I would seriously consider changing the name "Gonow". It sounds very tacky and cheesy, especially in the West. It won't be taken seriously by Americans. I think many Chinese companies still have a poor understanding of the Western consumer, hence the many ridiculous English names such as Chery, Geely and Gonow.. etc.

You need something more marketable and catchy. If you need help, I can try some suggestions.

you aer conservative,why can't accept something new?

Japan's Honda is also a strange name for you west,but it sells well globally.

But Gonow is a bad use of ENGLISH words. If it was an actual Chinese name that's ok. My problem is when Chinese companies try to use English names and it sounds very bad to the ears of Western consumers.

I think a more masculine and catchy name would help sales.

I agree with Jikki,


THe west has accepted names like KIA, honda and toyota

which are more absurd than geely and chery BUT

TOYOTA beat out every single US manufacturer and are making GM and FORD cry for mercy

Yes,I also think name is just name,no other mean.

But if the name is more accept by Western,it may be more well.

I agree with Edge that the name is somewhat odd, at least to me. Someone that's never heard of a name like "Honda" or "Toyota" will think of the car once they hear the name and see the cars. When someone says "Gonow", I don't know if they are talking about a car or telling me to go somewhere. It's probably a suitable name for the chinese market since english is not their first language. That's just my opinion anyways.

Yeah, the name is VERY important. It's not "just a name". Ultimately, a good product will get recognition no matter what. But why make things more difficult by adopting a funny or laughable name?

I mean, Honda and Toyota was once alien to Americans. But as Pyrox said, at least when people heard it, they thought of the car. But Gonow, just sounds very cheesy and not professional at all. It sounds like an immigrant with bad English trying to pick a name, but ends up sounding like a joke. That will make your marketing efforts in the US twice as difficult. I really suggest you change your English name (you dont have to change your Chinese name) at this early stage, so you can make things much easier for yourself in the long run.

It might now be best name, but i think people will get used to it after some time...just like sabaru

Yeah, the name is VERY important. It's not "just a name". Ultimately, a good product will get recognition no matter what. But why make things more difficult by adopting a funny or laughable name?

I mean, Honda and Toyota was once alien to Americans. But as Pyrox said, at least when people heard it, they thought of the car. But Gonow, just sounds very cheesy and not professional at all. It sounds like an immigrant with bad English trying to pick a name, but ends up sounding like a joke. That will make your marketing efforts in the US twice as difficult. I really suggest you change your English name (you dont have to change your Chinese name) at this early stage, so you can make things much easier for yourself in the long run.

Exactly. I would never buy a car called "gonow" just as much as I would never buy milk named "gooddrink" or a computer named "fastfun". A purely chinese name would go over much better with American consumers. "Honda" is purely Japanese, and consumers associate the car with the country it came from, something they are comfortable with. But to try and come up with a cheesy American name for a chinese car... american consumers have a sense for knock-offs and crap products (because we have all been raised in a consumer driven society) and any cheesy name instantly says "knock-off" or "cheap". A company that won't spend the money on marketing to make a decent (and unique) name for it's product probably doesn't have a very good product. At least that's the prevailing attitude here in the states, and a concept to which I fully agree.

I agree with edge, as an American the name "Gonow" looks like a combination of bad translation and bad marketing.

Look at it this way, Honda, Toyota, Chevy, Ford, etc don't actually mean anything in English. The name "gonow" won't go over well. It will look like a joke. Ideally, they should go with something sounding more native (like the last name of a founder), or at least find someone that speaks English as a native language to make a name that will translate better. As it is, no American or Britain will take it seriously.

zzfirst, where did you go, what do you think about the name? and who chose it?

He already replied, he said he thought the name was unimportant.

I think that in very established consumer markets like the US, the name is very important, though if your quality is excellent, you will still be successful. But the name will make things easier for you if it is attractive.

Exactly.

