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The names of Automotive vehicles have been inspired by ideas, adjectives, philosophies and objects and of course by animals. Intriguingly many autos that were christened after the names of animals have been quite a hit during their life times. Following are some blockbuster vehicles that have had millions of eyes pry their gait with rapt attention on streets and freeways.



1. Barracuda (Plymouth): The Plymouth Barracuda was a car produced by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation from the years 1964 through 1974. The animal counterpart is a ray-finned fish that’s about 6 ft long and 1 ft wide. It has a characteristic fearsome appearance.



2. Beetle (Volkswagen): The actual name of this vehicle was the Volkswagen Type 1, but it was commonly called as the Beetle or Bug. The beetle was an economy car that was produced from 1938 until 2003. Later, the Volkswagen folks themselves began marketing it as a "Beetle," in the US by 1967. The insect beetle refers to a set of insects, that has the largest number of species, amounting to about



3. Bison (Chevrolet heavy-duty truck): The Chevrolet Bison was a heavy-duty Class 8 truck from General Motors, manufactured between 1977 and 1988. The animal Bison is a biological group containing six species of large variety of ungulates falling under the subfamily Bovinae. Just two of these species are extant, namely the American Bison and the European Bison.



4. Bluebird (Nissan): The Nissan Bluebird was a medium-sized car launched in 1957. The actual bluebirds are medium-sized, mostly insectivorous/omnivorous birds of the thrush family Turdidae. These attractive birds are mostly blue and red in color.



5. Bronco (Ford): The Ford Bronco was an SUV manufactured from 1966 till 1996, and continued for five generations. Irrespective of which year these vehicles were produced, they were by standard four-wheel drive and low range. Faunally, Bronco or bronc, is a term used in North America to refer to an untrained horse or the one that habitually bucks.



6. Cheetah (the Australian sports car): The Cheetah Racing Cars were manufactured in Australia. They were for the most part designed, engineered by Brian Shead. The first Cheetah was built and used in 1960. The quadruped cheetah is a member of the cat family (Felidae) that is well known for its unique ability in speed and stealth. It's the fastest of all land animals and can reach speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour or 75 mph.



7. Cobra (Ford): The Ford SVT Mustang Cobra is a pony car by Ford being produced since the year 1993. It was a high-performance rendition of the Mustang built by Ford. The snake cobra, is a venomous snake that's generally found in the tropical and desert regions of Asia and Africa. Its most prominent feature is the hood, which is the part of its neck that flattens outwards when it's threatened.



8. Cougar (Mercury): The Mercury Cougar was marketed under the Mercury brand of Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division. It was christened in 1967 and a number of cars in the class were built for about 30 years after that. The animal Cougar, also known as puma, mountain lion, or panther, belongs to the Felidae family and is native to the Americas. It can be found in northern Canada to the southern Andes of South America. The cat is adept at stalk-and-ambush preying.



9. Honey Bee (Datsun): The Datsun 120Y or Datsun Honeybee was the third generation (1973–1978) auto from the company and was very popular when it surfaced during the gas crisis of the 1970s. The real Honeybees belong to the group of bees of the about 20,000 known species of bees.



10. Impala (Chevrolet): Defined as a "prestige car within the reach of the average American citizen" by the engineers of the Chevrolet division, General Motors, Impala was the company's most expensive full-size car from 1958 to 1965. The name Impala has comes from the Zulu language and refers to a medium-sized African antelope. The animal is found in many parts of Africa in the savannas and thick bushveld in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, northern Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, southern and at more places.



11. Jaguar (SS Cars, Swallow Sidecars): Jaguars are luxury cars produced by the manufacturer Jaguar cars limited. The company was originally based at Browns Lane, Coventry, England, however it can now be found at Whitley, Coventry. Initially founded as Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, the company acquired the name SS Cars Ltd in 1934, before eventually becoming Jaguar Cars Ltd. 1945. The animal with the same name is a New World mammal of the cat family and also one of four "big cats" along with the tiger, lion, and leopard. Found mostly in Mexico, southwestern United States, Central America Paraguay and northern Argentina, this stalk-and-ambush predator has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 106 kilometers per hour (approx. 67 mph) in about 3.9 seconds.



