesting study and the vicissitudes o£ ihe motor industrv have been so remarKab e that on any parking rank it U possible to find some unfamiliar « . •vnieh fives no hint of the origi the ear! The idea that a_ go* a mime endures for ever is not applicauie inc motor. Ev.ry day one comes across ears of questionable performance, w hic ° are habitually called by many not found on the radiator. The strange thing is that names which were identified with the pioneering of motoring are not found to-day on the cars w ic are in the popular-price classes, witn the possible exception of Austin. Daimler, Lanchester, and Panhard are names noteworthy to-day for the txc u siveness rather than for their numerical representation. Xsither British, Continental nor American manufacturers seem to have any set policy m the choice of car names. One finds the same organisations producing cars bearing the names of individuals, offset uf other models, with names of historical or geographical significance. Rolls-Koyee was not in the picture from the first. In 190-1 Royce, _ of Manchester, produced a car which C. S. Eolls, of London, distributed, and the names were combined by an amalgamation of interests in 1906. The name Daimler was, of course, derived from that of Gotleib Daimler, who patented his internal combustion engine in 1885. F. W. Lanchester produced the first car bearing his name in 1896. Wolseley, Austin, and Morris are names with interesting origins. To-day the Wolseley organisation is the property of Sir William Morris, but the first Wolseley car was actually produced by Sir Herbert Austin in 1896, at the Birmingham works of the Wolseley Sheep-Shearing Machine Company. Herbert Austin had spent 10 years in Australia, and it was there he developed the association with the Wolseley shearing machine. In 1905 Sir Herbert founded his own company. Hence the Austin. Sir William Morris was building motor-cycles in 1902, and in 1912 he produced his first car. Oxford and Cowley obviously denote factory sites. We once had the Morris-London, and there is the Morris Leon Bollee, but a new departure is the Isis, a name given to the upper reaches of the Thames around Oxford, the location of one of the Morris plants.

Car Name from Bicycle. The Sunbeam first built in 1899 derived its name from a bicycle already on the market. The name was apparently just a happy inspiration, the factory being John Marston, Ltd. The democratic push-cycle has been responsible for many of the car names to-day. Thomas Humber first started with a cycle. Swift, Rover, and Star were bicycle names, the first Swift car being produced in 1900, the name, like that of the Rover, being chosen simply to suggest pleasures a-wheel. The Triumph was named from a cycle, and Singer was the name of a mayor of Coventry, who founded a factory. The names of R. H. Lea and G. T. Francis were combined in the name of a bicycle, and the name is retained in the familiar car. Clement Talbot, William Hillman, Benjamin Towett, Captain Bentlev, William Beardmore, William Rilev, Sir George Bean, and the Crossley Brothers have all given their family names to cars. A.C. signifies anto-carrier, a three-wheeled machine, which formed the first effort of the company. Clyno goes back to a small workshop, which I turned ont an adjustable pulley for beltj driven motor-cycles. The name seems ! to be derived from the patent specification, which described the pulley as actuated by "two inclined planes." A Roman standard emblem supports the name chosen when the Standard Motor Company was founded over a quarter of a century ago. The Trojan got its name from the description "works like a Trojan," applied after observations of a test car built in 1912. The Vauxhall Iron Works took its name from that district of London, and the first 5 h.p. car was turned out in 1903. Two years later the works transferred to Luton, but the car name was retained. . The personal name is popular in Germany. Herr Jellinek developed Daimler's car, and named it after his daughter Mercedes. The Benz took its name from Carl Benz, who built his first car in 1885, and there followed a RenzDaimler combine, and to-day we have the Mercedes-Benz. Horch and Opel are surnames. The outstanding Italian name is Fiat, but the Chiribiri, a car of which there are two or three examples in Auckland, leaves one guessing. Excelsior and Imperia are selfexplanatory Belgian names, and Minerva explains itself with a figure of the goddess. Citroen, Bugatti, Peugeot. Renault, Voisin, and the Comte De Dion have supplied the names of these wellknown French cars.

Historic Names. Some American names have an historic savour. Cadillac, La Salle, and Marquette were Frenchmen who were identified with pioneering in North America. Pontiac and Oakland are both place names, the former town being named after a famous Indian chief. Louis Chevrolet, a famous racing driver, was associated with the company bearing his name when it was organised in 1912. David Buick, designer of tbe wellknown car, became dissociated from the motor industry, and died in penury a few months ago. ft. E. Olds founded a factory for gas engines, which commenced turning out the Oldsmobile car jn 1897. Olds withdrew from this company, and produced the Reo, a name derived from his initials. Five Studebaker brothers laid the foundation of the present corporation, but only one witnessed the transformation of the original waggon and carriage factory. Both Packard brothers are dead, and neither Horace nor John Dodge are living. The three Graham brothers commenced making motor-trucks ten years ago, and in 1927 they acquired Paige interests, resulting in the present Gra-ham-Paige car. William C. Durant founded General Motors, and withdrew to build up the organisation at present bearing his name. John N. Willys acquired the rights of the sleeve-valve invention of Charles Knight, and thus evolved the car embodying both names. The Whippet was well named after the speedy dog. Walter P. Chrysler was general manager of Willys-Overland m 1920, and he left the post to reoiganije the tottering Maxwell Chalmers concern. He did not give his own name to the car until 1924. Hupp has not been associated with the company bearing his name for nearly 20 years, but Nash, Cord, and Erskine are prominent figures. The only reason for the choice of "Essex" is given as follows: "It is short, easily remembered, and

has a particular appeal in the export world, where a large proportion of buyers are Ecglish-speakir.g communities. "' Some imposing names are enjoyed by American ears, whie.h have long been off the market. Some of these "orphans" Tvere Great Western. Fire-tone, Oolombus. Hercules. Marathon, Pathfinder. and Regal.