Get the inside tip with America's number one radio show about language, A Way with Words
Dictionary definition of “halo car”

halo car

n. an automobile model that lends prestige or attractiveness to the brands and other models of its manufacturer. Subjects: , , ,
Editorial Note: This use of halo is derived from halo effect, a tendency of a favorable trait or product to lend credibility or good will to other traits or products from the same source, which dates to at least as early as 1938.
Comments? | Cites | Permalink | Tell a Friend
Citations: 1987 Jim Mateja Chicago Tribune (Apr. 12) “Car Sales In Illinois? Never On Sunday” p. 1: Camaro is an “image or halo car for us,” and a Beretta offshoot might tarnish the image. 1991 Paul C. Judge New York Times (Mar. 30) “Can ‘Image’ Cars Help Detroit?” p. 25: We introduced the Reatta as a “halo” car to attract customers who may not have considered Buick before. 2005 Rick Popely, Jim Mateja Chicago Tribune (Jan. 15) “‘Halos’ light way for Detroit”: “Halo cars,” stylish vehicles built to attract customers to showrooms, work well for some dealers. They are not meant to bring in lots of money in sales but to spark conversation so that the brand stands out among competitors.
Posted 17 Jan 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Leave a comment (must be approved by the moderator before it will appear).

Name (mandatory):

Email (mandatory):

Location (optional):

Your Web Site (optional):

Remember my personal information

Notify me, by email, of follow-up comments.

Recent Catchwords
macaroon technique n. (2/19)
sorry gift n. (2/19)
break the ton v. phr. (2/19)
ghost shift n. (2/17)
stock n. (2/13)
startle factor n. (2/13)
hair crush n. (2/13)
seagen n. (2/13)
rollup n. (11/30)
simming n. (11/8)
nimbleton n. (11/6)
kitchen n. (11/6)
skuke n. (11/6)
parlor n. (11/6)
broccoli journalism n. (10/19)
strap hanging n. (10/8)
parclo n. (10/8)
Dipper n. (10/8)
jeggings n. (10/5)
dittoism n. (10/5)
 More catchwords...
Lexicographer's Rules
New verses to “My Darling Clementine” (4/19)
How do you pronounce “both”? Please take the survey! (3/9)
Garbanzos or chickpeas? (3/4)
Buzzwords of 2009 in the New York Times (12/20)
A note found inside Birds of the Pacific Coast (12/16)
Now accepting nominations for the 2009 “word of the year” and the 2000-9 “word of the decade” (11/15)
How much underworld slang is still used from 80 years ago? (10/27)
Remembering William Safire (9/27)
The elephant in the language (8/12)
Updates will continue to be slow for Double-Tongued (7/19)
 More blog entries...
Find A Word  »
 A   B   C   D   E 
 F   G   H   I   J 
 K   L   M   N   O 
 P   Q   R   S   T 
 U   V   W   X   Y 
 Z   0-9 
Search
Search Site

Google Site Search
Recent searches:
New Comments
Lance Hidy commented on flymph (3/23)
sunnyboy0 commented on seagen (2/12)
Trafficman2 commented on parclo (2/12)
paul Teague commented on Taig (2/5)
paul Teague commented on Taig (2/5)
vickie commented on moded (1/5)
midsummer commented on gleek (1/3)
to run away is to Die In Tragedy commented on robotripping (12/4)
TheAnalyst commented on mouth-breather (12/4)
Peter Williams commented on strap hanging (10/30)
hebotick commented on sorry gift (10/18)
urbanclothingguy commented on sorry gift (8/20)
Lolo commented on vacationship (8/17)
teresag commented on pump head (8/3)
kcjones007 commented on wooby (7/15)
Subscribe to the RSS feed. • Subscribe to the mailing list. • Browse the archive. • Add to Technorati Favorites. • © 1999-2012 by Grant Barrett, Double-Tongued Dictionary.