Renault gets green signal to call its car Zoe

It might be the French version of "A Boy Named Sue" a car named Zoe.

A judge ruled on Wednesday that the automaker Renault can call its new electric car Zoe, much to the chagrin of some French women and girls with that first name.

Parents of two children named Zoe Renault (pronounced ZOH-eh ruh-NO) had argued in court that their children could end up enduring a lifetime of teasing and annoyance -- just like the fictional youth named Sue in the famous Johnny Cash song.

The families, who are not related to the car company, wanted Renault to choose another name for the model.

"There's a line between living things and inanimate objects, and that line is defined by the first name," lawyer David Koubbi told The Associated Press in an interview. "We're telling Renault one very simple thing: First names are for humans."

he fight over Zoe, which means "life" in Greek, has gotten considerable media attention in France, where a petition on a Facebook page called "Zoe's not a car name" has garnered more than 6,000 signatures.