Following strong sales of the new Subaru Levorg in Japan, the Japanese car maker has announced that all future models will carry names that seem to be other words spelt backwards.

‘We are very excited about this new development,’ said marketing head Daeh Gnitekram. ‘In the past, coming up with names was difficult because all the good stuff is taken. But with our new process, we simply hold a dictionary up to a mirror. Job done!’

Thanks to the success of the Levorg, the new naming policy will be implemented with immediate effect, starting in the US market with a pick-up truck called the Subaru Kender, and in Europe with a new turbocharged, body-kitted hatchback aimed a young people dubbed the Subaru Popocla.

Gnitekram denied accusations that the new policy was strange and contrived. ‘It’s a brilliant idea,’ he said angrily. ‘Anyone who thinks otherwise is a tnuc.’

‘Hang on, this Levorg thing,’ said everyone, yesterday. ‘Isn’t it just a etatse ycagel?’

With thanks to Paul Morgan