"Rondo" is such a great word to say. Exclaim "Rondo!" every time you take a corner quickly in this wagon/mini-minivan and you and your passengers will instantly giggle.
Where did Kia come up with it? Well, it's a real word...
According to my dictonary, "rondo" is derived from the French "rondeau." It means "a musical composition built on the alternation of a principal recurring theme and contrasting episodes."
Personally, I'd like to believe that Kia named its vehicle after Rondo soda. This was a short-lived brand from the late 1970s and early '80s. The ad tagline: "The Thirst Crusher." You can even see a grainy TV spot on YouTube with two karate-types battling it out then taking a break with a Rondo because you can "slam it down fast!"
Rondo!
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 4,138 miles
briancam says:
03:28 PM, 12/10/07
I used to have an afternoon paper route - in the summer I'd buy a Rondo almost everyday. As you may know, carrying 200 folded Sacramento Union newspapers on my Schwinn Stingray in the heat of summer really helped me work up a Rondo thirst!
Oh, and the Kia is fine too. I wish I had one to deliver those newspapers.
jadolph says:
03:46 PM, 12/10/07
i love the name - I would yell "Yeah! RONDO!" or "GO RONDO GO!" on every hill or freeway onramp.....it definitely sticks in your head......maybe because it reminds me of "HONDO", the John Wayne flick?
johnnyturbo says:
04:40 PM, 12/10/07
On a similar, yet different note, this post reminds me of the name of the smart car's reinforced passenger compartment -- the Tridion Safety Cell.
I envision the salesman in the smart showroom suddenly sporting a superhero's cape (with "TSC" emblazoned on the back) before he tells a customer about the smart's safety features. "And, it has the TRIDION SAFETY CELL!" he would bellow, fist thrusting to the sky as if he's about to take flight!
carfreak8394 says:
08:12 PM, 12/10/07
ROFL !
Rondo !
I like this blog entry.
Ha ha ha.
(:
estreka says:
09:04 PM, 12/10/07
I like to spew half my soda out, too after a hard workout. ;-)
haha
misterfusion says:
11:18 AM, 12/11/07
Nice post, Brent, but I would like credit where it's due -- namely, to myself. I first commented on the Rondo soda connection way back in an October post by Philip Reed.
Come to think of it, the proper definition of "rondo" was provided in that same comments section by the user "Estreka".
http://66.160.188.111/roadtests/Comments/1531#cm
I guess you've got to get up pretty early in the morning to get ahead of Inside Line readers!
SubyTrojan says:
01:54 PM, 12/11/07
LOL, misterfusion! How's the Aura XE running?
briancam says:
03:47 PM, 12/11/07
Rondo Alla Turca - Motzart?
bromans says:
07:10 PM, 12/11/07
Comments? Who reads those? :)