The Pajero does not everywhere refer to the Patagonian native predatory cat species, the leopardus pajeros, that marketers first thought of. Therefore, they were forced to change the name to avoid failure.
The Mitsubishi Pajero has become a legendary off-road vehicle. Mitsubishi Motors’ four-wheel-drive model is the shining star of the Paris-Dakar rally and is a favorite among moms and dads in everyday traffic. It truly combines a super engine, strong body, good off-road capabilities, comfort, and durability. But a car cannot be called that! Well, it doesn’t matter to us, because we only need a catchy foreign word.
However, in Spanish-speaking areas, it could only be marketed under the name Montero, because it would have been difficult to endure the smiles of the car salespeople following the customers’ astonished reactions, which would have come with the somewhat awkward secondary meaning. The term ‘pajero’ may indeed derive from the same name as that cat in Spanish-speaking regions, where it is used to mean ‘self-satisfying.’ So, in those countries, the Pajero quickly became Montero. I mean, mountain hunter, which was what it originally wanted to be.
Product names can be protected under trademark law at both national and international levels. And this is good because it often needs to be done. Is your product name good?