Kia to not sell "Provo" car in the UK

[TheNewTeddy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21678741

The name is tied to the Provisional IRA which waged a bombing campaign during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Curious how people feel about this when compared to this thread:

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/forums//index.php?showtopic=22360

Edited March 6, 2013 by TheNewTeddy

[Guest]

Car manufacturers want to sell cars. If they think they will sell more by changing the name, more power to them.

Personally, I'm not offended by either Provo or SS. I can't imagine The Reverend and Right Honourable, The Lord Bannside, PC getting a Provo, though.

[kimmy]

If the name "Provo" has bad connotations in the UK, then by all means, don't sell it there or pick a new name.

But unless this British MP is telling Kia that they shouldn't sell a car named "Provo" *anywhere*, then it's not the same as the "SS" thread.

-k

[Guest American Woman]

Sure it is; the situations are the same, and neither car will be sold in either country. I've given other examples were names/promotions were objected to, also. Israel, for the record, has never said the SS "should not be sold anywhere" as far as I've seen, but while the name "Provo" is "tied to... troubles in Northern Ireland," ie: regional, the SS is tied to all Jews, not just Israel, so criticism of the name in general (which is different from saying it "should not be sold anywhere"), I would say, is understandable in the same way - ie: the same reaction as to the Provo.

[Wilber]

They aren't selling it there because they don't want to. Has nothing to do with the name.

[The_Squid]

Overly sensitive Brits. Same as the overly sensitive Jews/Israelis.

However, I can understand why they would change the name in both cases. I just do not understand why anyone would be upset over the name.

the name "Provo" is "tied to... troubles in Northern Ireland," ie:

regional, the SS is tied to all Jews, not just Israel, so criticism of

the name in general (which is different from saying it "should not be

sold anywhere"), I would say, is understandable in the same way - ie:

the same reaction as to the Provo.

The provisional IRA was funded by those with Irish ancestry or recent immigrants all over the world, particularly in the USA where there was a large Irish immigrant population. So I am sure the overly sensitive Brits all over the world have as much reason to gripe and whine as the overly sensitive Brits still in Britain.

Edited March 6, 2013 by The_Squid

[Wilber]

Different countries have their different sensitivities. You might be a little more sensitive if they had blown up something just down the road from you. They blew up a tube station a few blocks from an aunt of mine. Seth Macfarlane found out that some Lincoln jokes are still off limits at the Oscars but his stuff was no worse than Ricky Gervais' at the Golden Globes. Depends on your audience. Same goes for car names. Naming a car "Private Healthcare" would go over like a lead balloon in Canada. Most Asian cars don't carry the same names in North America or Europe as they do at home. VW sells the Golf and Jetta with several different names around the world.

The aren't selling the Provo in the UK because they don't want to right now. If and when they do, they may or may not rename it depending on how they think it will affect sales.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Wilber

[The_Squid]

They blew up a tube station a few blocks from an aunt of mine.

And now auntie hates YouTube?

[kimmy]

the SS is tied to all Jews, not just Israel, so criticism of the name in general (which is different from saying it "should not be sold anywhere"), I would say, is understandable in the same way - ie: the same reaction as to the Provo.

The letters "S" and "S" appearing next to each other is not "tied to all Jews."

I don't see why any reasonable person would think that the letters "SS" are a reference to a military unit that became extinct 70 years ago, as opposed to any of a myriad of far more current and relevant acronyms, such as Super Sport, Sport Sedan, Status Symbol, Secret Service, Social Security, Stainless Steel, Service Station, Solid State, State Subsidized, Safe Sex, Stop Speeding, Spread Spectrum, Stephen Spielberg, or Stockholm Syndrome.

Do Jewish New York Yankees fans have panic attacks when they look at a box score and read "Derek Jeter SS"? Has Derek Jeter been inducted into the SchutzStaffel!? Has Baruch Shuv contacted MLB to request that they rename the position "short stop" to something like "intermediate infielder" out of sensitivity to Holocaust survivors?

-k

[Wilber]

And now auntie hates YouTube?

Never asked her and no longer can unfortunately. Heart attack though, not the IRA.