Yes, for fun. I named my white Honda Odyssey The BIg O. Hmm…maybe that’s why I bought it, so I could name it The Big O.
No - I never have.
I think I’ve named every car I’ve owned since 1979. My current MINI is named JoeGreen. Yes, that’s a male name. You can tell by looking at him and by the way he acts that he is not a female. He was named after Giuseppe Verdi because he is Silk Green/Black and because he floated to the US from England aboard the Aida car-carrier ship. JoeG is not Mean; he is Clean. Rarely a week goes by that he is not carwashed but only in touch free automatics or by hand by me. He still sparkles and looks new throughout despite his approaching 5th birthday on 1.10.2008!
My best friend named her Jeep “Pepito”, for reasons unknown to most of mankind. However, every time that we’ve tried to talk about anything of a sexual nature (as women do sometimes), he breaks down, or stalls, or generally stops working.
My mother wanted to name the '97 Suburban (our family car) “Daisy” or “Carmelita”, but I have dubbed it “El Monstruo”- “The Monster”
Both my husband and I name our cars. It is a fun and friendly habit. “Pearl” is the name of my 97 Camry and she has had this name since I bought “her” 8 years ago. She is a daily companion, yes a machine, but I rely on her everyday and take good care of “her”. It is silly but this makes life more fun.
My husband has also always named his vehicles. There was a 1968 Plymouth Satallite stationwagon called “Ernie” and it companion, a 1954 Chevy pickup truck was, of course, “Bert”. Then there was “Old Blue” and “New Blue” - both pickup trucks. His new Honda Civic Hybrid is called “Opie” because its color it Opalessent Metalic Blue. Do we have fun or what!!!
Barbara H.
Intention, when it really means something to you, is a powerful thing. I name my cars and take care of them as well as I can for obvious reasons, not because I’ve named them. “Dirty Bottom Girl” is a white Nissan Sentra with almost 200,000 miles who still gets 38mpg and got her name from living 1 mile up a dirt road and being game for anything. “White Horse” is the BMW that safely loves to take me for a gallop. There is something about setting an intention of “care and safety” around us but I don’t think I could prove it to you. Does a car have soul? Is it an extention of my own soul? Is my soul an extention of something else? Does all manifestation have the same origin anyway? Hmmm… A good inquiry. To paraphrase the great C.G. Jung “Objects, in order to cooperate with you, need to have your attention.” Enjoy the ride!
I’m shocked, shocked that Click & Clack actually laughed at naming cars, and stated that cars don’t have souls. Shocked. Thank goodness I wasn’t DRIVING when listening, so your ignorant comments were out of earshot of my car.
We have always named our cars. And, it is obvious isn’t it, that you cannot determine whether it should have a male or female name until you own it.
1968 Toyota Land Cruiser: “Old Blue” (male)
1969 Saab: “Snaab” (female)
1985 Saab: “Rosy” (female, of course)
1998 Subaru Forester: “Angel” (asexual)
2003 Subaru Impreza: “Bullet” (probably gay or bisexual; unable to determine)
When we finally sold Rosy a couple years ago to buy Bullet, the couple we sold her to were GRATEFUL to know her name. Seriously. They told us as much when we signed the papers.
Cathy S.
Anchorage, Alaska
(member, KSKA 91.1FM)
I am a 56 year old woman who just bought my first band, new car. Every other car I have co-owned with a boyfriend or husband (1). When my husband and I recently seperated, I finally got to buy the car I wanted with no compromising: 2007 Subaru Forrester. So, upon that auspicious occassion, I thought it only proper to name IT: I wanted a neutral, fun, unique name, not wanting an exclusively male or female energy. It’s color is “champagne opal.”. And I was feeling very celebratory and wanted a festive name: So, I named it “TOASTER” ie “to toast with champagne…”
As to the subject of do I take better care of it? Absolutely not. I was always the one in charge of regular service, washing, repair, etc, Whether it was my 1988 Landcruiser or my beat-up Nissan work truck, I loved and cared for them all the same.
All my cars over the last 40+ years were pre-named…Mustang, Ghia, Austin Healey, etc…as much as Tom derided naming cars, I do recall a “Sleek Black Beauty” in his past. Oh, I had one, too – la bamba.
