Naming brands/models

[desecration]

I remember reading Umberto Ecco's Foucault's Pendulum. The book was considered a big deal, a best seller, full of obscure expertise. Early on, maybe in the first chapter, the author includes a computer program. This was long enough ago that it showed the character's erudition. The program was wrong! After that I had trouble suspending my disbelief. I don't think I finished the book.

Not everyone can be Michael Crichton, William Gibson, or Thomas Pynchon.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

It depends on what the character would say. If you ask three people what car they have, and one says 'a blue hatchback', one says "I got a company Prius" and the third says "Now I'm driving a Audi Q5 Quattro S Tronic", you've learnt a bit about them.

But brand references can really date, especially in clothing, so I try to avoid those - the examples above would work even if you don't know what driving a Prius or Audi imply, but mentioning a regional brand or a brand with a stereotype attached can be impossible for some readers to know.

Burberry went from being very posh to the epitome of 'chav culture' (anti-intellectual violent types and those who admired them) to the current assumption that their classic check is a fake item acquired from the local market. Converse were incredibly edgy and cool in the UK early 90s, then mainstream, now probably unheard of. GAP went from mainstream fashion to embarrassingly naff really quickly.

With cars, Tesla's have gone from 'quirky early-adopter' to 'dickhead boy racer' to 'typical sales guy with an entry-level company car' in just the last few years.

What a printer would say about someone, I don't know - just owning one nowadays is a bit niche. FWIW I've been using a Dell 1355cnw laserjet for nearly 20 years, even when it was difficult to get drivers that worked with Windows. It works fine again with Win11. Consider that an insight into my character!

 

[desecration]

But brand references can really date, especially in clothing, so I try to avoid those - the examples above would work even if you don't know what driving a Prius or Audi imply, but mentioning a regional brand or a brand with a stereotype attached can be impossible for some readers to know.

I wish I could remember which ones, but in my story crawl yesterday, I found two Priuses: one where someone mentioned that it was the perfect vehicle for silent criminal activity, and the other where the author made fun of the car and how ubiquitous it has become. Both made me laugh. Then I remembered an episode of "Cold Case Files" where the killer used a Prius specifically to be quiet and generic, and on the drive to Randalls, saw about thirty of them. If you are going to do something illegal, a silver or white Prius is probably peak backgrounding.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It depends on what the character would say. If you ask three people what car they have, and one says 'a blue hatchback', one says "I got a company Prius" and the third says "Now I'm driving a Audi Q5 Quattro S Tronic", you've learnt a bit about them.

But brand references can really date, especially in clothing, so I try to avoid those - the examples above would work even if you don't know what driving a Prius or Audi imply, but mentioning a regional brand or a brand with a stereotype attached can be impossible for some readers to know.

Burberry went from being very posh to the epitome of 'chav culture' (anti-intellectual violent types and those who admired them) to the current assumption that their classic check is a fake item acquired from the local market. Converse were incredibly edgy and cool in the UK early 90s, then mainstream, now probably unheard of. GAP went from mainstream fashion to embarrassingly naff really quickly.

With cars, Tesla's have gone from 'quirky early-adopter' to 'dickhead boy racer' to 'typical sales guy with an entry-level company car' in just the last few years.

What a printer would say about someone, I don't know - just owning one nowadays is a bit niche. FWIW I've been using a Dell 1355cnw laserjet for nearly 20 years, even when it was difficult to get drivers that worked with Windows. It works fine again with Win11. Consider that an insight into my character!

Clothing: I used to buy most of mine at K-Mart before they went out of business. Pants, shirts, shoes: nobody (or nobody I would want to know) cares where I got them. Most people live in their own little bubbles anyway, so quests for that kind of status are mostly futile.

Since you mentioned "dickhead boy racers," that gives me a chance to post this picture. BMW meets Nissan Rogue (what a name!) and BMW loses. Actually, the winner is the MTA, which maintains those train pillars in the middle of streets. People have been crashing into them for decades.

https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploa...0551.jpg?resize=1024,656&quality=75&strip=all

 

[joy_of_cooking]

the perfect vehicle for silent criminal activity

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I wish I could remember which ones, but in my story crawl yesterday, I found two Priuses: one where someone mentioned that it was the perfect vehicle for silent criminal activity, and the other where the author made fun of the car and how ubiquitous it has become. Both made me laugh. Then I remembered an episode of "Cold Case Files" where the killer used a Prius specifically to be quiet and generic, and on the drive to Randalls, saw about thirty of them. If you are going to do something illegal, a silver or white Prius is probably peak backgrounding.

As long as your plan doesn't involve a quick getaway.

 

[desecration]

As long as your plan doesn't involve a quick getaway.

As a true crime nerd, it seems to me that the most frequent vehicle used for non-gang murder is the bicycle. It makes sense, when you think about it: quiet, easy to hide, rarely noticed. And faster than a Prius!

 

[KachinaDoll]

I like a bit of item detail providing it's correct. It shows that the author has made an effort and done some research.

'Tom floored the pedal of his red car and roared up the ramp onto the freeway, just missing the big truck.' is pretty bland.

'Tom floored the pedal of his red Porsche Cayman and roared up the ramp onto I40, just missing the big Peterbilt truck.' is much more interesting.

 

[desecration]

"Peterbilt" also gives more specificity than "big," in addition to the point you raised. Once you know it's an 18-wheeler that makes the line scarier than just dodging an F250 or what have you.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

'Tom floored the pedal of his red car and roared up the ramp onto the freeway, just missing the big truck.' is pretty bland.

