From _Business Mexico_, June, 1993

[...]

The most often cited auto blunder is the Chevrolet Nova (the phrase "No va" translates in Spanish as "It doesn't go") which General Motors wanted to bring into Mexico in the early 1970s. Although GM's Mexican managers were worried about the name, Nova was indeed used.

"They kept the name and it sold very well," says marketing analyst Cecilia Bouleau, who disputes the conventional wisdom surrounding the moniker. "It's the same thing with Nova gasoline. I think that the word is sufficiently incorporated into the language as meaning 'new' -- as in 'bossa nova' -- that the criticism isn't valid."

Bouleau goes on to say that a strong ad campaign can counter an apparent weakness that a brand name may carry across an international border. "One thing that never ceases to surprise me is how Coca-Cola has never had a problem (in Latin America). 'Coca' has drug connotations and 'Cola' means 'tail' -- yet no-one thinks the worse of it."


-- From http://www.urbanlegends.com, pre-emptively. It is widely but mistakenly believed that the Nova was a failure because of its name.