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guty · Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 365 Location: on holiday

I just heard a radio commercial for a Mexican car engine lubricant pronounced "goner", sounds a bit dangerous to me.
Reminded me of a sweet (candy) I bought in Denmark called "S p u n k", you obviously dont swallow them.
What are the products in other countries you would never buy?

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

the biggest white goods producer in Turkey is 'Arcelik'

Guest · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2003 9:51 am Post subject:

One of the biggest soft drinks in Japan is called Pocari Sweat. The taste is quite nice once you get past the name.

guest of Japan · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 1601 Location: Japan

In Japan we also have Calpis. It's also pretty tasty.

guty · Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 365 Location: on holiday

Yeah, I love Pocari Sweato.
I also vaguely remember some chocolate in Japan called something like
"Dark ships passing on a journey in the night" in English. Great name.

craig-from-calgary · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 4 Location: Calgary

I once heard of a car that Ford tried to introduce in Panama. I don't remember the name, but apparently when translated in the local dialect, it came out something like "piece of crap". Sales didn't go well.

Speaking of cars, another Big Three mistake was their attempt to break into the Japanese market a few years back. Americans buy all kinds of Japanese cars, but why won't the Japanese buy American cars? The Big 3 were getting really upset over this. They thought it was some kind of protectionist policy. They asked top-level diplomats from Washington to take up the matter with the Japanese government. The answer was quite simple: "We like to have the steering wheel on the other side."

C.

guty · Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 365 Location: on holiday

I think it was the Nova
which in Spanish means
"It doesnt work"

Its like the Czech car maker Skoda. This is a family name which can be translated in 2 ways both of which apply to the way the cars were
1/ What a shame
2/ Dangerous

bnix · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 645

In this vein,one of the most famous(and actual) stories was when GM tried to market the Chevy Nova in Mexico.in Spanish "no va"...means "it does not go"(run)

grahamb · Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945

Someone started a similar thread recently about the currency called the Dong.
I posted two examples from Spain: a brand of sliced bread called Bimbo and a brand of coffee called Bonka.

lajzar · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 647 Location: Saitama-ken, Japan

I heard a rumour that there is a brand of toilet paper from a Scandinavian country called... "c r a p".

Linda L. · Joined: 03 Jul 2003 Posts: 146

In Hong Kong there was a toothpaste called "Darkie" with a silouette of a black man in top hat.

tjpnz2000 · Joined: 22 May 2003 Posts: 118 Location: Japan

My favourite crazy-name-for-a-product is from the USA.

Peanut butter called `Jif`

People from New Zealand, Australia and England find this funny because we have an all-purpose cleaner called Jif.

T

Sherri · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2003 1:49 am Post subject:

In Japan there is a loan company called "NoLoan". I think they mean "no interest"--still not sure. There is a car by Mitsubishi (?) called a Pajaro which a Spanish-speaking friend told me means w anker in Spanish.

craig-from-calgary · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 4 Location: Calgary

When it comes to pronounciation, I had an experience at an A&W restaurant with someone who sounded like she was slavic. I ordered a Mama burger combo, and she asked me, "Would you like jizz on your mama?"

Of course she meant to say "cheese" but it seems that all Slavs are doomed to eat jizz-burgers.

My apologies to those people sensitive to discussion of bodily fluids. I think I've taken this topic about as far as I should in a public forum.

Chizz (Cheers,)

Craig

khmerhit · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2003 2:58 am Post subject:

!!HA