xcel
11-01-2009, 12:17 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Japanese_Flag_30x22.jpg After Nissan tackled technical restrictions on its first electric car involving range, battery life and temperature fluctuations, it still had to come up with a name. Choosing Leaf wasn't easy. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aDai9HopQ3dQ)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2011_Nissan_Leaf.jpgKae Inoue, Makiko Kitamura and Yuki Hagiwara - Bloomberg (bloomberg.com) - Oct. 30, 2009
2011 Nissan Leaf – 100-miles AER and priced similar to a mid-sized sedan.
Before settling on names for new models, the carmaker consults lawyers in as many as 200 countries or territories, including the Canary Islands, to make sure candidates aren't trademarked or considered offensive in local languages.
"It was a minor miracle that the name was cleared," said Kozue Nakayama, Nissan's head of brand management. "We go through a vetting process to avoid words that have negative connotations or links to sex and violence."
When carmakers come up with a possible hit name, they often trademark it regardless of whether an applicable model is in the works. Nissan has spent more than $550 Million dollars developing electric cars to compete with Toyota's ubiquitous Prius and Honda’s Insight hybrids.
The Yokohama-based automaker also had to consider the more than 1,000 team members who have been involved in the project and wanted a say, according to Nakayama. At Nissan's annual shareholders meeting in June, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn was pressed to explain why no name had been announced yet...
"Nissan is staking its future on the Leaf, and its name must match up with consumers' needs and their subconscious," said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory in Tokyo... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aDai9HopQ3dQ
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2011_Nissan_Leaf.jpgKae Inoue, Makiko Kitamura and Yuki Hagiwara - Bloomberg (bloomberg.com) - Oct. 30, 2009
2011 Nissan Leaf – 100-miles AER and priced similar to a mid-sized sedan.
Before settling on names for new models, the carmaker consults lawyers in as many as 200 countries or territories, including the Canary Islands, to make sure candidates aren't trademarked or considered offensive in local languages.
"It was a minor miracle that the name was cleared," said Kozue Nakayama, Nissan's head of brand management. "We go through a vetting process to avoid words that have negative connotations or links to sex and violence."
When carmakers come up with a possible hit name, they often trademark it regardless of whether an applicable model is in the works. Nissan has spent more than $550 Million dollars developing electric cars to compete with Toyota's ubiquitous Prius and Honda’s Insight hybrids.
The Yokohama-based automaker also had to consider the more than 1,000 team members who have been involved in the project and wanted a say, according to Nakayama. At Nissan's annual shareholders meeting in June, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn was pressed to explain why no name had been announced yet...
"Nissan is staking its future on the Leaf, and its name must match up with consumers' needs and their subconscious," said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory in Tokyo... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aDai9HopQ3dQ