Dude, where’s my car – Long, Epic, Ongoing

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I have oreos and a bottle of finest vodka. Who wants some? Got the booze off a mate down the pub.

*squints*

Wait....

Finest Vudka?

Uh oh...

I see your Finest Vudka and raise you a fifth of Canadian Mist and a fifth of Ancient Age AND a fifth of Cuervo tequila.

[aulocksmith]

I can help out! I'll need a shovel, pliers, a length of rubber tubing, three 2L bottles of Coca-Cola, a nail file, a rubber duckie, and some toast.

And no questions.

Only one question. You're not going to make the poor little rubber duckie watch, are you?

[Jay 2K Winger]

Only one question. You're not going to make the poor little rubber duckie watch, are you?

I SAID NO QUESTIONS.

[Thud-n-Blunder]

"Tough guy, eh? Then how about... A YOKO ONO CD!?!?!?!??"

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

"Tough guy, eh? Then how about... A YOKO ONO CD!?!?!?!??"

An entire CD will not be required. Just this.

[ADeMartino]

An entire CD will not be required. Just this.

Oh, NOOOOOoooooooooo!

[Jester]

Interrogation tools? Please.

Jester Stare for most.
Joe Bastianich Stare for the tough guys.
Tywin Lanister Stare for the toughest guys.

(I aspire to get my Stare anywhere near the level of the other two....because they are both deadly in that department.)

I see your Finest Vudka and raise you a fifth of Canadian Mist and a fifth of Ancient Age AND a fifth of Cuervo tequila.

Canadian Mist is garbage. I've never heard of Ancient Age. And both are undoubtedly far, far better than Cuervo!

[wolfie]

Canadian Mist is garbage.

Fun fact: One of the classic examples cited in "always be sure of the meaning of your product's name in a foreign language before selling it where that language is spoken" is the "Mist Stick" (a hair curling iron). Didn't go over very well in Germany, with the reason given (can't verify - I don't speak German) is that "Mist" is German for "shit".

Am I correct in assuming that you believe Canadian Mist meets truth in labeling regulations when sold in Germany?

[sms001]

Scheisse/Scheiße is what my Opa says means 'shit' in German...but you never know!

Well, we have an expert here now, but I'm not gonna ask him to work on his off time....

[wolfie]

Scheisse/Scheiße is what my Opa says means 'shit' in German...but you never know!

Did a quick lookup - apparently "mist" translates as "manure", not "shit". Still, it's a term for excrement. My lookup found this other gem that I hadn't known about:

The German word “Miststück” (pronounced similarly to Mist Stick) is how you might call a woman a bitch or slut.

[Words4theWorld]

Well, we have an expert here now, but I'm not gonna ask him to work on his off time....

German translator to the rescue! I heard your cry for help!
And just a small disclosure: "ask her to work on her off time"

Did a quick lookup - apparently "mist" translates as "manure", not "shit".

Actually all of you are right. "Mist" in it's original sense means "manure" and it's still used in this context. However, "Mist" is also used in the meaning of "shit" when cursing, for example if you're cursing in front of the kids and don't want to use the big bad s-word (which would be "Scheiße" in German, so yes, we have our bad s-word too ).
I first came across Canadian Mist and Irish Mist as one of the well-cited negative-examples for the concept to run target group tests for new product names that wolfie mentioned. Another one usually is the Mitsubishi Pajero (don't know if that was/is sold in the States), as "pajero" is the Spanish swear-word for "a man who is pleasuring himself".

[prjkt]

Seriously? Pajero means "wanker?"



Such an accurate term for half the city drivers that drive these with no clue about the road rules

[eltf177]

Small update (that is hopefully the harbinger of doom for Mr Wheresmycar...

My claims manager sent him an email on Friday with some VERY general outlines of what we will be asking. This interview is going on as I type.

Any update as to how things went? I'm guessing not very well on the part of Mr. Wheresmycar!

[ADeMartino]

General Motors had a difficult time back in the 1970s selling the Chevy Nova in Mexico. They couldn't figure out why until someone pointed out that Nova (No Va) was Spanish for 'No Go'.

How true is that story? I don't know - I read it in an issue of one of those motorhead magazines (HOT ROD, CAR CRAFT, etc) many, many years ago.

Another story of poorly-translated marketing hails from China, where the old Coca Cola advertising slogan, "Coke Adds Life", translated badly into a particular dialect as 'Coke brings back your dead ancestors", or something to that effect.

No idea how true THAT one is, either. Forget where I heard it.

Another example of poor naming, again from General Motors. GM had developed their first electric car, named the EV-1, and was test-marketing it. It was pricey and limited, and eventually all the leased cars (none were actually SOLD) were recalled and scrapped, but had the project been successful and the car brought to general market, the name GM was planning for the car was the IMPACT.

Some manufacturers don't realize how creative people are with the pronunciation of things. I've seen classified ads in the paper for the Isuzu Ass-Ender (Ascender), the Ford MavWreck (Maverick), and the Ford Grenade (Granada).

[Argus]

How true is that story? I don't know

One answer to that question is at http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp