21 replies to this topic

[delaner]

So, in doing research for the Tyrrell web site, I've found that there is certainly a question over the name of the French oil and fuels company, "elf"

I've read that it is "Essences Lubrificants Francais", but I've also read "It has long b een thought that Elf stood for Essences Lubrificants Francais, but in fact it was a marketing term..."

The latter comes from Maurice Hamilton's "Ken Tyrrell, the Authorised Biography". It is much newer, and I have no reason to question him or his sources. I'm surprised, however, at how many times I've seen written the abreviation, and many times from French sources. What gives? I believe I remember (although I can't verify it now) seeing Essences Lubrificants Francais on the old ELF web site (ahtough, it's now owned by Total and the branding ahs changed again...)

ALSO... is it elf or ELF or Elf or "elf" or what?

Thanks for your insights...

[philippe7]

Hello Ryan

I can confirm.....that I can't confirm either version , since I have also heard both....I perfectly remember the launching of the elf petrol stations , I must have been 12 or 13 then and there was a lot of mistery because all the stations of the old french companies that had been merged to form "elf" ( I THINK I remember fina, caltex, antar, but I'm not really sure.....) had their old signs taken down and the new ones were secretly being put up and covered with black plastic until the "D" day of the launch, and everybody was wondering what the name would be....at that time I asked my dad what it meant , and he did say "Essence et LubriFIANTS ( Not FICANTS) Français" , but I also remember hearing a radio interview much later where a guy said it was just chosen as a name that sounded sharp and good, and was pronouncable exactly in the same way in most languages ( remember elf was a gaullist creation with maybe dreams of international grandeur.........)

Anyway, when they launched the brand (1970 ? ) they had a system by which you could gain a collection of nice A4 prints of the cars , drivers and teams they were sponsoring then, ( Matra , Tyrrell, Formule France, etc...by gaining points against petrol purchases....I made sure the family car was always filled up at the local elf pump and soon gained the whole collection.....in 2000 at the OZ GP I managed to have sir JYS autograph the one where he jumps Flugplatz in the MS80 , he was quite surprised to have such a relic presented to him !!!

[GIGLEUX]

Elf means simply Elf and that's all. As you write it is a marketing term or word choosen at the time, 1967 if I remember well, with the following aims: short so easy to remember, no particular meaning in all at least european langage. In fact some 35 years before what many cars constructors are doing now. So you can write it as you want but we, in France write it Elf as it is a proper noun.

[Geoff E]

Originally posted by GIGLEUX
no particular meaning in all at least european langage.

It has a specific meaning in English - "one of a kind of legendary beings, usually characterised as small, manlike and mischievous". Hmm, that description reminds me of someone ;)

And the word has a numerical meaning in German.

[delaner]

Originally posted by GIGLEUX
we, in France write it Elf as it is a proper noun.

Thank you for your insight, good sir. The reason I was confused is that in the forward of Doug Nye's THE GRAND PRIX TYRRELLS, which is credited to "elf", they are very careful to write the name ELF everywhere as "ELF". But then, the logo is "elf" everywhere else, including on the cars (as on the Renaults even today).

But if it has evolved in France to be Elf, it is good to know!

[delaner]

Originally posted by philippe7

I made sure the family car was always filled up at the local elf pump and soon gained the whole collection[/B]

Fantastic! Do you mind posting scans? That sounds wonderful! And good show getting it autographed. Sir Jackie certainly is giving with them... He's a wonderful ambassador to the sport.

[2F-001]

When Hamilton relates the explaination that 'elf' was purely a 'made-up' word -- like Kodak, except that this one has meaning (albeit non-problematic) in the tongues of some overseas markets -- he is quoting the man who was head of elf at the time.

[delaner]

Well, you can say it's non-problematic, Tony! When I'm wandering about the pits (or worse yet, the streets) wearing my fancy Tyrrell hat or shirt, I get an awful lot of perplexed looks from people who don't understand why I call myself an elf!!

"Oh look, here come the gaggle of elves..."

