Our Two Cents: The Weirdest Automotive Words
Words can be unnecessarily difficult in the English language, which does everything from borrowing words from other languages to organizing them in ways that makes no sense to non-native speakers. So for this installment of Our Two Cents, we asked the team here at Hagerty Media about automotive words we’ve encountered that are decidedly odd.
To be fair, we have only scratched the surface. There are oh-so-many words that fit the bill, and some of them are even crazier than the ones we came up with here. So have a look at what we think are weirdest words in the automotive lexicon, and sound off in the comments for ones you wish we brought up.
Kammback
“I’m gonna pick Kammback. That’s mostly because I love the design, but partially because I already wrote the definition for Vellum Venom:
“Kammback: a body design featuring a downward sloping roofline and rear deck that abruptly ends with a vertical panel (or near vertical). Proven to reduce aerodynamic drag by its namesake, Wunibald Kamm.” — Sajeev Mehta
Wrist Pin
“The wrist pin is definitely worthy of this list!” — Larry Webster
“Just for giggles, I googled to see if wrist pins are a thing for orthopedic surgery in a patient’s wrist. Who here thinks I got a relevant website from my search?” — Sajeev Mehta
Jubilee Clip
“Isn’t there something called a jubilee clip?” — Larry Webster
“I think the British call hose clamps ‘jubilee clips.’ That’s definitely a cooler name than hose clamp.” — Sajeev Mehta
Layrub Coupling
“And of course there are Laycock Layrub couplings: Only the Brits.” — Aaron Robinson
The, Absence of
“My vote is for the article the and the fact that the auto industry, particularly in Detroit, traditionally does not use an article as a modifier for car model names. For example, a Detroit marketing executive will say,
‘When we launched Malibu, we knew we would beat Camry.’
They do this instead of, ‘When we launched the Malibu, we knew we would beat the Camry.’ I’ve never understood it, I’ve always hated it. It’s like they want the car model to be considered an entity or something. So weird. You used to see it in print advertising copy. But there’s hardly any print advertising copy anymore, but that’s another story.” — Joe DeMatio
Spats
“Not only is ‘spat’ fun to say, because you spit the word out of your mouth, but it reveals an intersection between clothing and cars. Spats were originally a low-rise version of a gaiter (today, usually worn around your neck and/or mouth) for your ankle: a bit of cloth that you’d button over your shoe to keep dirt from getting inside it.
“In the automotive world, spats are removable panels that cover a car’s wheels … which do the same job that our feet (and shoes) do, although spats on a car don’t actually keep dirt from getting inside the tire; they’re mostly for aesthetic or aerodynamic value. Fun fact: Spat also refers to a cover over the upper part of a wheel on a plane.” — Grace Houghton
Splitter
“NACA duct, spoiler, valence—aero devices often have wonky names. The splitter is no different.
“To many a wing is a wing, no matter where you put it, but to the motorsports crowd wings have different monikers based on where they’re attached. Splitter, for example, is basically a wing on the nose that is flat to the pavement. The splitter diverts air to the nose of the car to create downforce. Downforce is good.
“Splitter, final answer. Oh, wait. Dzus fasteners! A ‘d’ followed by ‘z’, how cool is that?” — Cameron Neveu
Giubo
“I think the weirdest car word I’ve ever encountered is giubo, pronounced jew-boh. It’s a flexible coupling that allows rotational torque to be transmitted between a spinning shaft and the piece to which it is mated. Generally constructed of rubber, it corrects for misalignment in the system and dampens vibration. Commonly misspelled as ‘guibo,’ the term is a blend word derived from the Italian giunto, for ‘joint,’ and the engineer who patented it, Antonio Boschi, for use in the Alfa Romeo 1900. It is sometimes called a flex disc and is closely related to the rag joint.” — Stefan Lombard
“It is also known as a Rotoflex coupling, which is not as fun as my Laycock Layrub coupling suggestion.” — Aaron Robinson
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Monroney – the proper name for the pricing sticker
Missing some explanations, Sajeev!
NACA duct – named for the predecessor to NASA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which did the engineering work to come up with the concept and the depth, width, profile ratios which make it work! It’s all about drag…
Dzus fastener – named after its inventor, William Dzus!
No Guibos for me, my Jaguar has a Jurid Coupling!
… and its “gwee-bo”, not the way this article moronically suggests otherwise.
No, only morons say gweebo. Sorry.
My question would be “how is it spelled?’ If Giubo is correct then the article is also, if Guibo is correct then you are.
It’s a contraction of “Giunto Boschi,” so the *correct* spelling is giubo, but I suspect that the same people who insist on mispronouncing it also insist on misspelling it accordingly. So your litmus test only holds if people agree to respect the original etymology and spelling.
No “Lug Nuts”??
Fahrvergnügen
A pastry that is beyond my reach: Farfignewton!
😁
East Tennessee a stick shift is a “straight drive”. When they ask what Model, they actually mean year of production. And a sunroof/moonroof (which is it?) Is a “bone thrower”. The explanation is when you’re eating a bucket of KFC, you pitch the bones through the roof. And then there’s that
That reminds me of the time I was searching for used parts for my Mustang, while living in Georgia. The elderly junkyard owner kept asking me what MODEL is it? I kept repeating that it was a Mustang HARDTOP (to me that meant model designation). That term didn’t work so I said it was a FORD Mustang. I had never encountered this reference before, having grown up in the mid-west! We were both about at the point of major frustration when I finally understood he was talking about the model YEAR. A ’68 Mustang! Geez, it was the most tense back-and-forth conversation I ever had with a business man!
German word for a ‘Wing’ (British), ‘Fender’ (USA) – Kotflügel – compound word (Kot – Faeces, Flügel – wing) literally “Shit-Wing”!
Getting back to British & American pronunciations, as an automotive journalist and also as an ex-spanner man in IndyCar & F1, my ears still hurt when I hear an American pronounce chassis with a hard CH, rather than the English version which is more SHassis
Wrist pin? Bah! Gudgeon!
Little End !!
Dead cat space – the area between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender.
Shooting Brake – what’s that got to do with being a station wagon ?
Hooters – horns for you colonials.
Dipper switch – one dips the head lamps, one does not dim them.
“Dog dish” hubcaps. I described them this way years ago. Perhaps I originated the term?
We call “Dog Dish” hubcaps Poverty Caps
Unless you came up with it a VERY long time ago, I doubt if you originated it. My dad was born in 1910, and he told me to put the lug nuts in those dog dish hubcaps when I changed a tire on his 1955 Chevy pick-up.
“Tumbledown” is the profile shape of the line of the roof coming down over the rear window to the trunk lid
Very likely from the boat builder term, ‘tumblehome’. That’s a hull that narrows with increased height above the water
You are 100% right!….. The reference to “Jew-boh” is hilarious (and stupid). Its “gwee-bo”.
News flash: what you are used to is not necessarily correct.
The giubo looks and functions like a lovejoy coupler!
That’s what I was thinking, having worked for years in factories. Unfortunately the slang term for “motor terminal box” couldn’t be added to this list.
Pecker head?