Car Lyric of the Week: Kanye West on "See Me Now" and "Run This Town"

"See Me Now":

"'Tention to detail is so uncanny
And the whip's on the Sprewells, it's so un-Camry"

"Run This Town":

"I bought my whole family whips; no Volvos"
"What you think I rap for, to push a f****n' RAV4?"

When rappers boast about their expensive cars, they tend name-drop famous supercars and luxo-barges: Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, and Maybachs to name a few. But in his verses on "See Me Now" and Jay Z's "Run This Town," Kanye West uses a different approach: explaining what he's not driving by insulting more ordinary cars. West takes shots at Toyota in both tracks, pointing out that he wouldn't still be rapping if all he could afford was a measly Toyota RAV4. He also drops hints about his immense net worth, claiming that he bought his relatives something more luxurious than a Volvo. West may have a point about the Toyotas, which are reliable but quite bland, but when it comes to the Volvos, he might want to reconsider. During the 1970s, Volvo earned a reputation as the perfect family car with its 200 Series. These boxy sedans and wagons were spacious and more importantly safe--and ever since Volvo has been a pioneer when it comes to safety. While a a Bentley may look more elegant, West might want to look at new Volvo, especially now that he is a father of two.

2015 Toyota Camry at NYIAS

Volvo 200 Series in Alaska

2016 Toyota RAV4 at NYIAS

10 Worst Current Car Model Names

A little while ago, I covered my top ten favorite car model names, and now it's time to look at the worst ten of the current crop of vehicles. Note that this is only for the United States market, which excludes all of the absurd names from Japan-only cars, like the Nissan Homy Super Long. This also leaves out the European markets, but in the future I will do a top ten list that covers those vehicles. Without further ado, here are the worst ten current model names:

10. Toyota Yaris

Toyota Yaris at the 2015 NYIAS

The unusual name Yaris is derived from the singular form of "Charites," the Greek goddesses of charm and beauty. All three generations of the Yaris (sold as the Echo in the US in its first iteration) have been neither beautiful nor charming, instead being bland and forgettable. I guess Toyota thinks too highly of its designers, because the name Yaris simply doesn't fit.

9. Volkswagen Tiguan

VW Tiguan GTE Active Concept at the 2016 NYIAS

Tiguan sounds weird, but it gets even stranger once you know where the name comes from. Supposedly, Tiguan is a portmanteau of the German words for Tiger ("tiger") and iguana ("leguan"). I am not sure how tigers and iguanas are related, and what either animal has to do with a German compact crossover. This combination is odd and very contrived.

8. Buick LaCrosse

Buick LaCrosse at the 2016 NYIAS

I always assumed that the LaCrosse was named for something other than the sport, but believe it or not, it is. Why a sensible premium sedan is named for an often violent, fast-paced sport is beyond me, but what I also dislike about this name is the way GM decided to spell it out. Last I checked, lacrosse did not have a uppercase "C," so this capitalization feels totally unnecessary.

7. Mitsubishi Mirage

Mistubishi Mirage at the 2016 NYIAS

Mirage is a fun word to say since the "aaj" sound rolls off the tongue well, but the definition makes customers second-guess the hatchback's abilities. The official definition according to Merriam-Webster is "something that you hope for or want but is not possible or real." Considering that Mistubishi's fuel economy numbers have been a mirage for many Japanese customers since 2002, this is not a moniker that establishes confidence in the customer.

6. Hyundai Veloster

Hyundai Veloster at the 2014 NYIAS

According to Hyundai, Veloster is a combination of "velocity" and "roadster." The first thing that is obviously wrong with the name is that the Veloster is not a roadster, but a hatchback. The "velocity" part is also misleading--the base comes with a paltry 132 hp (adding a turbo gets the inline-4 to 201 hp), and the zero to sixty times never breach the 6.8 second mark. While the name is not in any way applicable to the hatch, my biggest issue with it is that the word simply sounds childish.

5. Maserati Ghibli

Maserati Ghibli at the 2016 NYIAS

Yes, I know the Ghibli name hearkens back to 1960's grand tourer, but still the name sounds really odd to me. The combination of i's and l's does not communicate luxury or sportiness to my ears--instead I picture a small Japanese kei car. Perhaps it is that Ghibli makes me think of the comedic dwarf character Gimli from the Lord of the Rings franchise, but this does not feel like an appropriate name for a luxury sedan.

4. Mercedes-Benz Metris

Mercedes-Benz Metris at the 2015 NYIAS

I love vans, and I welcome any new entry to the American van market, but the name Mercedes chose for their newest small van confuses me. I haven't been able to find a meaning behind it, and whenever I read or say it I think of Tetris, the famous tile-matching puzzle video game.

3. Jaguar F-Pace

Jaguar F-Pace at the 2016 NYIAS

Admit it. F-Pace does not sound smooth, despite the SUV's sleek bodywork. The name does not follow Jaguar's current naming scheme, an X followed by another letter (XE, XF, XJ). By starting the name with an F, it inherently sounds like a vulgar insult. Overall, the name is not dynamic and does not conjure up images of speed or luxury.

