I’ve created them as part of a wiki to promote the virtues of plug-in hybrids(PHEV). In connection with this effort, I’ve learned from other PHEV enthusiasts in Qu?bec that vehicles are feminine in French.
If your car needs a name it will likely choose one for itself. As to any male/female identity, that will probably vary according to the nature of the critter and can just as often be asexual. A few years back (in the late sixties) while still in college, we picked up a 1956 International delivery van/camper conversion. For a couple of college kids it had all the comforts of home as well as two gas tanks with a range of about 850 miles. It had a less than professional red paint job and was a somewhat gross looking creature. Thus it took on the title of “Gross Beast” and was know as such to all who saw it.
For many years thereafter none of our cars assumed any particular persona. In 1976 my mother-in-law bought a brand new Oldsmobile 98-Regency. I absolutely loved that car and some 10 years later when my mother-in-law stopped driving, she signed it over to me. My wife did not share my rapture for this magnificent vehicle. She said it was like trying to maneuver the Queen Mary and she refused to drive it. That was ok with me, as the “Queen Mary”, as she came to be known, was my special treasure and I was rather possessive of her. She was forever known as the “Queen Mary” and just this past year we finally let her go as an auction donation to our local high school.
Again we went through a number of different cars (a 4-Runner, a Subaru, Toyota Starlet and so forth) then in 1996 as we were heading for Bolivia we bought a Toyota Rav-4. It was one of the snappier, more fun cars we’ve owned and was perfect for the primitive, narrow, dirt-trail roads of the Bolivian countryside. It started calling itself “Wiley Tyotee” and since it seemed to like it we just went along with the idea.
Since then we’ve had a Dodge Durango known as the “Chili Pepper” and we are currently driving a Toyota Sienna–the “Silver Slug”–a tribute to Oregon’s unofficial state mascot.
None of our cars have been named through any particular effort or intent on our part. But in those cases where they assumed their own persona and demanded commensurate recognition, we simply allowed them to assert their individuality.
We listen to you guys every week but this is the first time we’ve written. Ross & Eileen in Springfield Oregon.
I think cars should have names. Our 2006 Scion XB’s name is Sid and we talk to him and reassure him that when we have to use his brother Blackie, our 1979 Ford pickup truck, that it by no means diminishes his worth or value in our lives. We simply need something bigger for hauling When our daughter comes home from college with several large bags of laundry, I tell Bella, her 1999 Toyota Corolla not to worry, that “Grandma” will check and change her oil and make sure her vitals are strong.
Yes, our cars have personalities and both my husband and I have owned many of them in our combined 75 years as licensed drivers that we have had to beg, cajole, and bribe to get us home.
Of course you name a car, especially when it fits. My 2003 Boxster is named Portia, after the strong female heroine in Merchant of Venice. I have so looked forward to owning a fine piece of German engineering, especially after having owned many British sports cars. I expected her, with her 10,000 mile service interval, to carry me faithfully thru many winding roads and around exit ramps marked at 30 at twice that speed. Instead, the in dash computer keeps saying ?DRIVE TO REPAIR SHOP? ?WE KNOW WHERE YOUR FAMILY LIVES !? Which is German for ?THE DEALER HAS A BOAT PAYMENT?
While waiting for her return, I have re-read Shakespeare, and I should have recognized that Portia can be conniving, manipulative and demanding. So of course the car is female. But like any female, I will give her another chance to give me great joy
All cars have names (Taurus, Acadia, Prius…). The problem is there are 50,000 cars out there with the same name as the car you buy. So, you have to give your car a name when you claim it as your own. Yeah, that’s right, I said it… you “have to”!
The kids & I name all our cars, but first we have to get to know their personality. All cars have special things about them - they’re fast, or tiny or unreliable…anything that makes them different is part of their personality.
Our first car was a '96 Ford Taurus wagon named “Beatrice Beatrice Ugly” (name form inspired by the former UN leader). She was, well…ugly. Then we had a '03 Saturn Vue named “Scoop” -loved that car: spunky and cute. Our current car is a Honda Odyssey named “Long John” - kinda old and cranky.
Mark is a kinda blah name for a big pick-up truck - “Tonka” might be better. As long as he’s as tough as he looks. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a truck.
I don’t think we take care of the cars any better because we name them, we take pretty good care of our stuff anyway. Just do it for fun.
So by your logic, boats etc shouldn’t be named either? What do you mean by “deserve”?? That seems a little harsh!
