Car Names in the USA vs. UK - International AutoSource (2024)

FAQs

What do they call cars in the UK? ›

A car.. the same word we all use all over the UK here. Some people here in Scotland call it a motor.

In American English, Latin American Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese, the term sedan is used (accented as sedán in Spanish). In British English, a car of this configuration is called a saloon (/səˈlun/).

In Europe, the classification is commonly known as "MPV", "people carrier", or officially M-segment, and includes van-based vehicles and smaller vehicles with two-row seating.

The Nissan Rogue is called the Nissan X-Trail outside the U.S. We're just fine with most of the names on this list staying in other markets — except for this one.

For the U.S, it is known as the Rogue Sport to tie it in with the popular Rogue nameplate. In Canada, the Qashqai kept its original name.

In the US, we call a sport utility vehicle an SUV, while in the UK it goes by the name 4X4 (four by four). If you're shopping for a 4×4 in the USA, the car salesman is going to assume you're looking for any vehicle that offers Four-Wheel Drive – an option that comes on all sorts of models.

The front window of the car is named the windscreen in the UK, while in the USA, they've tweaked it just slightly to read windshield. Both 'screen' and 'shield' suggest protection and so are still quite similar in their meaning, linguistically.

In both Britain and America, the idea of stepping on the gas, giving it some gas, or a gas pedal (even though the Brits may often call it the 'accelerator', or 'throttle' instead) is universally recognised.

In the United Kingdom, the historical term for a two-door convertible is drophead coupé, and a four-door convertible was called an all-weather tourer.

The term 'saloon car' was originally used to refer to the luxury carriages on a train. It was adopted by British carmakers in the early part of the 20th Century to describe cars with an enclosed passenger compartment. In other countries, a saloon is usually referred to as a 'sedan'.

What do they call cars in Scotland? ›

CAR, n. Also caur, ker.

Reflecting the original purpose of transporting people and luggage between country estates and train stations, the body style is called an "estate car" or "estate" in the United Kingdom or a "wagon" in Australia and New Zealand.

The word lorry was first used in Britain to categorise a low-loading trolley pulled by a horse-drawn vehicle to carry other vehicles and large loads. Lorry was also used to describe a freight carrying rail car. These are likely to have been the first transport lorries.

Unless you legally change your name in all of the countries you are a national of, you may end up having passports with different names. You may also always have had two different names on your passports because of local rules or customs about spelling or order of names when you gained dual citizenship.

The reasons why brands change their names depending on the country they're selling to range from legal, cultural, and linguistic issues to marketing strategies.

Because they export these cars. And English is used in most places they export to. It will be expensive to run two lines with separate Fonts. And the Japanese do read that amount of English.

Japanese Car Style and Design Philosophy

Japanese car manufacturers thrive over simplicity, practicality, and cars that are user-friendly. The design focuses on minimalism and is quite functional. A classic example would be the Toyota Prius with its simple, fuel-efficient, and streamlined design.