(Chevy) Nova --Query

[Laurence Horn]

At 8:03 PM -0500 5/5/05, Cohen, Gerald Leonard wrote:
>Is the story about the Nova being interpreted in Latin America as
>"no va" (doesn't go) and having terrible sales as a result merely a
>myth?  A colleague at my campus sent me the message below (with
>accompanying website) to the effect that it *is* a myth. Would any
>ads-l members know anything about this?

I posted on this a couple of weeks ago, in connection with the
suggestion that the "Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee" ad campaign might
have turned off customers who interpreted the double negation as
negative concord, and hence amounting to the pitch "Nobody likes it,
but why don't you go ahead and buy it anyway...":

This reminds me a bit of the claim that the Chevy Nova model was an
utter failure in Spanish-speaking countries because "no va" means
'doesn't go'.  The problem is that there's no evidence whatsoever
that the name had any depressing effect on sales--i.e. that Novas
sold worse in Latin America than comparable models with different
names, or worse than Novas sold in comparable non-Spanish-speaking
countries.

Everything I've read suggests it is indeed a myth.  Besides the
points raised in the Snopes coverage linked below (I like the analogy
to the prediction that a "Notable Dinette Set" would lose market
share in the English-speaking world because purchasers would be
afraid it would lack a table), there's also the point that a
Spanish-speaking potential clientele would be much more likely to
associate the "nova" etymon with other cognates of the Latin word for
'new' than with "no va".

Larry

>  > ----------
>>  From:         Gentry, Lance
>>  Sent:         Thursday, May 5, 2005 3:55 PM
>>  To:   Cohen, Gerald Leonard
>>  Subject:      Chevy Nova
>>
>>  Gerald,
>>  Your word column is one of the few things in the Missouri Miner I
>>read on a regular basis.  I find word origins very interesting and
>>appreciate your sharing your expertise.  Your most recent column on
>>the Chevy Nova overlaps my own area of expertise - marketing.  I
>>thought you'd appreciate some fact on this.
>>
>>  I've bumped into this story about the Chevy Nova many times under
>>various guises.  It is an utter myth with no truth whatsoever.  In
>>fact, I use the story in class as an example of myth; so don't be
>>surprised if some of my students mention this to you.
>>
>  > If you would like to see the details, check out:
>http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
>>
>>  Best regards,
>>
>>  Lance
>>
>>  ______________________________________
>>  Lance Gentry
>>  Assistant Professor of Business Administration
>>  School of Management and Information Systems
>>  University of Missouri-Rolla
>>  106-B Fulton Hall
>>  Rolla, MO  65409-0320
>>  (573) 341-6070        direct
>>  (573) 341-4184        main office
>>  (573) 341-4812        fax
>>
>>