Zoology: Vehicles Named After Bears
If you think this series is about to wander through the entire animal kingdom as if it were a jungle safari, you’re exactly right. Our last post took a gander at cars named after different species of fish; today we’ll stroll through the bear habitat. Tomorrow’s post will probably visit another part of the zoo.
Bears, with their imposing stature and aggressive nature, are a pretty good muse for car companies seeking to put a distinctive label on their hot new whip. There are some which don’t really work, of course - even the best advertisers would likely struggle to effectively market the Chevrolet Polar Bear half-ton truck. Actually, most scientists are of the opinion that there are only eight species of bears, putting a bit of a lid on creativity. But some do exist.
[Image: columbo.photog/Shutterstock.com, VanderWolf Images/Shutterstock.com, Best Auto Photo/Shutterstock.com, Gestur Gislason/Shutterstock.com, Sergio Yoneda/Shutterstock.com, Nadir Keklik/Shutterstock.com]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Fiat Panda
The first example of this little European economy car showed up at the Geneva Motor Show as the calendar was flipping into 1980. Giorgetto Giugiaro is credited with penning the utilitarian hatchback, allegedly over the span of about two weeks a couple of years prior. Fun fact: it was the first time Fiat had entrusted the development of a high-volume model to an outside company. And the Panda was indeed a high-volume model, selling nearly 4.5 million units over the span of a stunning 23 years. There was a spell during the ‘80s and ‘90s in which the Panda was as ubiquitous on European streets as cobblestones and lack of parking spaces. Now in its third generation, it shares many of its bones with numerous other Euro minicars. And no note about the Panda is complete without mentioning the outrageously stretched example built for a segment on Top Gear.
Škoda Kodiaq
Despite taking liberties with its spelling, the Kodiaq is a midsize crossover whose nameplate has been around for nearly a decade. As part of the Volkswagen empire, it shares structure with other similarly sized rigs from the House of VW which use the MQB platform. Since we gave you a fun fact about the Panda, let’s give you one about the Kodiaq: marketers at Škoda were able to convince the good people of Kodiak Island in Alaska to rename their town ‘Kodiaq’ for a single day during the model’s launch. Sure beats just putting up a few flags.
Škoda Kodiaq
Closer to home, Chevrolet used the Kodiak name (with correct spelling!) on its medium-duty trucks, twinning with the GMC TopKick. While the title might not be familiar, we can guarantee you’ve seen them on a highway as delivery trucks, utility vehicles, and rollback tow trucks.
Stutz Bearcat
We’ll probably get a bit of kickback from pedants on this one since the bearcat is technically neither a bear nor a cat - but come on, the word is right there in its name. It’s also known as a binturong. As for the Stutz, it was originally an American sports car built around the brackets of the first World War.
Stutz Bearcat
It showed up in tony areas of the country as a symbol of status and wealth. It also found success in racing, apparently thanks to favourable weight and power. The name was resurrected on a revival car, shown above in white, a few decades later.
