I had the same thought about the name. They also didn't refer to the name again in the rest of the article, so it wasn't even setting up a convenient name to refer to the vehicle and distinguish it from other AVs; it was entirely superfluous.
Ya, and since a Panini is a pressed sandwich, you'd think the PR people would immediately remove that since it's comparable to what the car did to the woman's leg.
"Cruise gives the cars cutesy names" is typical of fast turnaround journalism. The reporter doesn't have the time or resources to investigate the details to determine if this is indicative of a casual culture at Cruise. Instead, they can drop the easily verified vehicle name and let the readers fill-in-the-gaps. It doesn't exactly line up with CA DMV suspending the AV permit, but it adds so-called depth to the story.
I wouldn't expect this offhanded fact in long-form, slower journalism. But I expect this from Reuters.
