Which cities offer good names for new cars?

Help us get rid of the alphanumeric mumbo jumbo and suggest new car names that automakers could use

What do Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Volkswagen have in common? Not much, but all four of them had the city’s name on one of their cars.

It’s one of the few common themes among automakers, and Hyundai Motor Group is one of the most prolific. As you probably know, Hyundai offers the Tucson, Santa Cruz, and Santa Fe, while Kia customers can buy the Telluride.

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Chevrolet offers the Malibu and Monte Carlo, while Alfa Romeo Montreal proudly serves Canada. Volkswagen has the Taos, and Toyota has the Tacoma.

We could go on, but it’s clear that city names and car names are interchangeable and sometimes quite appropriate. It’s also a refreshing change from the alphanumeric nonsense some automakers embrace.

Which brings us to today’s question, which city or town names are also good choices for a new car? The Census Bureau notes that there are approximately 19,500 registered places in the United States alone, so there’s no shortage of options.

However, as you may have noticed from the names mentioned above, many car manufacturers use monikers from the American West. This isn’t surprising given how often these names are used for trucks and SUVs.

While some city names don’t quite fit, Mesa seems like a good candidate. It’s easy to imagine a Bentley Brookside because there’s already a Brooklands.

With that said, it’s time to dust off those thinking caps and name some names, so hopefully the automakers don’t leave us with another disaster like the bZ4X.