Meanwhile, in other car-branding news, Mark Liberman of Language Log conveys tidings of the Great Wall Wingle, "the first high-pressure common rail & high-end diesel pickup in China."
"Wingle" is purportedly a blend of "wind" and "eagle." (Liberman asks: "Shouldn't it be Weagle?")
You really must read the entire post, and refer to the Wingle website and to this press release, "Wingle Fever in Overseas," to savor the full character of Wingletude. But here's a taste:
Pick-up, which has top grade equipment and expensive price, is a very popular and fashionable type in the international market. Idea abroad is quite different from that of China. In foreign countries, driving a pick-up is not a lack of pride, but a symbol of fashion and identity. In many countries, the sale of pick-up is consistently on top, while market share of the high rank pickups has been monopolized by brands like Ford,General, Dodge and Toyota.
China has ignored this type for years and just regards it as a fractionizing part in motor market. However, it has created miracle that other types cannot achieve! The main symbol of it is that the foreign pick-ups can not be able to export in China since the 90s, because the independent brands leaded by Great Wall Motor have built a solid “Great Wall” to resist the foreign brands.
May a thousand Wingles bloom!
"Sir—your wingle! Zip up your fly!"
Posted by: Orange | October 08, 2007 at 08:37 PM
Hmmm, wind and eagle? I'm imagining the U.S. advertising campaign for this vehicle. Given the penchant for taking hit songs from the 70s and incorporating them into TV ads for aging, upscale boomers who just love "topgrade equipment and expensive price," I see wonderfully lit scense of the pick-up driving along the beach and through mountain vistas while Steve Miller sings, "I want to fly like a Wingle..."
Posted by: Night Writer | October 09, 2007 at 08:28 AM
Night Writer and Orange: You are the wind beneath my wingle.
Posted by: Nancy Friedman | October 10, 2007 at 08:31 AM