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Renault Zoe name causes uproar
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Renault's decision to call it electric supermini Zoe has caused uproar in France.
Press reports suggest parents of children named Zoe are reported to have flooded the company with complaints and launched online petitions demanding the name be changed.
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"Our daughters have a beautiful first name that must not be associated with a car, so let us unite to bring pressure on a multinational which s going to destroy this pretty name for a children," says a petition launched by Sebastien Mortreus, from Auby.
"It's a scandal that they are able to use common first names for products."
Zoe is the 17th favourite girls name for newborns in France.
But Renault is unimpressed by the arguments.
"It is a name that evokes values of femininity, of youth, a playful spirit and vivacity," a spokesman told The Times newspaper. "It is also a reference to the concept of zero emissions."
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