What is a sensible translation in to Japanese of the noun phrase "Niko
speed" and the imperative "Go fast, Niko!" where Niko is a proper
name? Any brief comments on the rationale for choosing a particular
Japanese writing system would be appreciated as well.

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Clarification of Question by empedocles99-ga on 28 Nov 2004 21:38 PST

Please do not simply submit a machine translation. I want a
translation that makes sense to someone who knows Japanese :)

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Clarification of Question by empedocles99-ga on 30 Nov 2004 08:04 PST

Certainly, I will provide context.

I intend to use this phrase on my car, whose name is Niko (cheesy, I
know). The "Niko Speed" is sort of intended to be a mock name for a
racing group. and the "Go fast, Niko!" is an imploration to the car to
go faster.

Hopefully that helps,
Thanks!

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Clarification of Question by empedocles99-ga on 30 Nov 2004 11:03 PST

Also, I found the name Nikko has a Kanji representation. Maybe this
would be better? I'm looking for a pronunciation that is like ni from
"need" and ko from "cold".

Just discovered the Japanese version of GA, including your question:
http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/body?wb_url=http%3A%2F%2Fanswers.google.com%2Fanswers%2Fthreadview%3Fid%3D435374&wb_lp=ENJA&wb_dis=2

I do not know who is translating these questions (presumably not a machine).

"Go fast" (including "please")
is translated as
?????????

?? (hayaku)
http://japanese.about.com/blkod352.htm

??? (itte)
???? please (kudasai)

http://japanese.about.com/blverb1.htm
Request: the ~ te form + kudasai:
http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa031101c.htm

The name Niko is not transcribed. Would you like to write Niko using Kanji or Kana?

Using Unicode should enable you to view the Japanese signs.

I should add that my knowledge of Japanese is rather limited.

Well, as my comment was translated within seconds it must be a machine
doing the job.
Based on my little knowledge of the Japanese language I do suppose
that the translation suggested does make "sense to someone who knows
Japanese".

Speed as a noun is translated as ?? (sokudo)

as mentioned here ("speed, velocity"):
http://www.metricmethods.com/SI_japanese.html

http://japanese.about.com/blkod377.htm

Depending on the context you may be able to get away with just using
"niko speed" in katakana "?? ???".  As fp mentioned, hayaku (??) would
probably be in the phrase "??! ??!" may also be an appropriate
translation if the situation calls for it.
  The thing that sets human and machine translation apart the most is
the understanding of context.  This goes doublt for Japanese, which
makes a large distinction between formal and informal speach.  The
phrase "niko speed" is even tough to grasp in English, making
translation quite difficult.
  If you explained the situation in which this phrase ame up I'm sure
you will find a suitable translation.

-fractl (?????)

Apparently, the link mentioned in my first comment is a site
translating webpages (Japanese - English, English - Japanese):

http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/body?

empedocles99,

If that is the case then i think the katakana appproach may be the best.

I assume your cars name dosent have a kanji equivalant, so ?? will
work fine for that. Hayaku would not be good as a race name (as it it
more of a request/demand than it is a discription of what niko does). 
I suggest using ??? (if you just want japanese letters for 'niko
speed') or fp's suggestion of ?? if you want a japanese word for speed
(the kanji also has a nicer look to it).
Niko sokudo also sounds fun.

-fractl (?????)

I speak a little Japanese but not enough to gague a the impression a
native speaker would have reading this.  I am also not a google
researcher.  This is just my 2 cents and I suggest you wait for a real
researcher to answer before you begin to write on niko.

Nikko is the name of the famous city:
http://www.nikko-jp.org/english/sekaiisan/index.html

In Kanji: ??
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+11097 ("What
does Nikko mean?")

However, I suppose someone who speaks Japanese would not when reading
?? immediately know that you are referring to your car.

Deciding which Kanji to use for a name would depend on if it is a male
or female name.
Names ending with -ko with the Kanji ? are female names.

As a rule i wouldnt use kanji for a non-Japanese name.  It is
misleading (like naming your dog Spot but never capatalizing the
name...'Spot, Run!' has a much different meaning as 'spot run!') a
japanese reader may be confused looking at the car's name.  If niko
(or nikko) is a known name it may be appropriate...but, once again,
that should be left to a native speaker to decide.

-Fractl (not going to try to use kanji here)

If you are going to name it for a car I am assuming that you want to
pinted on the car.   You may want to avoid the word speed.  Japanese
people would understand the concept of "POWER" or "TURBO".  So you may
be better off with the name Nikko Power or Nikko Turbo --- written in
Katakana.   Another one that may be interesting is express but I think
there is a company here that is using the term "Nikko Express"

The word speed when you use in Japanese have two different meaning and
usually used for negative image items such as the drug speed or
fastfood and cheap items.  I would suggest power instead of speed ---
my 2 yen.

The word itte or hayai is not appropriate here - especially for catch
phrase and if you want to get sponsors to this.

I suppose "speed" in Katakana would be ???? (i.e. not ???).

"? (elongation mark: repeats the vowel of the katakana that precedes it)"
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~fljpm/clinic/sj21.kana.html

For example:
://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%E3%82%B9%E3%83%94%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89+speed

Hello. I believe you mean "Nikko Speed."

Nikko is a place in Tochigi prefecture where a racing circuit is, and
written as ?? in Kanji. Each Kanji has a meaning, but in this case it
is just a name of the place, so we just translate it as "Nikko."

Also, speed has a lot of meanings and ways to say in Japanese, but we
also call it speed like English. It doesn't make sense if you use
hayai or sokudo.

So, when we translate "Nikko Speed" into Japanese, we still pronounce
it "Nikko Speed." And you would write it as ?????? in Japanese.

I hope this helps.

The place Nikko is actually pronounced and spelled "nikkou" (????)

"dash" also has a soundalink in Japanese, ????

But I still don't really know enough about what you're trying to do to
offer a sufficient Japanese version.  Maybe you can write a couple of
sentences of a story, using the phrases you want to use, to give us an
idea for what type of "feeling" you are going for?