No doubt about it, a name is extremely important in the global marketplace. It's what branding is all about.
Ji’ao 吉奥Automobile Co., Ltd. apparently didn't think its name would be appropriate for its plunge into the global arena. But Gonow was really a poor choice. Even Ciao, which means hello in Italian, would have been a better.

As for the Japanese, they happen to be lucky that their language is easier to pronounce by English speakers than any of the other East Asian languages. So Honda, Subaru and Toyoda didn't need much changing.

Hyundai on the hand was tough for the English-speaking marketplace. It sounds differently than when heard pronounced by Korean speakers who say something closer to Hyundae.
So Chinese companies will have to hire some brand gurus and linguists in order to be successful. Some have it easier than others, like Hafei.

i think all these name bashing has made zzfirst runaway..:o

zzfirst, where have you vanished to? you were our source of knowledge to Gonow auto :rolleyes:

I am sorry for my vanish many days,because I am go abroad,and just some days I came back China.

Ok,if you have any thing about my company,please to let me know,I will answer you as much as I know.

Chinese Motor Corps (CMC) sounds a lot regal than Gonow.

Welcome to chinacarforums Renyeo

Yes, those names are bad. Name is not simple a name, but a image. As for Japanese names like Toyota, Chinese cars could even have better names by simply translating by pinyin. An example comes from film industry. Lucky Film sounds extremely cheap. On contrary, Lekai sounds just fine.

I don't mean to apply this to Jili and Qirui, which sound no better than Geely and Chery.

Names must be carefully chosen. What do you feel if some tells you, "I just bought a 冲啊 car." or 樱桃车, or 胶胶车.

what of Gonow changed their name to GONO?
that would be ok

My friend,Mr M14, could you tell me why the name GONO is better than GONOW.
thank you.

Please change the name. If you want your company to be successful in the West, your name and brand will give you major problems. Of course, if you have a superior product, you will be successful anyways, but you will have a lot of problems starting up. Why dont you save yourself some problems?

Even your Chinese name Jiao is much better than GONOW, that is a horrible English brand name.

If you need some suggestions, you can ask us.

... I would never buy a car called "gonow" just as much as I would never buy milk named "gooddrink" or a computer named "fastfun". A purely chinese name would go over much better with American consumers. "Honda" is purely Japanese, and consumers associate the car with the country it came from, something they are comfortable with. But to try and come up with a cheesy American name for a chinese car... american consumers have a sense for knock-offs and crap products (because we have all been raised in a consumer driven society) and any cheesy name instantly says "knock-off" or "cheap". A company that won't spend the money on marketing to make a decent (and unique) name for it's product probably doesn't have a very good product. At least that's the prevailing attitude here in the states, and a concept to which I fully agree.

I agree, they should keep a (more)Chinese name, but they will become the butt of jokes if they keep a name like Gonow. Even if a Chinese name (ex: Dongfeng) might sound wierd today, eventually, it will sound as normal as Toyota, Honda, or Nissan(though Toyota originally debuted as "Toyopet" in the US). I think quality is more important. The Koreans are only now starting to be accepted as quality and reliable vehicles, because the first cars imported were crap(e.g.-Hyundai Excel). If you wait until you can have quality vehicles (with a good name), it will be a lot easier than starting with a vehicle that other manufacturers might have offered last in 1995 (no offense). I know people might now laugh at "Made in China", but in the 50's , "Made in Japan", though it might be hard to believe, was a joke and reguarded as 'something that fell apart just by looking at it'. Nowadays,
"Made in Japan" is reguarded as high-quality and well made. Anyway, if you want to avoid the pain of being perceived as a crap car, you should make sure that your quality and reliability are up to par with the competition, and also is cheaper. With the price of Chinese labor, you can acheive better quality for less, use it to your advantage.

