The Best & Weirdest Kei Car Names: Mighty Boy, Naked & More

by AutoExpert   |  15 August, 2025

Share :

Okay, so here's the thing about car names. If you're Mercedes or BMW, you can literally call your car "X7 M50i" and people will still throw money at you because it's got that fancy badge. Nobody cares what those letters and numbers actually mean.

But what if you're making these adorable little Japanese kei cars that are smaller than most golf carts? Well, then you better come up with names that'll stick in people's heads. And boy, do these Japanese automakers deliver.

Kei Car Names

Car folks recently got into a heated debate about which kei car has the coolest name, and honestly? Every single answer was gold.

The Ones That Made Everyone Laugh

Take the Suzuki Mighty Boy. Picture this: it's a pickup truck so small you could probably fit it in the back of an actual pickup truck, and they called it "Mighty Boy." The audacity is just chef's kiss.

Kei Car Names

Then there's the Suzuki Every Joy Pop Turbo. This name sounds like what happens when a rainbow gets caffeinated and decides to make cars. It's a van, but it's got "Joy Pop" right there in the name, plus it's turbocharged because why the hell not?

Kei Car Names

The Subaru Vivio is actually pretty clever – it's based on Roman numerals for 660 (the engine size limit for kei cars). So "VI-VI-O" becomes Vivio. Nerdy? Absolutely. Brilliant? Also absolutely.

Kei Car Names

The Hilariously Honest Ones

The Daihatsu Move might be the most refreshingly straightforward car name ever. Cars move. This one's called Move. Done. No fancy marketing team needed.

Kei Car Names

Meanwhile, the Honda Life has probably caused more jokes than any car in history. "Dude, you need to get a Life!" became way too easy when Honda literally made a car called Life. And when they made a sportier version? They called it the Life Dunk. Because of course they did.

Kei Car Names

The Daihatsu Naked just owns what it is – completely stripped down and honest about it. No pretense, no fancy features, just naked transportation.

Kei Car Names

The Complete Madness

But the real winner might be the Mitsubishi Minica Dangan Turbo. One enthusiast pointed out that the nameplate is basically as wide as the entire car. It's like they ran out of room on the car before they ran out of name ideas.

Kei Car Names

There's also gems like the Suzuki Cappuccino (perfect for a tiny sports car), the Honda Beat (short, punchy, memorable), and the Mitsubishi Minica Skipper which just sounds friendly as hell.

Kei Car Names

Why This Actually Matters

Here's what's wild – while American car companies play it safe with names like Accord and Camry, these tiny Japanese cars figured out something important: a great name makes people smile before they even drive the thing.

When you hear "Every Joy Pop Turbo," you're already having more fun than you would with "Civic LX." These kei car makers aren't afraid to be weird, playful, or completely ridiculous with their names. And honestly? That's exactly why people love these little cars so much.

Recomended:

From Workhorse to Status Symbol: How the Pickup Truck Quietly Took Over America’s Roads - Photo
Others
From Workhorse to Status Symbol: How the Pickup Truck Quietly Took Over America’s Roads

Picture a grocery-store parking lot in 1993: Tauruses, Accords, maybe a stray Explorer. Fast-forward to the same lot in 2026 and you’re surrounded by tailgates. Statistically that feeling is

AutoExpert
I Tried Ceramic Coating So You Don’t Waste $1,500: Here’s the Unvarnished Truth - Photo
Tips & Tricks
I Tried Ceramic Coating So You Don’t Waste $1,500: Here’s the Unvarnished Truth

I still remember the day I fell for the pitch.My hatchback had just come out of a basic wash, and the detailer, towel in hand, grinned like he’d discovered electricity. “If you reall

AutoExpert
EV Batteries Don't Just Die and Get Thrown Away. Here's the Surprisingly Cool Thing That Happens Next. - Photo
Others
EV Batteries Don't Just Die and Get Thrown Away. Here's the Surprisingly Cool Thing That Happens Next.

One of the most common questions people have about electric vehicles never really gets answered in car reviews or commercials: what happens when the battery eventually dies?It's a fair questio

AutoExpert
Kia Carnival Owners Need To Check This Recall Before The Next Family Drive - Photo
Car News
Kia Carnival Owners Need To Check This Recall Before The Next Family Drive

A minivan recall never sounds dramatic at first. It sounds like paperwork. A letter in the mail. A service appointment to squeeze in between school pickup, groceries, work, and the 47 other t

AutoExpert
Dealers Are Practically Paying You to Take a New Car Right Now (If You Know Where to Look) - Photo
Car News
Dealers Are Practically Paying You to Take a New Car Right Now (If You Know Where to Look)

If you've been waiting for the right moment to buy a new car, you might want to stop waiting.Fresh data from Kelley Blue Book, released this week, shows that new-vehicle prices moderated in Ma

AutoExpert
Is Your Car's Odometer Lying to You? Over 2 Million Vehicles on U.S. Roads Have Been Tampered With - Photo
Tips & Tricks
Is Your Car's Odometer Lying to You? Over 2 Million Vehicles on U.S. Roads Have Been Tampered With

When you buy a used car, you probably check the vehicle history report, poke around the exterior for dents, and maybe take it for a short test drive. That covers a lot of ground. But there is one scam

AutoExpert
Peugeot Brings Back The GTi With The Electric e-208 GTi - Photo
Car News
Peugeot Brings Back The GTi With The Electric e-208 GTi

Peugeot is bringing the GTi badge back, except now it’s attached to an electric hatchback instead of a noisy little gasoline engine. The production e-208 GTi will make its full debut on June 12,

AutoExpert
This Faux Land Cruiser Is Actually A Toyota Probox Underneath - Photo
Tuning
This Faux Land Cruiser Is Actually A Toyota Probox Underneath

Somehow, the Toyota Probox has become one of Japan’s favorite blank canvases for weird and surprisingly charming custom builds. The latest example comes from Goosfam, which looked at the hu

AutoExpert
Venuum Turned The Mercedes G-Class Into A Wild Four-Door Convertible - Photo
Tuning
Venuum Turned The Mercedes G-Class Into A Wild Four-Door Convertible

Mercedes-Benz is still working on its own G-Class Cabriolet, but Venuum clearly got impatient and built one first. The result is called the Mastodon V4, and it takes the already attention-hungry G-Wag

AutoExpert
Rare Michelotto Ferrari F40 Could Sell For Over $4 Million - Photo
Car News
Rare Michelotto Ferrari F40 Could Sell For Over $4 Million

Some Ferrari F40s spent their lives sealed away in collections. This one ended up in the hands of the people who built Le Mans race cars and came back far more extreme than Ferrari ever intended.T

AutoExpert