No, that’s not a mistake! If you thought we missed a word in the headline, let me assure you we haven’t. Although it might seem otherwise, there is nothing that was supposed to follow. This car from Honda was indeed called That’s!

For all the technologically advanced machines it has given the automobile world, Japan has amused us over the decades with its strange but highly entertaining car nomenclature. From Brat, Lettuce and Scrum Wagon to Mysterious Utility Wizard, Bongo Friendee and Toppo Guppy, these cars, or at least their names, have put a smile on our faces. While these names were all bizzare and pointless, they were at least complete and finite words. But none of them presented us with the endless possibilities that was offered by the That’s. It’s a name that had the potential to bring out the philosophical side of those who came across it. It’s as if the car was about to tell you something but instead decided to leave it all vague, much like a gripping movie that leaves the audience hanging with an inconclusive climax!

Sadly though, there was nothing riveting or deep about the car that bore this name. It was just a lowly ‘kei’ car that put out a measly 50-odd horsepower, and a boxy, uninspiring design intended to get around tax and insurance regulations. Maybe it would have been more appropriate to call it the Honda That Isn’t! Anyway, unlike its name, the car didn’t bring with it endless possibilities for Honda, and had a relatively short lifespan.

Whether its fortunes would have been different if it were named differently is something that’s… you know what I mean!