as a junior member, i don't know if i should even interrupt this most interesting of discussions. but, coming from actual experience w/marketing chinese trucks in a foreign country, in this case the philippines-w/ch is dominated by japanese car brands, & western (american) pop culture, i have to agree w/ those who put a premium on the right-sounding name brand. yuejin, foton, & great wall, brands we represent are easy on the ears, as well as evoke the "chineseness" of the products. we did not have too much negative reactions from the names, although people keep mistaking foton for the malaysian brand proton, & keep asking what yuejin means (leap forward), i think is a loose translation, pls. correct me if i'm wrong here. now, great wall-thats the right name for a chinese brand! i'm surprised that no one has thought of name brands w/ instant recognition as chinese, e.g. yangtze, shaolin, phoenix, red dragon, leaping tiger, etc. etc. its tough enough in this day & age to do battle against the giants of the auto industry to be hampered additionally w/ a name that evokes chuckles and snide remarks.

my two-cents worth.:)

My friend,Mr M14, could you tell me why the name GONO is better than GONOW.
thank you.

gonow is also the bad name here in east europe,because gonow is speling love govno..which on our laguage means...something bad

They should really go invest in a good consultant for an appropriate name and branding. Gonow - but where to?. Got money but no sense.

Sorry, but Gono sounds like something that "doesn't go". Kind of like the infamous Chevy Nova in Spanish speaking countries.

as a junior member, i don't know if i should even interrupt this most interesting of discussions. but, coming from actual experience w/marketing chinese trucks in a foreign country, in this case the philippines-w/ch is dominated by japanese car brands, & western (american) pop culture, i have to agree w/ those who put a premium on the right-sounding name brand. yuejin, foton, & great wall, brands we represent are easy on the ears, as well as evoke the "chineseness" of the products. we did not have too much negative reactions from the names, although people keep mistaking foton for the malaysian brand proton, & keep asking what yuejin means (leap forward), i think is a loose translation, pls. correct me if i'm wrong here. now, great wall-thats the right name for a chinese brand! i'm surprised that no one has thought of name brands w/ instant recognition as chinese, e.g. yangtze, shaolin, phoenix, red dragon, leaping tiger, etc. etc. its tough enough in this day & age to do battle against the giants of the auto industry to be hampered additionally w/ a name that evokes chuckles and snide remarks.

my two-cents worth.:)

In the Philippines the word Gonow rhymes with the word "Gunaw",its meaning in english is "destroyed":nono:

The Chinese brands in the Philippines are the likes of Foton,Yuejin,Changan/Chana,Wuling and Great Wall,Fuqi and Gonow under one banner name called Nexus Automotive...

more important than the name is reputation, and Mr Zhang is right when he says that his priorties are else where and not minor details like names:)

It's better than Brillance naming a car the BS6 (BS is short for Bullshit).

Then again, Kia sells fine in the United States (KIA is a US military acronym that stands for Killed In Action; as in "5 US soliders were KIA today in Bagdad").

And GM named an SUV after a blowjob. Sooooo...

as a junior member, i don't know if i should even interrupt this most interesting of discussions. but, coming from actual experience w/marketing chinese trucks in a foreign country, in this case the philippines-w/ch is dominated by japanese car brands, & western (american) pop culture, i have to agree w/ those who put a premium on the right-sounding name brand. yuejin, foton, & great wall, brands we represent are easy on the ears, as well as evoke the "chineseness" of the products. we did not have too much negative reactions from the names, although people keep mistaking foton for the malaysian brand proton, & keep asking what yuejin means (leap forward), i think is a loose translation, pls. correct me if i'm wrong here. now, great wall-thats the right name for a chinese brand! i'm surprised that no one has thought of name brands w/ instant recognition as chinese, e.g. yangtze, shaolin, phoenix, red dragon, leaping tiger, etc. etc. its tough enough in this day & age to do battle against the giants of the auto industry to be hampered additionally w/ a name that evokes chuckles and snide remarks.

my two-cents worth.:)

The best Chinese-y name from a Chinese automaker is Great Wall.

Then again, they may want to downplay thier Chineseness. A lot of people in the United States think "cheap plastic crap from Walmart" when they see "Made In China".