I named my car, but it took me a while to find the right named that fit it! I don’t think that naming her makes any difference in how I take care her. I have a silver Toyota Yaris, and I almost named her Bud, cause she is something of a silver bullet. But Bud didn’t really seem to fit her, so I named her Lucy instead.
Absolutely! Even Tom and Ray ought to understand that every car has a “personality.” My first car was a retired U.S. Postal Jeep named Montgomery after Gen. Bernard Montgomery followed by a yellow CJ5 Jeep named Wingate after Charles Wingate leader of the Chindit fighting force in Burma during WWII.
After college I was able to buy a new sleek black Honda Accord LXi coupe called “The Stealth Honda.” Unfortunately, it was too stealthy as other people kept running into it with their cars. I now drive a 1992 green Toyota 4Runner with 213,000 miles affectionately named “The Turtle.” It may not be quick, but it has NEVER let me down!
garth dowling
jackson hole, wyoming
Car names are fun.I never named a car till I met my wife.Her first car was a big late 60s Merc, Brown Bertha,her first car that lasted more than a week was Freedom,A 71 Chevell 4dr hdtop.didn’t need to lock the doors because you had to pull the handle just so to open.then there was ZuZu the 78 Toyota wagon,Norma Jean the 86 Toyota 4dr,Fly ,her Subaru,My 82 Dodge van Big Red,Smokey my 56 Stude Sky Hawk,Tweety my 02 yellow GEM electric car.The Daughters 90 Toyota Wagon, Stinky.Wifes 33 Studebaker Commander, Madaline.And on and on.
Gives them caracter.Makes you forget about when they misbehaved.
I’ve had named and unnamed cars, and, funnily enough, the unnamed cars haven’t been as reliable and haven’t lasted as longed as my named car. I do think, though, cars have to EARN names. (How’s that for a weird twist on the discussion?) The car I had that earned a name was a '67 VW bug that took my family up the Alcan highway from Silicon Valley to Alaska in early 1972. Since that was before the pipeline opened, the highway was mainly gravel–translated anything 6" in diameter or smaller. Our bug bounced its way up and back, developing a few rattles and quirks that stuck with it forever but chugging along reliably the whole way. About halfway through in the middle of the Yukon territories, we started quoting from a cartoon character (I forget who), “Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?” and decided that the car was now called George. George kept going with only 1 engine rebuild and no major problems for over 250,000 miles until he was stolen from my high school parking lot in 1981. George is my gold standard for cars, and I still remember his license plate number! If any car deserves a name, George did!
It wasn’t until college that I met my friend Bridget whose family named their vehicles. Like the boat “Blue” and the Ford Explorer “Eddie”. I thought it was cool and odd at the same time. I never had the need to name anything until I was in my late 20’s. My grandma got a new Taurus and offered me her old one. A 1994 green Taurus. I was in my 20’s living in Chicago- very hip & cool or so I thought at the time. I decided that naming the Green Taurus would help with the ego blow of driving a family car - at the time I had no car, and a free car was great just not the sexy vehicle I would have chosen for myself. After a week of coming up with names - the Green Machine, The Green Monster, etc my pal Emily said “why of course- it should be Delores”. And so it was. Dolores the Taurus. Rhymed just fine and when I’d park next to another green taurus - there oddly where several around town - we’d call that one “Mulva” after Seinfeld.
Well of course Delores finally died a transmission death. I wanted a convertible like I’d had many years before. Wound up with a Sebring, which being a Chrysler drove like a truck. Returned it to Carmax and bought the Mustang instead. And let me tell you, Plan B is WAAAAYYY better than Plan A was ever gonna be. So the Mustang is “Bea”. Yay!
I have two. “Lillian” (part-time beater car) in Montana and “Harriett” in NC. “Harriett” is a 2000 F150 “Lariat” who is my full time "chariat. "
Since I spend most of my time riding in “Harriett”…I cannot imagine doing so without giving a name to my loyal “steed.”
One should never change the name of a vehicle, pet, or person either. That would be like changing Tom & Ray to Ernest and Ronald or something! To do so, is probably bad luck as well!
I’ve never really taken the idea all that seriously, but after I ran into a few people who did, I figured why the heck not. So, after much deliberation my parents’ VW Passat and Honda Odyssey were named Boris and Natasha. (They just traded in the Odyssey for a newer model, so that’d probably be Boris and Natalya now.)
