Dean, I thought this was a game, not a bitch session about trunklid badging
How do you refer to your Stealth?
Do you always call it a Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo?
Or do you just call it a Stealth?
One is the proper name, the other is colloquial, because we all know what it is. You don't need to explain further because you're speaking to a group of people familiar with the car, so an abbreviation of the full name makes sense. It doesn't change the name of the car in the first place. If you just said Stealth, to someone who had never seen your banana-cream monster, they might very well ask you if it was an RT Turbo or not. That's why we clarify.
Marketing is a way of life, and it's the nature of the beast when you have to differentiate after adding new features. My car was a Limited becuase it had all the extra crap on it as a separate model instead of ticking option boxes; it was a different car as far as the manufacturer was concerned. Leather was not an option formt he factory on an OB, it came standard on limiteds. Limiteds did not have 5-speeds. My car is a Subaru Legacy Outback Limited(to differentiate it from the Impreza Outback Sport), but I call it a Legacy, it doesn't change.
Let's go back to 1940, when you could just buy a Ford in whatever version. How about a Chevrolet Chevelle from the late 60s? Isn't it important to differentiate between sedans, coupes, wagons, vastly different drivetrains, etc? How is this new?
I love all the little details. I love the special models. I love the trick little pieces that came on some cars and not others, the limited paint runs, and I love that there's a system that clearly breaks down what a car is. What's so wrong with that? It's a marketing world, that's the reality, if you don't accept it and move on, you're just displaying luddite tendencies.........