8 Cars with Great Nicknames
The stronger your feelings for someone, the higher the probability that you call them something other than their real name. This is also true, especially so, for pets. The principle holds for objects as well, and certain vehicles, with their rich histories and distinct personas, are obvious candidates.
Our staff got talking around the digital watercooler and stumbled into a discussion of our favorite nicknames for various classics (and one oddball). If you only looked at the list of names, you’d think we just hit refresh on a random word generator, but for the most part, there’s a story behind the nickname given to each vehicle below.
Sometimes, the nickname is a reference to a valiant feat. Perhaps someone, once upon a time, came up with a memorable answer to “You know what that car reminds me of?” and the whole world picked up the word and ran with it. Whatever the case, we hope you enjoy our selections, and we encourage you to add your own candidates in the comments—preferably, with an explanation of how that vehicle got that name.
Pizza Butt
I’ll always have a soft spot for odd, obscure, and sometimes ugly cars. It doesn’t get much more odd or obscure or ugly or funny than the Corbin Sparrow EV and its “pizza butt” body style, designed for use by Domino’s. — Andrew Newton
Tin Lizzy
The greatest nicknames come from brave or interesting feats, which is why my nomination for interesting nicknames goes to “Tin Lizzie.” The moniker has been stuck to Model T Fords for over a century at this point and came after Noel Bullock entered a ragged, stripped down ‘T in the 1922 Pikes Peak Hill Climb. That car was called “Old Liz,” but the tin can appearance caused people to shift the name to Tin Lizzie. The rest is history. — Kyle Smith
Clown Shoe
As a Z3 dork, I’d be remiss if I neglected the Clown Shoe, aka M Coupe (and its lesser-known Z3 Coupe sibling). The Clown Shoe a goofy-looking car with a goofy name but a serious-business straight-six engine. BMW’s board approved the project on the condition that engineers retain as much of the existing Z3 roadster hardware as possible, which resulted in the car’s oddball roofline and cartoonish width. You either love it or hate it, but that’s part of the car’s appeal. For better or worse it looks like nothing else on the road. — Eric Weiner
Cobra Killer
My pick is the Bill Thomas Cheetah, Cobra Killer for short. But because I take pictures and can’t really put words together to save my life, I’ll let Aaron Robinson, who wrote about the car in 2023, spit it:
Cheetahs are certainly a weird and wild footnote of 1960s racing Americana. Anaheim, California, Corvette racer Bill Thomas created the tube-framed racing machine with backing from Chevrolet as a street and racing answer to the Ford-powered Shelby Cobra. However, in 1964 the FIA sports car homologation rules were changed from 100 cars to 1000 and General Motors, also facing congressional scrutiny over vehicle safety following the 1964 publishing of Ralph Nader’s Unsafe at Any Speed, lost interest and yanked the cord on the program. The Cheetah was left high and dry.
Turbo Brick
If you’ve heard the phrase “Turbo Brick” used around Volvos, you’ll immediately get the reference. Purists will say this nickname only applies to the square-as-could-be 240s, but even the more aerodynamically-inclined 740, 960, 850, and early V/S70 are still pretty much slab-sided rectangles. This covers the turbo versions of most Volvos from the late ’70s till around 2000, and I’d say it fits about as well as any nickname could. — Eddy Eckart
Iron Pig
I’ve always liked the Toyota Land Cruiser FJ55’s “Iron Pig” moniker. Not counting the rare FJ45, which was based on the stubby FJ40, the 50-series was the first true Land Cruiser wagon Toyota made. They are handsome, go-anywhere trucks with a distinctive front end, which is where the nickname comes from: some people see a pig’s face in the round headlights and compact grille. I don’t, but as nicknames go, Iron Pig is a great one. — Stefan Lombard
Goat
I think Pontiac’s GTO deserves a spot on this list, since it had a couple. Goat is the one I remember, though—supposedly just an affectionate play on its letters, as G.O.A.T. wasn’t yet the acronym it is today. As a kid, I thought it sounded tough, but I never quite understood it, as the ones I saw at car shows were often adorned not with goats but stuffed tigers, a reference to the ad campaign for the car. — Eddy Eckart
Catfish
The refreshed fourth-gen Camaro was nicknamed “Catfish” because the new fascia, styled with a hint of 1970–73 Camaro, did sort of look like the bottom-feeding fish. — Brandan Gillogly
Shoebox. I originally owned a 1950 Ford Coupe and learned of the nickname through the guy I bought it from. Later though, when I got into tri-five Chevys, I found out it was also applied to them (especially ’55s). I never really understood it about the ’49-’51 Fords (which my friends called Frogs, but that’s another nickname story). But to me it seemed to fit the boxier ’55 Chevy.