Well I don’t normally name any of my vehicles, but recently I have had to put a few names to them to tell them apart. I have 3 Bronco II’s an '85, early '86, and a late '86 Eddie Bauer. Also I have an '85 LTD Crown Victoria that is metallic brown.
Well, Since i have 3 of one type of a vehicle i named my newest one Eddie. . .its obvious why, Eddie Bauer. As for the LTD we named that 5 years ago due to the fact that we had 2 full sized cars. . .the LTD and the Town Car. In order to know which one we where taking we either said the Town Car or “Brownie” the LTD and well that one has stuck ever since.
I figure people call their cars at least some type of “People” name this is the first one where it is a “Food” item. . . oh well.
I can see the reasoning for naming a car. It needs fuel and air to survive, just like humans. Medical bills can put you in the poor house, just like humans. I have only named one car, and that was my first car that I got in 1981. It was a 76 Cutlass 4 door that when it was running, would transport me and 15 of my closest friends wherever we had to go. As the car began to deteriorate mechanically, I had several conversations with it. They were mostly one sided, me begging it to start, or pleading with it to keep going until the next exit. With so many conversations, I had to call it something so I named it Hos, or to be exact H.O.S. (Heap of Sh**).
I had never understood why some people name their
cars. I did have one car that ended up with
a name though. Someone had used a very
thick permanent marker to tag my back
bumper. My friends and I thought as long as
my car was wearing a name tag we should call
my car by it’s new name. So at one time I had a car named AMP.
I don’t have a car yet, but when I do get one, I’m considering naming it. I know that cars are just machines, but for some reason I’ve always thought of them more as male than female.
I don’t know about whether or not it’s a good idea. It seems unlikely to have any effect at all, but I usually name my cars anyway. I have had two cars - a 95 Olds 88 named Ethel and a 93 Ford Tempo named Naivin (after Naivin Johnson of The Jerk). Ethel lasted all of 6 months before she threw a rod and we totaled her. Naivin has been going strong ever since my mom gave him to me and while he runs like a POS, he never seems to kick the bucket. Maybe the idea that they should be given female names is wrong.
Yes. The shamans say that “everything that is, is alive”, so yes, a car needs a name. And needs to be talked to. Also, it’s just plain fun! Having a nickname of “Raybob”, my car is “Bob”, “The BobMobile”, or simply “My Trusty Steed”. He seems to like it just fine.
Some cars just beg to be named. My black 1958 Volkswagen was called “The Ruptured Olive” and had over 200,000 miles on it when I sold it. My 1962 Karman Gia was called “Beezle” which was short for beelzebub – every time it rained the car wouldn’t start. The name just somehow fit. My 1968 and a half BMW 1800 was a wonderful car, but never had a name…it didn’t need one. I had a 1990 blue Olds Cutlas that didn’t get a name until after I sold it and then it became Old Blue. It just depends.
“Soulless mechanical device”?! Ha!! My present car, a 3-series BMW, Batgirl, certainly has a soul, a personality, and a heart. My previous car, also a 3-series BMW named Baby-O, whose battery, I might add, died in the garage - not on a lonesome stretch of road in the middle of nowhere! And why?, because she knew I loved her and she would have never but me in harms way.
Well what did your parents name your little sister?
You have a great story but whats the ending?
We always named our vehicles when I was growing up in Alabama. Although I don’t think it was by design, the names were always feminine. We had a 1971 Ford truck named Betsy – by the way, Betsy is still around and has over 600,000 miles. We had a '62 Galaxie named Ethel. Other vehicle names over the years were Maude, Ruby, and Lucille.
Those old cars seemed to have more personality than cars these days. I guess I need to think of names for our current vehicles, but somehow it is tough to think of something that fits a Toyota Sienna or a Ford Taurus.
Absolutely! My family always named our cars when I was a child, and I have continued to do this as an adult. The gender has been both male or female…the car will tell you (my 2001 Jetta was a female and my '86 Trooper was a male). You just have to pay attention! They are soulful machines who, when treated with respect and appreciation (along with some regular maintenance), will stand by you and out perform for you every time. I have always felt that personalizing my car helps me develop a relationship with him/her. We work together…I take care of my car and my car takes care of me! Kim G.