Originally posted by 24X36NOW Actually, it was American GIs (tankers in particular) that called their Shermans "Ronsons," as a sarcastic reference to the old advertisement slogan - "Lights Up Every Time." (Ronsons, for those who are scratching their heads, are cigarette lighters.)
Then this name was spread also to the German tank crews, because in one document film i saw lately one tank commander said that they called them "ronson" too. If this name came from english advertisement slogan, its origin obviously is in Allied side.
Shermans had gasoline engine (not diesel as almost every other armoured vehicle) and not so thick armour, so they light up every time Tigers hit them... Shermans were capable to fight against Tigers only because of their numbers. It simply wasnt possible to destroy all of them before some achieve the very short effective firing distance against main German tanks.