Brief by Allen Best
Modern Life – November 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
In the 1970s, Dodge manufactured a car called the Aspen that was designed to be more fuel-efficient. In the wake of the oil embargo of 1973, consumers cared about such things. Whether the car was all that economical is another matter. It didn’t survive long. Now, with gas prices high again, this time backed by growing concerns about green-house emissions, consumers are again concerned about fuel efficiency. And Dodge, is once again issuing a vehicle called the Aspen, this time an eight-passenger SUV.
The Detroit News Autos Insider reported last year that the company chose the name Aspen “to position the vehicle — like the Colorado ski town — as both rugged and upscale.”
Another Colorado mountain town, Durango, is the namesake for another of its SUVs, and Lake Tahoe provides the identity for a SUV manufactured by GMC.
Who knows, maybe the manufactures of the smart cars — which are about half or less the length of regular cars or pickups — may choose tiny mountain towns for model names. How about a Nathrop, or a Silverton, Red Cliff, Tabernash, Parlin, or Woody Creek?
