As Shpilkes points out , it's hard to know what the naming consultants at Volkswagen were thinking when they named their new models Touareg, Tiguan, and Routan.
I can't help wondering if Touareg is some kind of anagram. (”Outrage”? “Age Rout”? “A Toe Rug”?)
Like naming consultants everywhere, they were no doubt looking for unique names.
The Touareg are desert nomads in North Africa. Yes, the name does sound like an anagram!
It's claimed that the word Tiguan is the basis for the the city name "Tijuana."
The Routan Islands are in the East Siberian Sea. (Though the name makes me think of one of the villains on Dr. Who!)
Thanks for this, Wordsmith! But the question remains: WHY? I think these names are wackadoo. Come to think of it, if they want something that sounds unusual, why not name one of those cars a "wackadoo"? Hmmmm, on second thought, maybe not. Still, I think these names just look like someone just closed his eyes and banged on the keyboard, don't you?
And speaking of sorry names for products, this kid talking about a trip to the paint store with his dad? He speaks for me.
Just to set the record straight in case anyone's curious, about Tijuana and "tiguan". Tiguan is a Cochimi word, and the northern boundary of Cochimi territory was about 200 miles south of TJ. Because of that, I'm more inclined to go with the Rancho Tia Juana explanation, and that the name of said rancho does not have its origins in tiguan.
And I agree with the uncomplimentary comments about nomenclature. Actually I've had a beef about that ever since the Volare came out. Without the accent on the final e, it would of course be Italian for "to fly", not so much of a prob, and reminiscent of that Dean Martin song. But with the accent it becomes Spanish for "I shall fly". Goofy, sez oy. They were probably trying to sound French. I seem to remember there were a number of other ersatz French product names back in the 70s. I don't remember any of them off hand, but I do remember they made me cringe.