Toyota - origins of model names

[FROSTYBALLS]

https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/automotive_business/products_technology/vehicle_lineage_chart/origin/index.html

[Cyker]

Interesting, although I can't help notice Yaris is missing!!! It's discrimination I tell you!!   

[FROSTYBALLS]

Yaris is an amalgamation of words from Greek mythology and German. In Greek mythology, ‘Charis’ was a symbol of beauty and elegance. Toyota swapped the ‘Ch’  with ‘Ya’ – German for ‘yes’ – to symbolise the perceived reaction of European markets to the car’s styling.

https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-model-name-meanings-explained/

[Roy124]

Where can I get my JARIS Badge then?😄

[CrazyCatman]

On 2/3/2024 at 2:17 AM, Cyker said:

Interesting, although I can't help notice Yaris is missing!!! It's discrimination I tell you!!   

Interestingly enough they did have the Yapanese name there; Vitz - but indeed the Yaris is missing. Luckily Toyota have been giving their explaination before but still...

 

I do miss a reason behind the トヨダ・AA - I mean why AA? Surely A is the first letter in the Latin alphabet and A1 was the prototype, but why not call it Tsu (つ) meaning 1. A is also the first in the Japanese (あ or more likely ア based on both Toyoda and Toyota using katakana)
(by the way try to pronounce the prototype car now using Japanese number 1 - bless you!)
I could understand the naming in a post-WWII world where Japan was more or less occupied by USA and had more influenced thereof, where the first 20 years of the Shōwa period up to the end of WWII had a grown nationalism and militarism in Japan including several skirmishes in the mainland before the 15 years of full scale war against China from '37.

The engine is of course based on a Chevrolet engine, and Chevrolet had a model called AA Capitol with a similar Stovebolt engine, but the 194 cubic inches variant, not the 207 ci version from the Chevrolet Eagle CA and Chevrolet Master that the Toyoda/Toyota AA's engine wes reversed engineered from.

I guess it is one of those we never really find the true meaning of why it was named like that...

 

The only known of the 1,400 cars made is now located in the Netherlands (Haag): Now located in the Netherlands (Den Haag).