Description

This article is from the Watercooled VWs General FAQ, by Jan Vandenbrande with numerous contributions by others.

21 Where did VW car names come from?

A: Most of the European names given to VWs came from wind names.
In other countries, the same models may bear different names, such as
the Golf I called the Rabbit in the US and Caribe (?) in Mexico.
More recently, VW started adopting other naming convetions (e.g.,
Corrado). (Enhanced with Dennis's notes).

   Scirocco	- Hot North African desert wind that blows into Italy
   		  Original name was rumored to be Blizzard.
   Golf		- Gulf stream winds (a high altitude North-south 100 mmph wind)
   Jetta	- Jet stream (East/West wind, affecting Pacific air travel)
   Passat	- Trade winds
   Vento	- Blowing/windy (E/I)
   Polo		- ?
   Santana	- Hot desert blast accross the Sea of Cortez. 
   Corrado	- Not a wind, it's derived from Spanish Correr which means to 
   		  run. The original name for the car was Taifun (Typhoon)
   		  which means huricane except it was already a registered
   		  trade mark for a GM truck. 

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