Shoppers select best/worst vehicle names

Do you think Toyota's Yaris is the worst name for a vehicle?

The majority of the 700 car shoppers that participated in a naming poll conducted on Autobytel's consumer website, http://www.autobytel.com/ did.

By the way, Yaris is a combination of the German affirmative "ya" and the Greek goddess Charis.

Close contenders in the "worst name" category were the Subaru B9 Tribeca (named for the lower Manhattan neighborhood associated with trendy loft living) and the Volkswagen Touareg (named after Berber tribesmen).

What's the best? Ford's Mustang rated as the current best car name. Shoppers selected the Chevrolet Corvette (a type of warship) as the best domestic vehicle name from the past. Their favorite import name from the past was the Volkswagen Beetle.

According to the Autobytel poll, there's something in a name -- 72 percent of respondents said an unappealing or silly name has made them less likely to purchase the vehicle and half said a bad name can make even a great car less desirable. Remember the AMC Gremlin and the Ford Probe?