Channel 4 of London reports an interesting naming and brand positioning swerve by Subaru. But it’s not the brand positioning re-alignment the article might lead you to believe:

Latest news on the jointly-developed ‘Saabaru’ Subaru-Saab 4×4/station wagon crossover: the Subaru version is to be called Tribeca (an outlying borough of New York City). Subaru registered this name as a trademark earlier this year – along with the names Montauk (another NYC suburb, on Long Island), Continuum and Halifax for use on other upcoming models – and this name is likely to be used for the car in Europe as well as in the USA.

Lest you think Subaru’s brand image is going suburban, Tribeca is not, “an outlying borough of New York City”. Tribeca is a pricey neighborhood in downtown Manhattan. The five boroughs that make up NYC are Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and The Bronx. And of course, Montauk is not, as reported, a suburb of NYC. It is a seaside celebrity playground 120 miles away! (For you Brits, think “London to Nottingham.”) As to Halifax, it’s a city in Canada, so it’s nothing to get excited about.

While Halifax and Continuum are snoozers from a naming perspective, Tribeca and Montauk beg a second look. There are rumors out there that Tribeca is merely a code name, with “B9″ (yup, as in a tumor) to be the official name, but c’mon, let’s just stick with the error-riddled Channel 4 rumor for now. Will the name Montauk seem as cheesy as those earlier car naming attempts that placed an absurdly affluent name on an average auto (Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue)? Only by residents of Montauk, who wouldn’t be caught dead in one. Montauk comfortably continues the latest trend of “me too” outdoorsy upscale place names as names for SUV’s, joining Sonoma, Santa Fe, Sorento, and Tahoe (see Igor’s SUV Name Taxonomy for more).

Tribeca is the most interesting of the lot, and though it sticks within the upscale place name trend, it’s the first to step into urban territory. It’s also a beautiful — if not B9 — name that conjures a very specific attitude and style. Sure, it’s a seven passenger tank that has no business in NYC, but it’s a great name.

Update 3/29: Subaru’s own website just put these rumors to rest. They are going with tumor Tribeca, or in their parlance, “B9 Tribeca“. Why? Somebody probably thinks the implied “benign” helps soften the image of Subaru as they make their first move into the larger, less environmentally friendly segment of the SUV market. Nice try, but way too obvious and linear to be effective. And it just dilutes the perfect balance of masculine / feminine urban upscale sophistication and individuality implicit in Tribeca. They have taken a potentially great name and sillied it down. Boo.

*Full editorial bias disclosure: This blogger once shared a loft in Tribeca with gothic novelist Patrick McGrath, his personal grooming habits inspiring McGrath’s very short story, “The Manky Towel”.