Don wrote:
> Can anyone think of a bicycle manufacturer whose name sounds worse in
> English than "Gipiemme" ?? With a name like "Gipiemme", why not
> introduce a series of bicycle cables called "Snapiemme" and perhaps
> introduce a line of paints called "Chipiemme" ??
For most Americans it is hard to conceive that legal requirements are at the base of many company names in Italy and elsewhere. In Italy, except for public companies, there was a requirement that the company contained the name of the owner. As virtually all bicycle industry companies were initially founded as privately owned companies, the official company names were therefore obliged to contain the name of the owner. That is why in the US, you end up with companies with names like Cannondale, Trek, Bullseye, Hi-E, Litespeed... etc, and in Italy you get names like Colnago, Cinelli, Pinarello, Campagnolo, Modolo, FB (the brothers Brivio)... etc. GPM are the initials of the owner. To Italians, this is par for the course. I used to be export manager for a company called 3B which was owned by a Mr. Bergamo and his two sons. You also have things like duegi which literally is two 'G's again linked to the owner's name. As for public companies, the name often helps you pinpoint the foundation date as different practises were in place at different times. I worked for another company F.I.A.M.M. as export director. To Italians it is quite evident that the company was founded in the fascist period as such acronyms, in this case standing for Fabbrica Italiana Accumulatori Motori Montecchio (Italian factory for motor storage batteries from the town of Montecchio) were very popular during that time.
I have mentioned before the the GPM name is perhaps not half as humorous as the GPT logo to be found on older Pinarello bikes. The GPT is meant to indicate Giovanni Pinarello Treviso, but when the initials are read in French it reads as: "I flatulated." I am not sure whether I had any impact in this regards, or perhaps it was pure coincidence, but shortly after I pointed this out to 'Nanni' Pinarello, they stopped using it on their bikes. Other possible winners for a worst name are the Austrian name Assmann that was recently brought up for saddles, or the Dae Jung tire brand.
--
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