The first part of the term is generally taken to be identical with the verb to jaunt, now only used in the sense of to go on a short pleasure excursion, but in its earliest uses meaning to make a horse caracole or prance, hence to jolt or bump up and down.
Jaunting cars remain in use for tourists in some parts of the country, notably Killarney in County Kerry where tours of the lakes and national park are popular.
French also wrote his own version of the song 'The Irish Jaunting Car' for his comic opera 'The Knight of the Road.'
[6] This form of vehicle also featured in the 1952 movie The Quiet Man, particularly to comedic effect during the first formal courting scene involving the characters played by John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and Barry Fitzgerald.
In Disney's 1967 film The Gnome-Mobile, DJ Mulroony (Walter Brennan) tells his grandchildren (Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice) about the jaunting car he owned in his youth, and sings a song about it.