Guys, I have to tell you: I don’t Afeela great about the name for Sony Honda Mobility’s new EV line. While the name was announced a couple years ago, it’s about to get real when we start seeing it on the road this spring. Naming a new vehicle is such a cool, special opportunity — and Afeela is what they landed on?
As an English-speaker, the evident meaning to me in this name is simply the word “feel” — and based on messaging on their website (“we believe the value in mobility is to move people, to move their emotions”) and their initial press release from 2023 referencing feeling and sensing, that is indeed the intent.
Again: Afeela?! Having a name created around the word “feel” comes across as way too on-the-nose, while also appearing to try too hard to get “feel” into the name — yet actually not trying nearly hard enough.
I don’t want a car name to tell me to feel. I want it to make me feel. Lucid and Rivian feel premium. Canoo and Slate feel simple. Vinfast and Luxeed use very straightforward roots (fast; luxury + speed) but manage to do it in a way that feels more refined and thought-through than Afeela.
By all accounts, it looks like this will be a pretty cool car. But with regard to the name… Afeela lotta terrible jokes coming on.