I'll still gladly wear the kit. I'm quite proud of it, actually.

That's almost as bad as my hat from the USGP that says "SAP". My bro in law doesn't understand why I'd walk around labeling myself as a sap...

Ah well...

[2F-001]

Ah, I see your point - when you consider infra-product branding...

What I meant, though - you you probably realise - was there was nothing offensive or particularly conunter-productive about naming petrol after a sprite in the UK... and naming it ''eleven'' in Germany was nothing worse than curious!

[Racer.Demon]

Originally posted by Geoff E
And the word has a numerical meaning in German.

As it has in Dutch.

[delaner]

No no, of course not. No, it's quite all right that they might name a fuel company after a short little pointy-eared character. It's quite all right indeed.

And further, it's quite fine that it might be the term eleven in Holland or Germany.

Unless you're German and you think that the term has something to do with the octane rating, perhaps. Or the price. Eleven quid seems quite a bit for fuel, in any measurement. Unless you thought that perhaps the price on the board was indicative of the charge for eleven something or others of fuel. You'd be heading down the road, and see 99p and think, "Blimey, eleven gallons is quite a bit for 99p. That's 9p per quart."

Or worse yet, gallons. It would be quite astonishing to pull into the pump station to find that you think you are paying 99p for 11 gallons. That would be quite surprising.

(Do you think this might make a good Monty Python skit?)

What would be even more surprising is to find that when elf had expanded it's service to Great Britain, your gas was pumped by a short man in tights. That would be surprising indeed.

Otherwise, it would be of no consequence at all that a fuel company might be called elf.

None whatsoever. It might be quite novel, actually. Er... it was quite novel, I should say.

Yes.

[Geoff E]

Originally posted by 2F-001
Ah, I see your point - when you consider infra-product branding...

What I meant, though - you you probably realise - was there was nothing offensive or particularly conunter-productive about naming petrol after a sprite in the UK

I'm reminded of the cleaning product, which for years had been "Jif" which is now named "Cif"

[Racer.Demon]

Geoff, you're not referring to the abbreviation of a well-known sexually transmitted disease that the sound of "Cif" is making many speakers of various European languages think of?

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Geoff E


I'm reminded of the cleaning product, which for years had been "Jif" which is now named "Cif"

Geoff, that smilie is INSPIRED!!!

[Geoff E]

Originally posted by Vitesse2


Geoff, that smilie is INSPIRED!!!

Hmm, the best joke I never knew i'd made, pure fortuitous as it happened

More unlucky product names:- http://www.namingnew...rs_now_what.htm

[WGD706]

Originally posted by Geoff E


Hmm, the best joke I never knew i'd made, pure fortuitous as it happened

GM Drops Risque-Named Buick Car in Quebec



NEW YORK (AP) - It's all in the name. General Motors Corp. has scrapped plans to replace the Buick Regal with the Buick LaCrosse in Canada because in the French-speaking province of Quebec ``lacrosse'' means to masturbate. Among other things.

GM Canada spokesman Stew Low told the La Crosse Tribune in Wisconsin last Friday that in Quebec youth culture the word is a new slang term

``(It) means a couple of things, either to masturbate or 'I just got screwed,' or 'I just got taken''' Low told the newspaper in Saturday's copyright editions. ``People of our age wouldn't even think twice about (the word.)''

He told the paper he first learned of the new slang usage about six weeks ago. In organized focus groups in Quebec, young participants giggled when they heard the named of the new car, Low said.


La Crosse Mayor John Medinger said Friday was not aware of the slang in Canada until the Tribune told him.


``These slang phrases come and go, and hopefully this one won't stick around too long,'' Medinger was quoted in the paper.


GM has not said when the Buick LaCrosse will debut. The company said plans to replace the Buick Regal with the Buick LaCrosse in the U.S. will continue, but will give the new car a different name in Canada.

