1230.54 – Students and Cars


Three students are named Sean, Juan, and Tran Vo. Each owns one of the following cars: a Honda, an antique Edsel, and a pink Fiat Cinquecento. Each student has a girlfriend, whose names are Carmen, Monique, and Ethyl (not in that order).

Tran Vo neither owns the Fiat nor is Monique's boyfriend. The Honda does not belong to Juan nor is Carmen his girlfriend. If Carmen's boyfriend is either Juan or Tran Vo, then the Fiat belongs to Ethyl's boyfriend. If the Fiat belongs to Juan, then the Edsel does not belong to Carmen's boyfriend. Sort this out: what is the name of each student's car and the name of his girlfriend?


Solution

There's really no better way than to make nine slips of paper with a name on each one. Push them around and, sooner or later, you'll come up with this:

Sean, Fiat, Carmen; Juan, Edsel, Monique; Tran Vo, Honda, Ethyl.