Toyota names their new car line: Spade, Tar Baby, Burrhead…
Hey, It’s just a word association…
…Toyota claims the name was derived from the words “space” and “wide,” Spade is also a racial epithet that was used against African Americans in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th century.
Click to play…The Hulu video above of the “Word Association*” sketch by Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase (Saturday Night Live – 1975) only works in the USA. Sorry. You can view this reconstruction on Youtube or read the script on IMDb.com.
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July 25th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Toyota needs to nip this in the bud. They don’t have a spic of sense. This could be the chink in the armor, but they shouldn’t act like bunnies in the jungle.
July 25th, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Nah, Toyota will probably just change the name if they market it outside of Japan. Otherwise, Spade could become a huge tar baby for them.
July 25th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
“Spade” is a racial epithet not used much anymore. I was born in the ’80s, and I’ve heard “spade” used in ancient TV sitcoms like the Jefferson’s, but I haven’t heard it used in a coon’s age. ;-p
July 25th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Mah favorit is the Totoya Platana…
The platane is a common tree found lining most countryside roads in France (by order of Napoleon Bonaparte or sum king, to allow travellers to stay in the shadow during their trip). But with the advent of the automobile, it became the deadliest car predator evar… Countles french cars ended wrapped around platane on rainy days following a spirited driving. Alpine (one of the last RWD Renaults) where notorious for their eagerness to kill their driver helped by platanes on such road. (some model even have what appeared to be an ident on the front bumper looking like the official platane impact/most vulnerable point)
July 25th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
My favorite weirdo Japanese car name is the Honda Life Dunk, which I have written about before (3Yen / 2005-11-26)…