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Comment by afshin | Hacker News Reader

I don't have a strong opinion about your larger point. It might be correct, I'm still thinking it through. But the Chevy Nova thing is an urban legend:

http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

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This might be an urban myth; however, when we were travelling in Europe a few years ago, my Argentine wife just laughed and laughed when she saw a car "Pajero", which in Argentina means "wanker"…

One of the biggest names in tech changed the branding for a service in certain markets where the English title translated into profanity. It's the responsible move if you're operating globally.

Apologies for ambiguity, but this is a case where I can't be any more specific.

The Pajero is called Montero in several countries, which include the Spanish-speaking ones.

The country we were in was Switzerland, if memory serves...

Of note: it is called Pajero in Brazil, which is a Portuguese speaking country.

I wonder what happens when someone crosses the border (any border) with it.

That it gets funny I guess. Around my neighbourhood there's always a Pajero parked around. I've smiled at it for years. Childish humour never dies.

Pajero is not a Portuguese word. People that speech Spanish may smile at it and Nova, but we have plenty of jokes about Kia's BestA, that means both beast, stupid or arrogant.

Anyway, BestA sold pretty well here.

Toyota renamed the MR2 in France because 'MR deux' sounds like 'merde'

What about the tale about Pepsi and their slogan "Come to life with Pepsi!" being translated into Chinese and coming out "Pepsi will bring your dead ancestors back to life"? Or Coca-Cola being translated to "bite the wax tadpole"?

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