No DUB6, ‘Tri-Five’ is the politically correct moniker the new gens apply to the 1955-57 Chevys. We NEVER called them that in the first decade of their existence, believe me! I don’t care for it; doesn’t make sense, anyhow. Tri-five what? Silly.
Alas, so is ‘Shoe Box’ for the 1949-51 Fords; never heard that until the late ‘seventies, as far as I recall, and as a 79 year old geezer, officially, I specialize in old memories.
My first car was a ’55 Delray 2-dr sedan, full custom/rod (wish I had some good photos, not the blurry ones that are left, as it was beautifully pinstriped by ‘Coop’) and my second was a ’51 Ford 2-dr — also my third! We did name cars back in the day: the ’55 was ‘Chicken Coupe’ and the Fords ‘Blue Angel’ (came to me that way), and ‘The Wanderer’ — cause it DID!
Well, my two-cents worth. I M Humble O Wick
My father named the 1947 Chevy he bought for $30 in 1962 for my mother the blue nosed mule. It came from my band teacher and was paintbrush painted sky blue. My mother loved that car. It was heavy and comfortable and even though it didn’t have power steering it was a joy to drive. I learned to drive the three on the tree up and down our 100′ driveway
My wife’s mid 60’s Olympic Blue Karmann Ghia was named Vida.
My parents first car was a ‘53 Ford Meteor Rideau (a Canadian car). They got it the same year they got me 😂😆🙃. I realize until much later in life just how apt the moniker ‘shoebox car’ was. I grew up absolutely hating the car because it was so boring.
Sorry, didn’t know the rule said the nicknames had to have been applied the day they were built. Of COURSE “Shoebox” didn’t apply to a ’49 Ford in ’49. Didn’t say it did. But, isn’t it just possible, if you take your blinders off, that I owned a 1950 Ford in the 1970s? You know, AFTER they had gained that moniker? And yeah, I had multiple versions of all three years of the Chevys in question, and yes, you are correct, we didn’t call them Shoeboxes or Tri-Fives then. But we did later on – and a lot of us still do. I know nothing of your experience levels, but I DO know what mine are…
Ask any self-respecting car guy about a tri-five and they will know EXACTLY what you are talking about. The shoe box reference was a little less known, but still, the ’55 chevy was known as ” The Shoe Box “.
Born in 1940, I remember the ’49 Ford being called a shoe box from the moment they were introduced.
Wasn’t Civic a nickname for cvcc originally?
Left out the great ‘ThunderChicken’, Ford’s luxury barge.
Reminds me of the “Screaming Chicken” description of a T/A hood decal, technically not a general T/A nickname, I suppose.
Let’s not forget “Batmobile”, for the ’70’s BMW CSL racer; wow, what a car!
I knew it as a firechicken when it was put on the firebird, Back in the Smokey and the Bandit era.
Mikey, the designers at GM who styled the ’59 Chevy also called it the Batmobile (long before George Barris had cobbled up a Lincoln Futura for the TV show, and taken credit for the design!), and also the ‘Butterfly’ for the rear end treatment. Per Bob Cadaret at GM. Wick
As car nicknames go, it doesn’t get more iconic than the Bug
That remark hit me like a slug on the arm, Jared! 😉
And the 4 banger air cooled motor had it’s own nickname of “Sewing Machine” for the iconic, precision sound it makes at idle. And “Pea Shooter” exhaust.
“Tweeters” or “Tweeter Pies” for the true VW fan.
I’ve had 14 of them in my past life and never heard the “Tweeter” nickname…interesting…
If you are including engine nicknames, and why not, I would add in the little 253 Holden V8 aka the Thongslapper. Named for the sound of said engine.