[WGD706]

Originally posted by delaner
So, in doing research for the Tyrrell web site, I've found that there is certainly a question over the name of the French oil and fuels company, "elf"
I've read that it is "Essences Lubrificants Francais", but I've also read "It has long b een thought that Elf stood for Essences Lubrificants Francais, but in fact it was a marketing term..."
Thanks for your insights...

According to grandprix.com's encyclopedia.....
Elf traces its roots back to Second World War when the Vichy Government established the Societe Nationale des Petroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA) with the intention of looking for oil within France's borders, having been deprived of access to CFP's reserves because of the fighting.
After the liberation General Charles de Gaulle established the Bureau de Recherches de Petrole (BRP) and merged SNPA with the Regie Autonome des Petroles (RAP) which had been established just before the war to exploit the discovery of natural gas in the south-west of France. The new company struck oil at Lacq in the Pyrenees in 1951 and its subsidiaries also discovered oil and gas in Gabon and Algeria in 1956 and in the Congo in 1957.
In 1967 the government decided to adopt a brandname for SNPA products. Company legend holds that the name was generated by a computer as Elf has no meaning in French. The company expanded into the United States and diversified into petrochemicals, establishing the Aquitaine Total Organico company in 1969.
There was a major setback in 1971 when Algeria nationalized its oil fields but Elf struck gas in the North Sea shortly afterwards and diversified into pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in 1973 after the oil crisis with the Saofi company. In 1983 the company's chemical industry was consolidated under Elf management in the company Atochem. Elf became highly acquisitive in the late 1980s with a variety of purchases, including Occidental's holdings in the North Sea. This was followed by a joint venture in 1992 with Germany's Thyssen to modernise Minol - the dominant service station chain in the country. The acquisitions continued in 1993 with the purchase of fashion house Yves Saint Laurent.
Recession in Europe reduced profits and the French government began to consider privatisation.
From its very beginnings Elf has used motor racing as a means of promotion. It began with a four-year association with Matra which began with a French Formula 3 programme which resulted in Henri Pescarolo winning the title. The European Formula 2 Championship fell to Matra the following year with Jean-Pierre Beltoise. And in 1969 the combination won the Formula 1 World Championship with Tyrrell and Jackie Stewart. The aim to win the Le Mans 24 Hours was not achieved until 1972 by which time Elf and Matra had gone their separate ways. Elf decided to undertake a policy to rebuild French motor racing and so began a new long-term relationship with Renault.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Elf was a major player in motorsport, sponsoring cars at all levels of the sport and promoting many of France's rising stars, notably Alain Prost. The company withdrew from all F1 sponsorship at the end of 1996, as part of the restructuring of the company prior to flotation.
http://www.grandprix...pe/fue-014.html

[flsp]

Originally posted by WGD706
GM Canada spokesman Stew Low told the La Crosse Tribune in Wisconsin last Friday that in Quebec youth culture the word is a new slang term

Going OT, but this slang word isn't new at all. It has been wildly used since at least 3 decades.

[Racer.Demon]

Originally posted by Geoff E
More unlucky product names:- http://www.namingnew...rs_now_what.htm

Spanish members might be able to explain to us why the Mitsubishi Pajero was hastily renamed Montero for the Spanish market...

Ditto for the Chevy Nova - or should I say No Va?

[2F-001]

re: dodgy car name translations:

I believe ''Triumph Acclaim" (a fairly mediocre UK saloon car of 20 years back) translates into German as something with unsavoury historical undertones.


delaner -
I much enjoyed your surreal diversion - I concede defeat - elf is a very odd for name for petrol!

[Garagiste]

As long as you've got your elf, that's the main thing.




(Sorry about that! )

[delaner]

Originally posted by 2F-001
I much enjoyed your surreal diversion - I concede defeat - elf is a very odd for name for petrol!

Oh dear, I never meant to defeat anyone. It was simply late at night for me and I got a bit goofy.

And yes, I've got my elf.

WGD706: Thanks!!! Good stuff there.

We shall put down the myth then!

ELF (or elf, as it appears on the Renaults) IS NOT
Essence et Lubrifiants Français

Cheers, all!!!