'Tom floored the pedal of his red Porsche Cayman and roared up the ramp onto I40, just missing the big Peterbilt truck.' is much more interesting.

Counterpoint:

Tom floored the pedal. It took a moment for the turbo to spin up, but when it did, the equivalent of six hundred horses launched his low-slung two-seater up the on-ramp. With the precision of a decade on the track, he cut between an eighteen-wheeler and a pristine dually truck to claim his rightful place in the leftmost lane.

No brand references, but also not bland. (And written by someone who has never purchased or driven or even ridden in anything sportier than a subcompact!)

 

[Kumquatqueen]

"Peterbilt" also gives more specificity than "big," in addition to the point you raised. Once you know it's an 18-wheeler that makes the line scarier than just dodging an F250 or what have you.

I know what an 18-wheeler is, but have never heard of Peterbilt or a F250 until now. Pesky foreigners! The Peterbilt website shows some trucks that it's hard to tell scale of, though they're very proud of their electric ones!

In the UK, the most boring non-descript vehicle would still be the Ford Transit, I think. Probably a Corsa, for a car.

Also, do Americans call all on/off lanes to freeways on/off ramps, even when they're flat, not sloping?

 

[samhasstories]

Also, do Americans call all on/off lanes to freeways on/off ramps, even when they're flat, not sloping?

I think some do. I usually just call them entrances/exits, regardless of their geometry.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Also, do Americans call all on/off lanes to freeways on/off ramps, even when they're flat, not sloping?

Yes, it's typically an on-ramp or off-ramp regardless of actual rampiness.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Counterpoint:

Tom floored the pedal. It took a moment for the turbo to spin up, but when it did, the equivalent of six hundred horses launched his low-slung two-seater up the on-ramp. With the precision of a decade on the track, he cut between an eighteen-wheeler and a pristine dually truck to claim his rightful place in the leftmost lane.

No brand references, but also not bland. (And written by someone who has never purchased or driven or even ridden in anything sportier than a subcompact!)

But also significantly longer to get the same point across.
Brevity is the soul of wit.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

On-ramp and off-ramp are common terms in N. America when dealing with high-speed roads. The usage may be linked to the ubiquity of cloverleaf junctions. Given that many if not most of those have the one road actually crossing over the other on a bridge, some change of elevation is almost inevitable. My theory, anyway.

WRT brand names, I think we’re back to Chekov’s rifle. Use them when they’ll contribute something, otherwise they’re just clutter, likely to distract.

 

[RetroFan]

In my story 'Grumpy Humphrey's Easy Wife' which takes place in 1960, the titular Grumpy Humphrey drives a Ford Edsel. His automobile serves only to make Humphrey even grumpier.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

But also significantly longer to get the same point across.
Brevity is the soul of wit.

Okay, here's two words fewer:

Tom floored it. Six hundred horses launched his low-slung two-seater onto the highway, barely missing the eighteen-wheeler.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Counterpoint:

Tom floored the pedal. It took a moment for the turbo to spin up, but when it did, the equivalent of six hundred horses launched his low-slung two-seater up the on-ramp. With the precision of a decade on the track, he cut between an eighteen-wheeler and a pristine dually truck to claim his rightful place in the leftmost lane.

No brand references, but also not bland. (And written by someone who has never purchased or driven or even ridden in anything sportier than a subcompact!)

As per the photo above: it could be the tragic end of some story.

Tom floored it, racing up Jerome Avenue at four o'clock in the morning. He and Gina were both high on (cocaine? fentanyl? meth?). Traffic was light at that time, so he tried to blow through a light that had just changed to red at Fordham Road. He never saw the Nissan SUV on the cross-street that caught his front bumper and sent the car sideways into an unyielding steel el column.

Well, I guess you have to say they both died in some literary manner (which really happened to the two men in the BMW). Maybe the POV would change to the firefighters who had to cut their bodies out of the car (those guys I feel sorry for). Maybe they were suburban kids who have gone there to buy drugs. Just riffing.

 

[KeithD]

She got her car keys out of her handbag and jumped into the silver convertible.

You don't see how much revelation you could succinctly get for your story for the choice between "jumped into the silver Yugo" and "jumped into the silver Jaguar"?

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Okay, here's two words fewer:

Tom floored it. Six hundred horses launched his low-slung two-seater onto the highway, barely missing the eighteen-wheeler.

"Low-slung two-seater" still feels forced.

Tom floored it and his Porsche rocketed up the on ramp, he swerved at the last moment, barely missing the semi.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Tesla's and other EV's are even quieter, because they are not hybrids and have no internal combustion engine at all. The have some downsides, however, which I won't get into here. 120 years ago they were good as taxis because one didn't have to shift gears on Manhattan streets.

 

[desecration]

Also, do Americans call all on/off lanes to freeways on/off ramps, even when they're flat, not sloping?

I don't know this specifically, but a lot of terms vary by region and state, like the whole pop/soda/coke thing.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I don't know this specifically, but a lot of terms vary by region and state, like the whole pop/soda/coke thing.

True, but it's common enough usage that people wouldn't quibble.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't know this specifically, but a lot of terms vary by region and state, like the whole pop/soda/coke thing.

My mother in law spent her entire life in East Boston, and they called soda "Tonic" She asked me to pass her the tonic once and I'm looking for water, and my wife whispers "She means the Pepsi."

 

[lovecraft68]

I have a character who drives my personal favorite car I ever owned, a 72 Nova SS with a 396 under the hood.

More than once I've thought "How many people under the age of even 40 would know that car unless they have a thing for classic muscle cars? I also had them driving a Oldsmobile 442...same thing.