Thongslapping is illegal in my state…
Weren’t the old Buick Electra 225s called “Deuce and a Quarter”?
In my mind, a deuce and a quarter is an army truck. My buddy was talking about cruising with his buddies in a deuce and a quarter, and turns out he was talking Buick
I think the military vehicle is a deuce-and-a-half. It refers to a 2-1/2 ton truck.
Well that would better explain the Ry Cooder lyrics..
“Well I put you behind the wheel
Of a deuce-and-a-quarter, yes I did…”
Makes sense a guy would get a high maintenance woman a Buick instead of an army truck. I now have a better understanding of the lyrics.
Army trucks were deuce and a half, spent a good amount of time on them 70-72.
I believe you’re right. In the Marine Corps, the trucks were referred to as “6 By’s”, referring to the number of drive wheels they had. There were the duece-an-a-half’s and the five-tonners – just bigger 6X’s.
Buick Electra 225/Deuce and a quarter refers to 225″ car length
During WW2 my father worked on the deuce-and-a half in the motor pool at RAF Thurleigh B-17 base Bedford. He also worked on jeeps and other motorized transportation.
A deuse and a half refers to the 6X6 trucks off road load rateing of 5,000lbs. On road it was rated at 10,000lbs.
In both cases actual loads could & did exceed the ratings.
Well, that’s about how much (2 1/2 ton military truck weight) that Buick weighs!
2 1/2 tons was the load capacity. The truck weighed much more than that, about 7 + tons empty.
Yeah, for frame-of-reference, your standard 1/2-ton pick-up weighs a lot more than 1/2-ton (or 1000 pounds). Thise sort of terminology always refers to load capacity rather than vehicle weight, to my knowledge.
The Army trucks were 2 1/2 ton trucks and were called deuce and a halfs.
Deuce and a half is your basic army truck.
It wasn’t until recently that I learned the Electra 225 was so named because it was 225 inches long.
yep
Yes, and unfortunately that’s how I refer to my weight these days
Datsun Fairlady. – first for their 60’ roadsters and then for the 240z family
Fairlady was the actual moniker on the side of the car in Japan, Love thoses old Z’s.
Fairlady was the actual model name in the domestic market, not a nickname.
When the 240Z came out a friend bought one.
I asked him what a 24 Ounce was, ‘cuz that was what the rear emblem looked like to me: 24oz. He did not like me teasing him about his 24 oz!
“Car’s a car and that’s a fact, but a duece and a quarter ain’t no Cadillac” song by Kevin Gordon check it out on YT
Electras have been “duece and a quarter” as long as I can remember
Yes. I remember that nickname.
Yes, the Electra 225 was indeed called the Deuce & a Quarter! Especially by the 1970’s, particularly in our inner cities.
Absolutely, Donnie. I’m a white boy from the Indianapolis projects, and the Electra 225 was ALWAYS a “deuce and a quarter”, as well as being very near the top of aspirational cars. ’98s and Eldos were the top.
In the “hood” I be rolling in my “nine”,2+2+5 = 9
Yes, they were.
I own a 1976 Mercedes 230, a 4 door sedan which was the gas version of a 240D. Having noticed that many German Taxis looked exactly like my 230 we started calling it the “Düsseldorf Taxi”. Great car, now a classic ( of sorts) . I just relicensed it for another year.
They sure were (called deuce and a quarter).
What about the early Pontiac mini vans – Dust Buster?
I believe the Ford was called the Dust Buster and the GM minivan was called the Bread Box.
Later GM vans were called the bread box. The GMC Savana was the GMC model.
All that model from all the GM divisions were called the Dust Buster. My cousin in England named the Citroen 2CV the leaping lump.
The 2CV was generally known as the ‘Tin Snail’ in the UK
My Dad had a Citroen 2CV in Holland before we immigrated. Over there it was called a “Lelijk Eendje”…or Ugly Duckling
Absolutely! With that long, sloping nose all of the GM minivans of that era looked like a Dustbuster.
The Pontiac Transport, Chevy lumina APV, Oldsmobile Silhouette, were definitely the Dustbusters.
