They is only a 3-inch or so swatch of a vehicle worth thousands and thousands of dollars, a metallic stamp on the rump of any car, truck or SUV on the planet.
But they cost millions to find, invent, vet and advertise.
Car names.
Weeks after the North American International Auto Show, automakers are out there promoting their latest motoring monikers. Acura and Infiniti, for example, went the archetypal luxurybrand alphanumeric route with ILX and JX, respectively, while Buick went with a classic word reassignment by using Encore for its new SUV.
And Chrysler went old-school - dusting off "Dart" for its new compact. for its new compact.
"In general, what you want is for the product to refl ect these zeitgeists to the greatest extent possible, whatever the mood or spirit of the times is as experienced by the target market - the design visual and the name to refl ect that and people's ideals and aspirations," explained University of Michigan-Dearborn marketing professor Aaron Ahuvia.
When Buick needed a name for its new compact crossover SUV, the automaker headed for a dictionary to look for a word that began with "en," like the brand's popular full-size crossover SUV, the Enclave.
General Motors Co., Buick's parent, was lucky. The word, Encore, hadn't already been trademarked by a competitor. Nor did it mean something bad in another language.
These are challenges an automaker faces when assigning a name to a new vehicle - a vital part of a marketing plan, though a behind-the-scenes process, often aided by outside branding agencies, that starts as much as two years before the car hits showroom floors. It must tell the story of the car as it identifies with the primary market, marketing experts say. Denali, another name for Alaska's Mt. McKinley, fi ts on a rugged GMC, but not on a compact car, for example.
Does the name jibe with the design and styling? Is it pleasant to the ear?
"We get a list of names and think about what's appropriate for the vehicle and for the brand overall, and [how] we think it speaks to the target consumer. That's the largest judgment call," said Craig Bierley, director of advertising and promotions for Buick and GMC.
Buick and GMC, for example, look to maps, minerals and seasons for inspiration; for example, "Verano" means summer in Spanish. Nissan will sometimes use pre-existing words that fit the company's image for the vehicle, like the toughness of the Titan and the agility of the Juke. The latter, though, could be a partial faux-pas, though, because Juke means "cockroach" in Arabic.
Some have uninspiring back stories; the Toyota FJ Cruiser was an internal model code used in the 1950s and 1960s.
When cars were first invented, they were identified only by their makers' names, as the manufacturers weren't making many styles, according to writer and lexicographer Paul Dickson. As lines expanded, trends cycled through - far-off places and warm destinations after American GIs returned stateside (Chevy Biscayne), the galaxy during the Cold War space race (Mercury Meteor) and words that screamed independence (Ford Maverick) as the counterculture grew more popular.
Some car companies prefer to use what works, like Toyota, which has used "Camry" and "Corolla" for decades. Ford uses the same series with its Mustang and F-series, according to Rick Novak, Ford's vehicle marketing strategy manager.