Markets

Names Can Hurt You: Except for Subaru, "S" Doesn't Mean "Super"

By Jim Henry

Updated on: June 7, 2010 / 7:00 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

Naming consultants, pay attention: Subaru is the sole successful seller in the States, with a funny-sounding name that starts with "S."

Try saying that three times fast.

You wouldn't think automotive brands with funny-sounding names that start with "S" would be much of a category, but besides the highly successful Subaru (FUJHY.PK) , there's:

Saab, which General Motors recently unloaded on Dutch manufacturer Spyker. Saab's U.S. sales were down 75.5 percent year to date, to only 1,130 in five months, according to AutoData Corp. The name "SAAB" is an acronym in Swedish that stands for "Swedish Aircraft Company," Saab's original line of business.
Suzuki, which was down 53 percent year to date, to 9,514. Suzuki is probably better-known for its motorcycles than for its cars.
Scion (pronounced SIGH-on), the would-be youth division for Toyota (TM), which was down 20.9 percent year to date, to 17,262.

Out of 44 brands industrywide, sales through the end of May were down for only 10 brands. Five of the losers start with "S." The other two are Saturn and Smart. GM is shutting down Saturn. Its sales were off 82 percent to 6,343 through May. Smart, which is built by Daimler (DAI) but sold in the U.S. market by Penske Automotive Group (PAG), was down 62.8 percent to 2,772.

The other losers are Hummer, which GM is also dropping; Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar, according to AutoData Corp. Isuzu, which pulled the plug on U.S. car sales in 2008, still shows up in the statistics, because it sold some cars in the year-ago month.

American automotive brands led the way this year through May, like Buick, up 47.3 percent year to date, to 56,899; Ford, up 34 percent to 703,327; and Cadillac, up 32.1 percent, to 52,997.

Clearly, the domestic brands have more going for them than easy-to-prounounce names, and the "S" thing is probably just a coincidence. Nobody has trouble pronouncing "Saturn," or "Saab." However, hard-to-pronounce names really are a serious issue. It was a problem for Isuzu, for instance.

If I were a naming consultant, say, for some Chinese or Indian automotive brand that's looking to break into the U.S. market, I would cross names that start with "S" off my list, and start looking for an anglicized brand name, or at least a simple, simple name that Americans can pronounce right on the first try.

Photo: Subaru