FEATURE/Toyota's New Prius Scores Low in Name One!'s Name Scale; Name One! Says Prius Name is Too Difficult.

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--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)

As Toyota's new Prius hybrid gas/electric car debuts in America, predictions about its public reception have come from an unlikely source. A national name creation company has announced concern about the car's pronunciation and verbal associations. "Prius scored alarmingly low on our Name Scale. I hope it's not headed for a Nova-type disaster," says Lauren Teton of the Pound Ridge, NY office of Name One!, referring to Chevy's disastrous introduction of the Nova to Latin America, where the name was read as "no va - it doesn't go."

"The name Prius is only two letters removed from Priapus, the Greco-Roman god of the erect phallus. Is Prius just for men to drive?" wonders Teton? "A subtle reference to sex can be good in a name. But this is blatant. Equally bad, it evokes words with negative connotations like 'price,' 'bias,' 'priss,' and `pious'. And why would they choose a name that means "before" in Latin for such a modern car?"

Additionally, Prius scored low on Name One's Name Scale because of its ambiguous pronunciation. The Name Scale assigns points to rate product and company names on factors that affect memorability and user-friendliness of names. Names are rated on how good they sound, look and feel. According to the survey done by Name One!, respondents wondered whether they should pronounce it 'pree-us' or `pry-us. Others who answered the survey said the name made them think 'Pry us out of this small car,' or 'pry us away from our money.

In comparison to the low Name Scale score of minus 3 for Prius, another name from Toyota, Lexus, is a big winner with a superior score of 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. 'Lexus' contains all the letters of the word 'sex,'" says Teton. "It starts with the euphonious letter 'L' and has a five-letter consonant-vowel-consonant structure. It is clear to the ear and easy to spell. These are some of the factors which combine to make it a near-perfect name."

Teton says, "A viable car with an electric power source like this is an outstanding, forward-thinking idea, and deserves a better name. People will learn the correct pronunciation "pree-us". But why start out a new car model at a disadvantage?"