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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Chevy_II_/_Nova#Urba...

In on language it means, "big explosion"

In another it means, "no go"

In all languages it means, "smells like gasoline"

There's a popular legend about Chevy's Nova selling poorly in Spanish-speaking countries, since "va" means "go," so "nova" is literally "no-go."

There's a similar story in France for the Audi e-tron, when pronounced, the name just means kind-of "shitty". That did not help sales for sure...

I apologise if this is off topic, but I swear 5 minutes ago in the shower I was wondering what company made that car. Thanks for saving me the search.

Not a native Spanish speaker, so I'm prepared to be wrong here, but I would translate "no va" as "doesn't go." Which is even worse