Volkswagen continues inscrutable naming practice with new Amarok pickup
 

Filed under: Trends, Hybrids/Alternative, Trucks/Pickups, Marketing/Advertising, Volkswagen
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....arok-1-580.jpg

Remember when Volkswagen just named their cars for different winds? Scirocco, Jetta, Corrado, Santana - they all had a certain clean, sweeping quality about them, even if it wasn't immediately clear where the names came from. More recently, however, VW has gone further afield, invoking cryptic names like Touareg (a nomadic Saharan tribe) and Tiguan (Tiger + Iguana). Add this to the list: Amarok.

That's the official name for VW's forthcoming overseas market pickup truck. According to the automaker's press release, Amarok means "wolf" in the language of the hearty, frigid-dwelling Inuit. Alternatively, VW says the appelation "translates into 'he loves stones' in the languages spoken in South America." We'll have to take their word for it, but we can certainly see some sort of stoning at work here.

For its part, Volkswagen actually hasn't unveiled the production version of the Amarok yet, although it did display the fetching concept version (labeled simply as 'Concept Pickup') seen here at last September's IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in Hanover, Germany, and a prototype example was even spotted running around the Nürburgring in April.

In any case, VW promises the Amarok will launch as a double-cab, four-wheel drive pickup, with a smaller single-cab variant to follow. Built in Argentina, the diesel pickup will hit South America early next year, with Central America coming on stream in the spring, followed by Russia, Europe, Africa, and Australia. As expected, North America isn't in the model's plans at this time. Check out the full press release after the jump.


Gallery: Volkswagen Concept Pickup
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog...._thumbnail.jpghttp://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog...._thumbnail.jpghttp://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog...._thumbnail.jpghttp://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog...._thumbnail.jpghttp://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog...._thumbnail.jpg

[Source: Volkswagen]Continue reading Volkswagen continues inscrutable naming practice with new Amarok pickup
Volkswagen continues inscrutable naming practice with new Amarok pickup originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


Permalink | Email this | Comments

أكثر...