12. Lark (Studebaker): Studebaker based the Lark on a new compact design, it was rolled out in the markets in 1959. The company after commemorating its 100th birthday in 1952 stopped auto production in the year 1966. The animal by the same name is a small terrestrial bird well known for its songs and display flights. Symbolizing happiness, hope, good fortune, freedom, joy, youth, creativity and freshness, larks have earned a prominent place in literature and music. Most member species have long hind claws, are somewhat dull in appearance and feed on insects and seeds.



13. Mustang (Ford): The first Mustang rolled out from the assembly line in Dearborn, Michigan in 1964. Produced by the Ford Motor Company, it was introduced to the public at the New York World's Fair in the same year. The car was a highly successful launch and also featured in the James Bond film Goldfinger in 1964. The animal Mustang is a free-roaming feral horse of the North American west. Often referred to as wild horses, they are believed to have descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. The horses symbolize the spirit of initiative of the West. Moreover, the name is quite popular for high-performance products and sports mascots.



14. Fox (Volkswagen): First produced in 2004, The Volkswagen Fox is a small car designed and manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil and is marketed in Latin America and Europe. It made its entry in the European market in the year 2005 as it replaced the Lupo city car. The car comes in three-door and five-door hatchback models. The animal by the same name is found on almost every continent in the world and is one of about 27 species of small to medium-sized canids. Foxes have sharp features and a bushy tail, the animal frequently features in the popular culture and folklore of many nations, tribes, cultural groups, etc.



15. Rabbit (Volkswagen): This is a compact car/small family car first manufactured by Volkswagen in 1974 and is known as Rabbit in the United States and Canada. However, it’s known as Volkswagen Golf or VW Golf in the rest of the world. Rabbit is considered a highly successful front-wheel drive replacement for the air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle. The Rabbits (animals) are small and cute mammals, often kept in a home as pets for companionship as 'house rabbits,' they are found in many different parts of the world. Most rabbits are ground dwellers that live in varied environments such as desert, tropical forest and wetlands. Their life span in general is from four to twenty years.



16. Ram (Dodge): The Ram is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by Chrysler LLC's Dodge brand first Introduced in 1981. The first-generation Rams were christened for the Ram hood ornament that featured on Dodge cars in the 1930s and '40s. On the other hand the animal Ram refers to an un-castrated male of domestic sheep. Sheep are one of first animals to have been domesticated for agricultural purposes.



17. Road Runner (Plymouth): The Plymouth Road Runner was a muscle car version of Belvedere and Satellite from the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation in the US. The auto was produced between 1968 and 1980. As soon as this low-cost muscle car hit the roads, it became quite a hit. The corresponding animals by the same name are two species of birds of the cuckoo family, native to North and Central America. These ground foraging cuckoos are the Greater Roadrunner and the Lesser Roadrunner. The birds have a dove-like song that's slow.



18. Sable (Mercury): The Sable was a full-size sedan designed and manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since the year 1986 and was marketed under the Mercury brand. It is considered a great success in the American automotive industry, as this imposing car sold about 2 million pieces in its 20 years of production. The animal sable is a small carnivore that lives in forest environments mostly in Russia, northern Mongolia, China and in Japan. Historically, the animal has been exploited for its highly valued fur, which is considered a luxury item even today.



19. Sable (Mercury): Sting Ray (Chevrolet Corvette): The Chevrolet Corvette StingRay is a sports car. Chevrolet produced the first Corvette in 1953. The car is well considered as the first all-American sports car manufactured by an American carmaker. Scientifically termed as dasyatidae the real stingray is a cartilaginous marine fish related to sharks. The fish is commonly found in tropical seacoasts across the world. The fresh water species can be found in Asia, Africa, and South America.



20. Viper (Dodge): Manufactured by the Dodge division of Chrysler LLC, the Dodge Viper is a V10-powered sports car. This popular two-seat sports auto was first rolled out from the assembly lines in the year 1991. Now about three generations old the car has been produced and marketed under many flavors. Further, the chic auto has made numerous appearances in TV shows, video games, movies and music videos. The snake by the same name is scientifically known as Viperidae and it belongs of are a family of dreaded venomous snakes. The snake is found all across the globe barring Australia and Madagascar. It is characterized by long hinged fangs that enabling the serpent to penetrate deep into the skin and inject its deadly venom.



From birds to snakes to cats and fishes, the fascination for species other than human does provide immense inspiration for myriad mundane endeavors. Laying machinery onto the molds of animalistic persona has proved pretty profitable for auto-marketers, in addition to fulfilling the passions millions of auto buyers worldwide.