I'm surprised that no one has thought of name brands w/ instant recognition as chinese, e.g. yangtze, shaolin, phoenix, red dragon, leaping tiger, etc. etc.

Oh, yes they have. Yangzi is a huge conglomerate that makes everything from floorboards to buses. Shaolin is a bus company. There are also two separate bus manufacturers, both called Jin Long (not red, but Golden Dragon).

But you're right - something grand and Chinese-sounding is far better than Gonow. May as well be called Pissoff or Getout!

Agree with you. "GoNow" sounds really strange to me, even for a native Chinese speaker like me.

I would seriously consider changing the name "Gonow". It sounds very tacky and cheesy, especially in the West. It won't be taken seriously by Americans. I think many Chinese companies still have a poor understanding of the Western consumer, hence the many ridiculous English names such as Chery, Geely and Gonow.. etc.

You need something more marketable and catchy. If you need help, I can try some suggestions.

For chinese specaker, it is JI'AO,not GONOW, the GONOW is just for english

can you tell us about your company?

yeah lets change it to gonads

better yet lets pick a normal as name

Go now ! Go now ! Go now !

I said this all the time when I had a Rover SD1 !


--------------------

so what's the pronunciation of Zhejiang - zeng dong ? zeng feng ? zhen jang ? zhen jyang ? zee jyang ? zee jang ?
why aren't chinese words translated _phonetically_ ?

What's wrong with something like "China Star" or "Lee", "Wong" etc..

yeah chinese companies really have no idea about what is brand?and what it means for western people...

First thank you every body care GONOW company and its name.

For the name I think many western people think the GONOW is not good name. I accept this idea.

But you should know when TOYOTO first come the world,many people also think it is a bad name, now no one thing the name has some problem.

What do you think?


You know if in future GONOW car enter each country and in market there are many GONOW car,at that time may be no one think it is a bad name,it is my idea.

I think that gonow isn´t a bad name. But Gonow needs to bring own design style ( no copy ) - it is important for success on european market

If Ji'ao could produce a self-developed model with even Hyundai or Subaru quality, no one would care what the heck the name was.
With a competitive price, it would fly off the showroom floors. But in the case of Ji'ao, the capital to get the job done is lacking, and so it's not likely to happen.

You are right,only GONOW company become the leading company in autombile business,then no one will think this name is a strange name.

We also want to let GONOW's car enter all countries,but it is not easy. We need all friends help.

right but a better name can make it faster to be a leading company...and gonow sounds like a russian company, if you try to sell this car in Turkland, no one belives it was a chinese company; everyone thinks it is a russian car...

You are right,only GONOW company become the leading company in autombile business,then no one will think this name is a strange name.

We also want to let GONOW's car enter all countries,but it is not easy. We need all friends help.

Why not market the car as Ji'ao though? Honestly, it really is a nice name to pronounce (its catchy like kia and asuna), definitly Pinyin, and may not sound like something you would buy in the back of a flea market (Like a Meiya)

Companies like Dadi and Forta etc. etc. all made the choice to pick a garbage nane to market reBadged honda passports and Toyota Hilux and they are obscure for that alone, regardless if they have good qulity or not. Think about it...

Jiao sounds like it not worth a Yuan.
I dont see anything particularly wrong with GoNow. Ford is a river crossing. Pontiac and Chevrolet are not English words.
Reliability will be the bring problem. You never want people to say "GoNow stop tomorrow". People will do that sort of thing TOYOTA people say stands for The One You Ort To Avoid (take the first letters.).
Car makers will always make erros in name Pajero is supposedly not a good word in some countries but it does get you noticed.

give it time to prove itself; everything sounds strange the first time out. granted western thinking is different than that of the east but in time to come the name may be accepted. in the late seventies when the japanese were coming into their own the names that are now accepted, honda (civic), toyoda, nissan must have sounded like foolishness to the westerner who was used to such names as thunderbird, camaro, skylark (buick). in the english speaking caribbean where the countries are former colonies of Britain we were used to names as the hillman, the austin cambridge, the triumph toledo. all these came from a european culture but in time through their reliability we embraced them as our own. time will tell, give gonow a shot.

