There was a big trend in the 1950s and 60s to name cars after places.
Marketing guys thought a cool location would graft some cool on a car with the same name.
Here are 12 examples.
Jerry Sutherland
The Kaiser Manhattan is a great place to start.
Kaiser thought the most expensive address in the world would add flair to the top shelf Kaiser sedan. They ran the Manhattan from 1952-55, and it was the perfect antidote to calling it the Kaiser Bronx.
The Meteor Niagara was a Canadian-only model (1954-59) from Ford that showcased their mid-range version of the mid-range Ford.
There was no word on how many honeymoons were taken in Niagaras, but it would have been on the recommended list of every 50s wedding planner.
The Chrysler Windsor was named after the town where they built a lot of cars—or the famous castle.
The Chrysler Windsor debuted in 1939 and continued until 1966 where it ended up as a Canadian-only (1961-66) car built at the Windsor plant in Windsor.
The Chevy Bel Air (1950-81) is a legend in the car culture—primarily because of the tri-five (1955-57) years.
Chevy couldn’t pick a better name to celebrate mainstream Americana than a California venue known for a flashy Hollywood vibe.
The Pontiac Bonneville had a long run (1958-2005), because the name itself implies power and speed.
Not all Bonnevilles were fast, but they clearly had a serious run thanks to a cool name that Pontiac didn’t want to quit on.
The Dodge Monaco was Mopar’s answer to high-end Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles.
Dodge ran with that jet-set name from 1965 until 1992 when it evolved from upscale to police car to econo-box. No word from the Principality of Monaco about what they thought about that evolution.
Chevy had another model called the Biscayne from 1958-75, and it sold well as a mid-level car.
Biscayne Bay is a very popular area of Florida so it’s not a giant leap of logic to suggest that an American car a Biscayne built for family vacations would have big appeal.
Monte Carlo is another natural fit for upscale buyers, so Chevy built them (off and on) from 1970 until 2007.
Monte Carlo is a gambling town, but it wasn’t a gamble for Chevy because the Monte Carlo was a great choice for a name.
The Malibu name debuted for Chevy in 1964, with the intermediate Chevelle.
This surfer’s paradise venue was perfect for an entry-level car designed for younger buyers in the Swingin’ Sixties. The name stuck because it ran (with a few missing years) from 1964-2025, proving how popular surfing culture is in American culture.
Torino is a sophisticated city in northern Italy, so it wasn’t a natural fit for mass-produced cars built in Michigan, but Ford ran with it from 1968 to 1976.
Torinos were fierce competitors on NASCAR tracks and one starred on TV’s ‘Starsky and Hutch’ as a cool police car so the name defied the odds.
The Mercury Montclair was named after a township in New Jersey that’s a hub of the state.
Montclairs were mid-range priced cars, and they sold well from 1955 to 1968—with a bit of a gap for four years.
The last place name car is the Dodge Daytona. Daytona Beach was the birthplace of NASCAR, so the ’69 Charger Daytona name wasn’t much of a mystery.
The next generation of Daytonas (1984-93) were more of a mystery but the 2025 Dodge Daytona EV was a complete mystery for traditional muscle car guys.
What’s in a name? Ask the marketing guys at Detroit.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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