From “Clown Shoe” to “Screaming Chicken,” these names are sometimes more often identified with the model than their official designation
Despite all the money and effort automakers put into naming their models, the public sometimes comes up with their own titles for the world’s more popular vehicles—and then sometimes, the car can be even better known by its nickname than by its official one.
We’ve rounded up a dozen cool nicknames for cars and trucks that stuck as good or better than what their manufacturers dubbed them, from those you’ll immediately recognize to some little rarer on the auto scene. How many of these twelve names do you know?
“Bug” – Volkswagen Beetle
Under British control of the plant after the end of the Second World War, series production began in 1945, and the little machine was renamed the “People’s Car”—in German, Volks Wagen. The model was officially known as the Type 1, but enough people dubbed it a “Beetle” that Volkswagen adopted that name for it in 1968 (translating it to Käfer in its native language). “Bug” was never official, though, and it’s actually one of several nicknames for the car globally—in some countries it’s affectionately known as a turtle or a frog.
“Tin Snail” – Citroën 2CV
If you’ve ever driven a 2CV, especially up any kind of a hill, you know how it earned its nickname. Like the Beetle, it was a small, affordable vehicle for the masses; and as with the Beetle, it was designed prior to the war, but had to wait until after it to get going, entering production in 1949. The name meant Deux Chevaux, for “two horsepower.” It actually made more than that – a whopping nine horsepower, which went to the front wheels – but the name referred to its taxable power for government regulations. Peak output would eventually be realized via a 29-horsepower engine decades later.
The story goes that the car was basically designed as “four wheels under an umbrella.” The seats could be removed for carrying cargo, and swapped back to front to even out the wear; and the wallowy-soft suspension was interconnected so that a bump to a front wheel got the rear one ready for it, too. But it was immensely popular and, amazingly, stayed in production until 1990.
“Tin Lizzie” – Ford Model T
But it didn’t. It stuck around until 1927, and its production record of 15 million stood until the Beetle broke it in 1972. Ford did all he could to reduce the price, including forgoing annual model-year changes; and making the cars black-only starting in 1914. By 1924, you could get one as low as $260 when a Chevrolet was $490. The Model T had a few nicknames, including “Henry’s Lady” and “Flivver,” but “Tin Lizzie” seemed to be the most popular.
“The Goat” – Pontiac GTO
DeLorean did what all good executives do: He found a loophole. He bundled the engine with hood scoops and bucket seats, called it the “GTO” package, and buried it deep in the options list. He let several dealers drive it and told them how to order it. GM’s brass was furious until DeLorean showed them all the orders. Five thousand were initially authorized, but the final count came to 32,450 that first year, and could have been higher if factory capacity hadn’t limited it. The “Goat” nickname wasn’t in reference to it being the “Greatest of all Time” – that sense of “GOAT” was still in the future – but was in fact wordplay on the car’s badge.
“Clown Shoe” – BMW Z3 M Coupe
The Z3’s top-model M Roadster arrived for 1997 with the 3.2L inline-six from the M3 sedan under its hood for 321 horsepower; a new 3.2L later upped it to 325 horses. The M Coupe, designed by Chris Bangle, debuted late in 1998 to decidedly mixed reactions. The story goes that BMW’s board wasn’t pleased with the coupe, but its performance was good enough – 5.4 seconds to get to 100 km/h, pretty quick at the time – for it to go to market. Alas, it was pricey and definitely not pretty. Only 6,291 were built from 1998 to 2002, and with just 1,112 fitted with the stronger engine.
“Godzilla” – Nissan GT-R
“Deuce” – 1932 Ford
After discontinuing the Model T in 1927, Ford followed up with the stylish 1928 Model A. Like the T, it carried a four-cylinder engine, albeit a new one making 40 horsepower, twice that of the Model T. The A got a face-lift for 1930, and then further tweaks when the next-gen model was launched for 1932. But the major switch-up for the “Deuce,” coined for the -2 in its ’32 model year, was Ford’s first-ever V8 under its hood. Developed in secret in less than a year, it displaced 221 cubic inches (3.6L) and made 65 horsepower.
Used cars were cheap and plentiful, and hot-rodding got its start when enthusiasts stripped them down and dropped in more-powerful engines, such as that Ford V8. The Deuce lent itself to a wide range of customization and engines, and eventually became the quintessential hot rod.
“Saabaru” – Saab 9-2X
“The Widowmaker” – Porsche 911 930
What it also got was more than its fair share of oversteer. The large turbocharger had a lot of lag, but everything kicked in hot-and-fierce when it caught up. If it was into a turn, drivers tended to lift up on the throttle, which could result in the rear-end-heavy, short-wheelbase car going into an uncontrolled spin. Some also blamed the rear suspension, which reacted to throttle lift by changing the rear tire camber. It took considerable skill to properly handle the car, which much of the Porsche-buying public didn’t have; and hence the “Widowmaker” moniker.
“Screaming Chicken” – Pontiac Trans Am
General Motors got into “pony cars” in 1967 when it introduced the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. The higher-performance Firebird Trans Am came from the same group of execs, including John DeLorean, that created the GTO. It used a 400-cubic-inch (6.6L) V8 making 345 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque, and came as a coupe or convertible. Only about 700 were made in 1969, its first year; and sales stayed sluggish, not topping 10,000 units until 1974. But sales jumped to almost 68,800 in 1977, and then to 117,000-plus by 1979. That’s mostly because Burt Reynolds drove one in the immensely-popular 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit, playing a bootlegger trying to outrun the law.
The Screaming Chicken referred not to the car but its hood decal, introduced for 1973. The $57 option was penned by John Schinella, head of Pontiac’s design studio, and was initially controversial at head office until customers overwhelmingly checked it on the order sheet. It’s apparently supposed to be a mythical rising phoenix, but “Screaming Chicken” it was dubbed – no one’s sure who came up with it – and Screaming Chicken it stayed.
“Sharknose” – Graham Spirit of Motion
As it did all automakers, the Depression hit Graham hard through the 1930s. It was thought a redesign would help, and thus was born the “Spirit of Motion” styling in 1938, better known to all as the “Sharknose” for its front end. Far too radical and pricey, the car lasted only three model years. Graham got out of cars after 1941, but entered into some surprisingly diverse business deals. It bought Madison Square Gardens in 1960; and although that was later sold, wisps of Graham may still exist through its various entertainment-business mergers in the 1990s.
“Sharknose” (again) – Ferrari Dino F1 156
The Sharknose took home first-place trophies in five of eight Grand Prix races that year, with Phil Hill taking the top spot in that year’s driver standings for Ferrari. Fellow Ferrari driver Wolfgang von Trips finished one point below Hill—although he earned the spot posthumously, racing alongside Hill in Monza when a crash took his life and those of fourteen spectators. An updated 156 for the 1963 and 1964 seasons no longer had that front end. While almost all World Cup-winning cars have been kept, Enzo Ferrari had all of the Sharknose cars scrapped, possibly due to von Trips’ death.
“Ramo Lambo” – Lamborghini LM002
