Annoying car acronyms explained - no wonder people get all WTF
The automotive industry, your friendly HR department, the bank or a character-count conscious millennial – acronym life is here to stay.Don’t even get me started on the made up words of the Twittersphere. We’re exposing three common car-related acronyms that when mistaken, could leave drivers at a loss for words, confused or embarrassed, with an #OMG their only real go-to.
ABS
Your vehicle’s anti-lock braking system prevents your vehicle’s wheels from locking during emergency braking. If you work in the high-powered banking world however, discussions concerning an asset-backed security would naturally spring to mind. The national body in charge of counting, statistics and data, the Australian Bureau of Statics also uses the ABS acronym. While millenials will be using ABS as an abbreviation for absolutely (which they say a lot I’m told). It’s also used relentlessly in gymnasiums, a common abbreviation for the rectus abdominis muscles – the ones many of us exercise a lot before summer commences, while others have only heard of such buff behaviour.
ESC
It’s quite a tricky one that could see you with a mic in hand, post haste! In the automotive world, electronic stability control refers to the electronic system that applies the brakes to a specific wheel if a loss of steering control is detected. Just to confuse us event more, it’s also sometimes called Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) or Electronic Stability Program (ESP). However, in May each year the only ESC the world really cares about is the Eurovision Song Contest, which clocks up 65 years in 2020! And finally, research has shown that ESC (escape!) is the keyboard button we can locate and hit faster than any other (when an emergency screen clear is required).
EV
Electric vehicles are here and growing in numbers – if your favourite manufacturer doesn’t already have one, you can be sure it’s in the works. Albeit a slow consumer uptake, the reasons for which are many and varied the electric vehicle age is coming. Funnily enough, EV is also an acronym for expected value - a phrase associated with taking a gamble (often in poker) – similar to those early-adopters who bought an EV ahead of the pack you might say! If you’re into gaming, Escape Velocity is probably where you’re head is at.
The moral of this story? If you can’t beat them, join them. Hell of a way to adhere to a strict word count, too. Acronyms #FTW
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