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
***
Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.
PINTO – In the late 70’s we had an exchange student from Brazil. Every time she got into my Pinto she would giggle. When we finally could understand her we discovered that in Portuguese the word “pinto” means little penis!!! Every time I drove the car after that I’d giggle too!
‘Break’ is the French term for a station wagon or estate car
Love the comments, demonstrating the unique language used in the auto industry.
Reminds me of a story from my dad, a plant electrician. One of the new guys (a gopher) was asked to go to the supply room for some 3/4 inch ‘donuts.” A donut was a reducing washer, in this case to attach a 1/2 inch conduit into a 3/4 inch opening (it looked like a donut). By the time he got to the supply room he asked for a 3/4 inch “cookie.” Believe it or not, he got what he needed. I imagine his nickname became Donut.
The “Jesus” clip. The last clip you attach the carb linkage with and the one you misplace as in “Jesus where’d I put that damned clip “
Isn’t “Kammback” just someone’s trademarked corruption of “Kamm tail?” The latter is the correct term you should be using.
And what about “nolder” for a small spoiler akin to a Gurney Flap (just not on the trailing edge of a wing)? I’d pay good money to get to the bottom of the actual etymology of that one!
Headlight ‘bezel’ is pretty funny, but maybe better than ‘headlight door’ when it isn’t a door at all. BTW, including Brit names is pretty weak; they’re all funny!
In the original Datsun 240Z shop manual, they seem to have pouttry on the brain, because instead of a brake-adjusting spur, they call it a ‘claw’.
Also, instead of saying to shake a part, they say ‘give it a vibration’. There were more, and for fun I put them into a sidebar in my 1990 book “How to Restore Your Datsun Z-Car” which is soon coming out in a revised edition, published by CarTech. Wick Humble
BFH…..used for minor adjustments when needed…
Then there’s the “Zerk”, the name given to the grease nipple.
The “Smugglers Box” which was the name of the space under the bed behind the cab of the Chevy El Camino. The cover plate in the box was screwed down and was not meant to be opened, it was used to cover the rear seat and foot well sheet metal work that would have been used on the Chevelle 2 door station wagons, the Camino is basically the wagon which has been chopped. Some Smuggler’s boxes could be accessed from behind the front seat through a small opening but the space is rather large and and not fully accessible through the small opening so many Camino owners have customized the lid to open with hinges to be used as a functional storage space.
Amongst my BMW 2002 friends the pronunciation is almost always “GeeBow”.
And then with my classic Alfa friends it is pronounced “FlexDisc”.
How about cheesehead screws?
Lucas electrics = oxymoronic
Lucas, aka “The Prince of Darkness”
A “dagoed” car or Dago axle. Refers to the rake in a hot rod or later model custom where the rear sits higher than the front. Origin: Dropped I-beam axles made in San Diego in the early years. The slang name for the town is Dago so you would install a Dago axle in your Model A to drop the front end usually 4 to 5″. Not to be confused with the derogatory slur for an Italian or Spanish speaking person. That said the term likely fell out of fashion when a hot rodder named Tony insisted that he had a dropped axle in his ’32 and “don’t call it anything else” ’cause Tony was also a Golden Gloves champ.
VW Beetle rear license plate lights are known to VW insiders as the pope’s nose. Actually listed under this name in a quirky VW aftermarket parts catalog.
Any fans of “Vice Grip Garage” here? He has all kinds of fun quips.
“ignition sticks” aka “Keys”
“sparkalators” aka “Spark Plugs”
“circular road vibration dampeners” aka “Tires”
“lightning cube” or “juice box” aka “Battery”
“lightning whirler” aka “Cap and Rotor”
“automagical shift machine” aka “Automatic transmission”
“chargy whirler” aka “Alternator”
“quadrabog” aka “4 barrel carburator”
“blood stick” aka “Transmission dipstick”
“music pipe” aka “Exhaust Header”
And the list goes on…