As for me and my rusting Chevy Cavalier, well, my roommate calls her '84 Ford Tempo RJ. Rick James. So, I figured in that vein, I’d call mine TJ. Tom Jones.
We have always loved the name SHASTA. Many cars we’ve owned have had this name. Why? SHASTA go. SHASTA stop. SHASTA be washed. SHASTA have gas. SHASTA needs a lot of stuff from us and we admit it up front!
Girl or boy car names? Duh! Anyone knows a girl car has white wall tires and a boy car has black wall tires.
I own a 1990 Chevy Suburban, which I have had since I bought it new. I have actually had two names for it. I first called "him" Old Bob, but later, when he became more of a senior citizen, I renamed "her" Cher because she has none of her original parts!
I have not experienced any bad juju because of naming my vehicle two different names. "She" is still running strong, serving as my back country vehicle for camping and fishing.
You asked why drivers name a car and why mostly by
females? I have a classic 1985 Porsche 911.
She has to have a name(for when I want to
yell at her–mostly when she breaksdown). Why female?
Because she’s high maintenance, looks good
and sleek, is tempermental (emotional?) and
wants new shoes (tires) far too often. She also gets stubborn on occasion and refuses to move.
Besides, I’m female and I identify with her–good looking, sporty, well-built, and a bit oldER! I’ve owned her since she was new. Orginally her name was Brunhilda (one of the Valkyries), but over the years I’ve adapted her name to Gretta. (Grin, bear it, and get a loaner).
R in Dallas
Naming a car is an extension of the centuries old tradition of naming a ship or boat. In the boating world, all boats are girls… although many carry a masculine name (such as the Roosevelt or Eisenhower), but even with a masculine name, the boat is still referred to as feminine (“she”, “her”, etc.). Therefore, imho, it’s not bad to name a car a masculine name, and still refer to her as “her”.
Each car, although it is only a series of nuts, bolts, metal, plastic, glass &, if you’re lucky, leather, has a personality. It has its own idiosyncrasies. Some respond to gentle coaxing, some to a swift kick in the tire… some are just plain grumpy!
I have, or had, a number of vehicles with names a 1968 MB280SL named Betty (or the little green monster!), a 2000 Toyota Landcruiser named Coretta (she was purchased on MLK day) and my kids call her “The Bye Bye Truck” as we travel all over the country in her, I had a 1983 Toyota 2wd pick up named Terrapin (she drowned in a lake), a kayak named Cayenne, my husband had a 1989 Volvo station wagon I called Charlotte, my parent’s 1976 Buick Station Wagon was called The Gun Boat (it was gunmetal grey)… We have plenty of vehicles we’ve not named- a 1994 toyota 4wd pick up, my husband’s 2000 volvo station wagon, my 1982 mb 300td wagon, tractors, etc. Maybe they’ll let me know what their names are… maybe they won’t.
I have a Jeep Rubicon that I love to put to good use.
I needed to choose a name of a woman most infamous, a name that would live up to the very nature of the vehicle. So, I chose “Zoot” from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “Bad Zoot!.. Bad, wicked, naughty Zoot”!
Our other car, an Accord, is named Sheila, and what a sheila she is! She has covered more dirt roads in CO full of camping gear than Zoot has!
Hi Garth,
I had a 1984 Toyota 2wd pickup, with a camper shell, that I drove across the country a lot (living in it actually). Because it was my home on wheels, I called her Terrapin. Unfortunately, on a dark and misty night, I drove her into a lake, where she met her end. I think maybe my little Terrapin wanted to be in the water & I’ve been careful about the names I chose since.
Enjoy Turtle- I loved having 4 Runners!
Tn2nadoes,
Nashville, TN
My first car was a 94 black honda civic ex. I namesd him “webster” after the television character. I thought of him as my mate as we were always together and took care of each other. I think it is appropriate for women to give their cars male names and men to give femals names. Anyway, after 100,000+ miles, high school, college, and some reckless city driving in philadelphia, i moved to Manhattan where having a car didn’t make much sense. So, I gave Webster to my dad to drive while I was gone. My dad never got his name right, calling him “wilbur” all the time, and i think this reflected their relationship as a whole. Within a year, Webster passed away while my dad was driving him. I blame my dad.
I call my beast of a pickup Chewbacca . . . big, strong, ugly, but reliable. It’s the 79 dodge I bought for $100 and painted with a brush for $10 worth of house paint.
