i have called ford dealers (where i foolishly expect people to know something at all about fords) and when they ask me what kind of car i have i tell them it is a svt contour to which they respond, "4 or 6 cylinder?" i say, "it is a svt." they counter with, "4 or 6 cylinder" at which point i give in and tell them. i had one person come up to me in a parking lot and seriously ask me how i liked driving the new fusion while i was sitting in my tour.
my last name is very simple to prounce for anybody who has learned to read and speak english so it comes as no suprise to me that most people of all ethnicities mispronounce it. it sounds just like veils but is usually pronounced val-lez. and just to top it off, all through high school administrators would look at my light brown almost blonde hair, blue eyes, light skin and irish features and start speaking to me in spanish when meeting me for the first time. vales is the name.
