The car names we like best, where the name not only best suits the car's nature but where it also sounds, for lack of a better word, "cool," include such automotive legends as the AC Shelby Cobra, Chevrolet Corvette, DeSoto Firedome, Dodge Viper, Lamborghini Diablo, Plymouth Barracuda and Rolls-Royce Phantom.

There are other great names out there but you get the idea. The best use for the list above is as a point of comparison against the bad names you are about to endure. We have divided our list of the worst car names into two sections. The first concerns made-up names such as the Oldsmobile Alero and Chevrolet Lumina. They sound like Latin, but they're not really words as far as we know. In fact, we may get letters telling us that a "Lumina" is a real thing, though we doubt it. The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has no record of such a word. The closest is the Latin word "lumen," which means "light." But what does light have to do with this Chevy sedan? Not much.

Then there are just inexplicable misspellings, such as the Chevrolet Luv truck. We know how to spell "love" if you want to spell "love," but "luv" is not a real word. Ditto for the Pontiac Aztek. Hey, literacy rates are bad enough. We don't need the car companies making it wurse...

The other set of worst car names are ones that seem to be a calculated attempt to play upon consumer class-consciousness and social insecurities. These names conjure images of country clubs and glamorous lifestyles, yet, for the most part, are cars that were targeted at buyers of more modest means. The names on this list are primarily examples of carmakers trying to tack $100 names onto $10 cars. We doubt any celebrities ever owned a Chevrolet Celebrity station wagon.

Among the other cars we include in this group are the Buick LeSabre; Chevrolet Greenbrier; Chrysler LeBaron; Dodge Coronet, Crestwood, Diplomat, Dynasty, St. Regis; Ford Aspire; Lincoln Versailles; Pontiac Executive and Rambler Country Club.

Among the ones that put a smile on our face are the Daihatsu Naked; Honda Life Dunk; Honda That's; Isuzu GIGA 20 Light Dump and Mysterious Utility; Mazda Bongo; Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear and Pistachio; Nissan Fairlady Z and Prairie Joy; Rickman Space Ranger; Rinspeed X-Dream; Suzuki Cappucino; Toyota Deliboy and Toyopet; Volkswagen Thing and Volugrafo Bimbo. We think it's a shame that the Honda Life Dunk doesn't sell over here. Its goofy yet inspiring name would probably attract a fair number of buyers.

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