What about the AMC Pacer, called the pregnant roller skate.
I always thought the side view of the Porsche 928 and AMC Pacer had the same styling, but in very different proportion. My best friend bought a 928 when he made his first million… and I loved to disparage it by calling it his “Pacer”.
My understanding is that the Porsche designer(s) responsible for the 928 were actually inspired by the design of the AMC Pacer.
You are correct. I know 3 people who worked with or studied under Wolfgang Mobius who heard directly from him that it was the Pacer indeed, that inspired his design of the 928. His boss, Tony Lapine, cites the Chevrolet Testudo concept car also as an inspiration. Tony worked for General Motors for 16 years before being lured away to join Style Porsche when Butzi along with the rest of the Porsche and Piech clan stepped away from direct involvement with the company.
The Pacer to Me was the WALNUT or the WALNUT WAGON version.
We knew it as a fishbowl. 💀
Pacer = fishbowl
We used to call the Pacer a Hornet with its ass kicked in
The Pontiac Aztek we called the asskick.
We used to call the Pacer a Glass Turtle and a Firebird Chicken Flambe’. Some called the Toyota Previa an Egg, but I didn’t see it. What about the Plastic Fantastic for the Corvette and the Poor Man’s Porsche for the Corvair? Also, from ads of the 70s, the Plymouth Dustpan and the Bananacuda.
How about “Clown Shoe” for the original BMW Z3 and Z3 M coupe?
Uhm, that’s Number Three (#3) on this list…
What do you call it when ninety-six (96) Clown Shoes get together? Two (2) things: Schuh Syndicat, and a world record! https://www.facebook.com/SchuhSyndikat
Hagerty representative Paul Kaperonis was a witness to the event (thanks again Paul, for all the pizza)!
They’re already planning for the 2025 event, see you there?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/295241613361959
(scroll down to the Roundel Cover picture (BWM CCA magazine) to see the picture of our Estoril Blue Coupe)
Did you really just say that? You realize the original Z3 (the ragtop roadster) was a James Bond car, right? I’ve never heard anyone disparage this beautiful Straight-6 roadster as a “clown shoe.” The coupe and the wagon, maybe. But NEVER the roadster!
Hanging around the track, we always called the first generation Vipers the ‘clown shoes!’
I would’ve guessed the Land Cruiser got the name “Iron Pig” from its lousy fuel mileage.
The AMC Pacer also known as the Fish Bowl.
15 gallon(sedan) and 25 gallon(wagon).
Musk Ox. Best nickname that I’ve heard tor the hideous cybertruck.
Yeah, the military vehicle is “deuce and a half”, that goes ‘way back. The M-715 Jeep p/u derived 1 1/4 ton vehicle was known as a “five quarter”.
I think an iconic nickname the article missed was “Gullwing”.
Agree! How about the iconic name “Jeep”. It was probably one of the first nicknames ever!
Two theories: The military designation was GP (General Purpose) hence Jeep, the other is that it was named after the “jeep” character in Popeye cartoons, but never heard a reason why.
I think it was because the jeep character could change to whatever you wanted, so the versatile military vehicle was nicknamed jeep.
Apropos of nothing – I named my little Jeep “Eugene”.
Hubby’s brother had an Iraqi Taxi
Plymouth GTX = Getx
Plymouth Road Runner = Runner
Bugeye
Frogeye, that’s 2 for 1. We win.
“Frogeye” in Yurup.
I’ve heard the Austin Healey Sprite called the ‘Bug eye,’ but I’d also heard it called the ‘Happy Frog!’
I remember hearing an old song about the Model A that came out in ’29. “Henry made a lady out of Lizzie”.
Also “Fliver’
I always thought Flivver referred to the Model T, not the A?
A flivver was a nickname for any old, cheap car or aircraft at the time. There were a lot of flivvers in the Dirty Thirties for obvious reasons.
I’ve heard that song too!
My first car was a Datsun 510 nicknamed Elvis..due to his propensity to Shake, Rattle and Roll.
And they are also well known by Datsun enthusiasts as the five & dime. There was a 510 magazine called Dime Quarterly. I don’t know if it’s around anymore.