An initial look at car names

Who needs words to describe cars, when mere letters will do? Letters on trunk lids actually often mean something – if you know how to decode them.

Alfa Romeo gets its name from the initials of the full corporate name Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, which translates to “Lombard Automobile Plant Ltd.” Romeo became part of the name in 1911 with businessman Novela Romeo bought the firm.

BMW comes from Bavarian Motor Works.

BRAT was short for Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter, a Subaru of the 1970s that was a small four-wheel-drive pickup truck with two seats facing rearward in the pickup bed.

EMF was an early attempt to take on the Ford Model T. The initials came from the three partners: Barney Everitt, William Metzger and Walter Flanders. It was jokingly said the initials stood for “eternally missing fire” or “every mechanical fault.”

Fiat is the acronym for Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino, which means Italian Automobile Factory in Turin.

GS was a short form for Gran Sport, high performance Buicks in the 1960s and ’70s.

GT has been added to many makes, and is short for Grand Touring and has come to mean any model with superior performance and trim.

Many manufactures of tacked on another letter after GT to designate a specific model.

GTA was a high-performance version of the Ford Fairlane in the mid-1960s.

GTB is used by Ferrari for Grand Touring Berlinetta two-seater coupe.

GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omolglato, and was first used by Ferrari and then Pontiac.

GTP was a premium trim level of the Pontiac Grand Prix.

GTS was a high-performance Dodge Dart of the late 1960s. It was also used by Ferrari.

GTV was an Alfa Romeo.

GTXwas the high-performance intermediate Plymouth from the late 1960s to early '70s.

GTZ was offered by Chevrolet Beretta.

HO stands for High Output on some Pontiac Firebirds. HO was outdone by the Ford SHO in the 1980s, which meant Super High Output.

HCS are the initials of Harry C. Stutz, who had previously produced the Stutz automobile. The HCS was a sporty, expensive car and won the Indianapolis 500 in 1923.

LS was used by Oldsmobile and was short for Luxury Sedan; the supercharged version was called the LSS. The LS designation was used on many models, including the Acura Integra, Buick Regal, Chevrolet Cavalier, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Impala, Blazer, Lincoln, Mazda Miata, Mercury Sable and Grand Marquis.

MG is a short form for Morris Garages, where the British sports car originated.

REO are the initials of Ransom Eli Olds, who had earlier created the Oldsmobile.

RS it short for rally sport, and used on sporty Camaros and Cavaliers.

R/T is the Dodge designation for Road and Track referring to a sporty model with excellent handling.

SE is a trim designation offered by several makes, and indicates Special Edition. Manufacturers that have used the SE designation include Dodge, Ford, Honda, Jeep, Nissan, Pontiac, Toyota and Volvo. Some, including Dodge and Pontiac, also offered an SSE, or Super Special Edition.

SS mean Super Sport and Chevrolet models in the 1960s and ’70s with superior performance.

SAAB is the acronym for (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget), meaning a Swedish aeroplane corporation, that was incorporated in 1937.

Simca is an acronym for Societe Industrielle de Mecanique et de Carrosserie Automobile, which roughly means “an industrial company that makes car mechanicals and body work.” Simca was established in 1934, and owned for a time by Chrysler before the name vanished in 1981.

T/A stands for Trans Am. A T/A was a high-performance Dodge of the muscle car area of the late 1960s and early 70s, while the Trans Am was a potent Pontiac.

VW is just as popular as the full name, Volkswagen, which when roughly translated from German means people’s car.

The letter X is the most popular letter when it comes to naming vehicles. For decades, manufacturers have seen merit in putting the X with almost any other letter to come up with a model designation, including Honda Civic CX, Mazda Protégé DX, Toyota Corolla DX, Accord EX, Kia Sportage EX, Nissan Altima GXE, VW Passat GLX, Oldsmobile Alero GX, Honda Civic HX, Accord LX, Chrysler Sebring LX, Ford Crown Victoria LX, Lexus LX, Mazda Miata MX-5, Acura NSX, Nissan Altima XE, Jaguar XJR, Ford XL, Hyundai XL, Toyota Avalon XL, Toyota Camry XLE, Ford Escape XLS, and Volvo XC to name just a few. American Motors used the X designation for its sporty versions in the 1970s, such as the Gremlin X and Matador X.

Sometimes the letters on trunklids mean nothing; they’re just pleasing sounding and pleasing looking combinations. But there are lots of cases where the letters are a short form of all sorts of words to describe the name of the company, size and level of trim.