Automotive alphabet soup

 GLH – Goes Like Hell

I’m really surprised Chrysler doesn’t resurrect the GLH name for some of its faster cars. Maybe having the initials for “Goes Like Hell” on the back of a Challenger would get a few parent’s groups mad, but all that means is free publicity for Chrysler and drivers who get to feel even more like badasses.

 GT – Gran Turismo (Grand Touring)

The initials “GT” get slapped on a rear more than a truck stop waitress. A GT car in its purest form is supposed to be a larger sports car that can hold four people in relative comfort while traveling very fast. The best examples are cars like the Ferrari 612 or the suitably named Maserati GranTurismo. But not everyone gets this right… there was nothing large or sporty about the Morris Marina GT.

 ETC – Eldorado Touring Coupe

At the turn of the century, Cadillac was in the process of changing over from names to letters. The Cadillac Seville became the STS for Seville Touring Sedan, the Catera became the CTS for Catara Touring Sedan, and so on. Unfortunately this doesn’t work so well when it came down to the Eldorado Touring Coupe. Naming the car the ETC probably doesn’t help people feel like their Caddy is individual or special.

 SS – Super Sport

One much better letter designation scheme that came from General Motor was the Super Sport. Since 1961, Americans stopped associating SS with an evil Nazi force, and instead now know it for evil (in the good way) street-eating Chevys. That’s U-S-A all the way!

 FQ — F***ing Quick

In the UK the special models for the Mitsubishi Evo don’t try to hide thier nature. FQ is rumored to stand for "F***ing Quick" and that’s f***ing awesome.