Why not market the car as Ji'ao though? Honestly, it really is a nice name to pronounce (its catchy like kia and asuna), definitly Pinyin, and may not sound like something you would buy in the back of a flea market (Like a Meiya)

Companies like Dadi and Forta etc. etc. all made the choice to pick a garbage nane to market reBadged honda passports and Toyota Hilux and they are obscure for that alone, regardless if they have good qulity or not. Think about it...

How do you pronounce it ? I bet anything that isn't the phonetic spelling.

The only thing I can find is :
J-ee-ow.

It sounds like you stubbed your toe.

How about "Jeebao".
That's easy to say and spell.
Might have a problem with Chrysler though because of the similarity to "Jeep".

hope to understand that every words has his meaning
It is not just a single word,and even words have different meaning in every country.By the way, different country,different culture.

GO: 出发，行动，进取——广汽吉奥永远向前，永远行进在路上；行者无疆，自强不息。
GO: start, action, enterprising——GAC GONOW will go forward with self-discipline.
GO NOW: 立刻出发，立即行动——立即行动，才能把握现在，掌控未来；立即行动，才能抓住机遇，发展壮大 。
GO NOW: Go now, immediately——go now, you can grasp now and size future; go now, you can grasp opportunity and be stronger.
GO ON: 继续，持续——专心致志，锲而不舍，不断追求卓越，不断超越自我，才能实现长远可持续发展。
GO ON: continue—— Only by focus and perseverance, pursue excellence and challenge yourself, you can realize long term sustained development.
GO UP: 攀升，上升——广汽吉奥将始终保持勇于开拓、积极向上的精神，追求新目标，跨越新台阶，实现新突破，创变新 格局。
GO UP: Rising, Climbing——GAC GONOW will always keep exploring and proactive spirit to pursue new goals, transcend new step, and realize new breakthrough and new pattern finally.
GO ALL OUT: 全力以赴——无论什么目标，无论何种产品，无论哪道工序，无论哪个细节，广汽吉奥人都会全力以赴，追求完美 ，以高品质的产品和高质量的服务铺就广汽吉奥汽车走向全球的道路。
GO ALL OUT: Do with all efforts——whatever the goal, whatever the product, whichever work procedure, whichever details, GAC GONOW people will go all out with perfect, that is, pave way for GAC GONOW in globe with high quality product and high standard service.
除了“GO”的组合外，广汽吉奥LOGO还是两个同心圆的组合，彰显企业“同心”特质，寓意“同心协力”、 “步调一致”，而且是从同一个原点出发。
Except for the combination of “GO”, the GAC GONOW LOGO is also combination of two concentric circles, signifying “same heart” “work together” “keep in step”, and also start from the same point.
同时，同心圆的构图，还表达了广汽吉奥人对中国传统文化中“和” 的理解和领悟，表达广汽吉奥以共生、和谐的姿态谋求发展，以融入行业、融入社会、融入世界为现实追求，期待 广汽吉奥事业的良性循环，实现长远可持续发展。
Meanwhile, the concentric circles design expresses the understanding the “harmony” in Chinese traditional culture. It also signs that GAC GONOW pursues development with harmony and integrates into industry, society and world. It is looking forward for the virtuous circle and realizing long-term sustained development.
两个同心圆一大一小完美包容，展现出广汽吉奥兼容并蓄、海纳百川的博大胸怀和高远志向。
Two concentric circles---one big and one small, co-existence in perfect, showing old saying “all rivers run into sea”

I'm a fluent English speaker from Ca, USA. "Go Now," I don't have a problem with. The problem I see is if it is mistaken for "Gon-Ow." When you put two words together such as Go and Now with no way to distinguish how it should be said it can cause problems. "GoNow." would make more sense or "Go-Now."