2. Ferrari LaFerrari

Ferrari LaFerrari at the Ferrari Museum in Modena

Oh no! A Ferrari on a "worst of" list! What a sacrilege! The LaFerrari is certainly an automotive spectacle, both for its beauty and insane performance, but the name is completely lazy. It translates as "Ferrari TheFerrari," and the repetition does not sound as sexy as the supercar looks. It is easy to overlook such a bad name when the styling is so stunning and the performance is so dazzling, but when it comes down to it, LaFerrari is a disappointing name.

1. Bentley Bentayga

Bentley Bentayga at the 2016 NYIAS

Bentley's first foray into the SUV segment also has a repetitive name. The name supposedly comes from a mix of the company's name and Taiga, the world's largest transcontinental snow forest, while also being inspired by the Roque Bentayga, a peak in the Canary Islands. The name Taiga is intriguing and exotic, and would have worked great. However, by incorporating the "Bent," the name sounds repetitive and doesn't fit with the staid, luxurious presence of Bentleys. 

Scion Is Dead: How Poor Design Killed A Brand

Scion FR-S

Toyota recently announced that it would be discontinuing the Scion brand, rebadging some models as Toyotas and killing off others. Scion, which sold compact vehicles geared toward young buyers, was introduced in 2002, and its first models were shown in 2003 for the 2004 model year. While Scion sold fairly well in its first few years, peaking at 173,000 sales in 2006, Scion had trouble moving vehicles off the lot after that, with sales dropping as low as 45,000 for the whole brand in 2010, less than the amount of xB's purchased in 2004 alone. Despite Toyota's best efforts to market supposedly quirky vehicles to young customers, sales diminished rapidly.

Second generation tC

In 2004, Scion burst onto the scene with three new models, the xA, xB and tC. The xA, a small hatchback based on the JDM Toyota ist, was rather unremarkable looking. It featured a body colored grille, quasi-square headlights, and a floating roof. The xA performed well in comparison tests, and while it was the slowest selling Scion, it did not do too terribly. The xB, a rebadged Toyota bB, featured a radical boxy design. Right angles were everywhere, from the silhouette to the headlights to the window shapes. The xB sold extremely well, gained a cult following, was often the subject of aftermarket modification, and caused the introduction of the Nissan Cube and Kia Soul. While not everyone's cup of tea, the xB's unusual design certainly stood out in the U.S. market. The final model from 2004 was the tC, a sporty compact coupe. The tC had aggressive headlights and a mean-looking, thin, rectangular grille. With its athletic stance the mildly attractive tC was Scion's bestseller.

Second generation tC

Scion introduced the xD, a replacement for the xA, in 2004. Still based on the ist, the xD had a mix of curved and straight lines that resulted in slightly awkward styling. The small headlights were mounted high on the front fascia, while the grille was very low, creating a bug-eye look. The xD also had a extremely wide C-pillar, which caused a massive blind spot. The xD sold far worse than its predecessor, and was discontinued in 2014.

Scion iA

A second generation xB was introduced in 2007, with more rounded styling that still evoked the boxiness of the original. The skinny, set-back grille made the xB look like it had a serious underbite, and like the xD, a large C-pillar caused visibility issues. The bloated second generation's sales quickly plummeted.

The popular tC received a full redesign in 2011. More rectangular, sharper headlights, a slightly forward-leaning stance, and expressive character lines contributed to a handsome design. Nonetheless, sales dropped off, and even a facelift in 2014 could not help the tC.

Scion iA

For the 2012 model year, Scion introduced the iQ, a small city car based on the nearly identical Toyota iQ. With oversized headlights and a blacked out C-pillar, the iQ was not a bad looking car, but it proved too small for American tastes. It was discontinued just 3 years later.

The next year, Toyota rebadged its GT86 sports car as the Scion FR-S. The coupe featured angled headlights, a swept back cabin, and intricate sideways "b" shaped taillights. The best looking Scion model sold slowly, but luckily this model is going to be folded into the Toyota brand when Scion becomes no more later in 2016.

Scion iM

In 2015, Scion brought out two new models: the iA and iM. The iA, based on the handsome Mazda2 sedan underneath the bodywork, featured an ugly mug full of straight lines that contrasted drastically with the Mazda's curvy character lines and oddly placed creases beneath the headlights. While sales were dismal in its first year, the iA is going to be transferred to its parent company. The iM was a rebadged Toyota Auris, and therefore was a strikingly attractive hatchback. The angular headlights and thin grille, large vents on the lower front fascia, and wide taillights created a slick looking vehicle. Sales were similar to the iA, and the iM too will become a Toyota.

Scion iM

One possible issue for Scion's dismal sales was that many of its models competed in the same price ranges as Toyota models, but the fact that many of its models were either revolting or uninspiring to look at certainly did not help things. Since the FR-S and iM are continuing production, there is not much of Scion that will be missed. Like Geo, Eagle, and Saturn in the 1990s, Scion will fade into the past as yet another failed attempt at a cheap, compact car company.