Volkswagen Trademarks Eight New Names For New Models

CarBuzz has discovered eight new trademarks filed by Volkswagen over the past few weeks in various intellectual property offices, the bulk of which were filed at the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA). A couple more were filed with Mexico's and Chile's respective equivalents, potentially indicating that these new names are destined for vehicles outside the North American market.

Whatever the case, everything that follows will be speculation, so don't visit your nearest VW dealer asking for info on one of these new names unless you want to be met with a blank look of confusion. Without any further ado, let's see what Volkswagen has been cooking.

Trademarks have been filed for the following names (in alphabetical order):

Airon appears to have no clear meaning, but the word «Ayron» is a name that means «mountain of strength.» Angra is far more interesting as it has multiple meanings. In Portuguese, the word means inlet, cove, or bay. In Old Norse, it means to grieve, vex, or distress. It's also a genus of burrowing insects and a species of fish, and the name of a Brazilian power metal band. We kept digging and found that Angra Mainyu is the name of a destructive spirit, or evil, in the Zoroastrian faith.

All these are fascinating, but we think Volkswagen had something else in mind when choosing the name. In the mid-1980s, a company called Angra Industria e Comercio de Carrocerias produced a vehicle described as a cross between a sports car and a buggy. This used air-cooled VW mechanicals and fiberglass bodywork, so perhaps VW intends to revive the vehicle for Brazil, where the original was made.

The other names don't have quite the backstory, but let's run through their meanings quickly. Hera is a name from Greek mythology, specifically the name of the goddess responsible for marriage, women, and marital harmony. Hera is also described as the protector of women during childbirth, suggesting it's a good name for a family vehicle.

Tempus is Latin for time, but it's also the Finnish, Swedish, and German word for grammatical tense. Then there's Tera, which indicates a trillion. That's nothing special, but «teratos» is a related word that means monster, which is