Since its introduction in 1982, the compact Nissan Sentra is one of the brand’s most popular model’s in the US, but what does its name mean?
In 1985, Ira Bachrach, founder NameLab, a branding consultancy, told Christian Science Monitor that Nissan/Datsun came to his company with a brief that the new 1982 Sentra small sedan would be the “company’s mainstream or central car” and the car maker “wanted consumers to understand that it was quite safe even though it was small”.
As such, Bachrach says that Sentra “sounds like central as well as sentry, which evokes images of safety”.
According to the company’s website, NameLab is also responsible for coming up with Acura, Lumina for Chevrolet, Aero for Saab, Geo for GM, and Savana for GMC.
Outside of automobiles, NameLab also takes credit for Olive Garden, Coppertail Brewing, and Compaq, amongst others.
Source: Christian Science Monitor
