I have named several cars over the years. My father’s 80’s Malibu was named “The Parlaiment Whore” or just “the Whore”. This was because of a book left in it. Later I owned a 1974 VW Thing. That car never had a name, probably because I spent so much time working on it that I didn’t have time to think up a name. My last two cars have been early nineties Toyota pickups. My first one, the 1992, was named Sarah. This was actually because of a girl I dated. She was a wreck, the truck was later wrecked as well. My current pickup was named by my girfriend after a state park in Pennsylvania, and it’s state of disrepair. It is named “Ricketts”.
My in-laws used to name their cars. The White Whale was a 1969 white Chryler Newport. Dino was a green Chrysler. Bird was a Toyota Corolla.
When we bought our first car (after inheriting the White Whale), we had a 1976 VW Rabbit that we named Thumper.
Our son named his 1994 Honda Civic Betsy.
If a car has personality, then it definitely deserves a name!
Dear Tom and Ray,
I love CarTalk. It makes my Saturday morning. When I heard your discussion about naming a car, I knew I wanted to respond. I believe that naming a car is a matter of the heart. If you have the right kind of feelings for your car, you want to have a name for “her”. We had a brown 1986 Chevrolet Astro that was our family van for over 10 years. She got named “Betty Van Brown” or “Brown Betty” for short. We all loved her and she took us across the country numerous times. Later we had a 1992 Mercury Sable that was loaded with lots of nice features we were not used to like CD player, leather seats, sunroof, and electrically adjustable seats. “He” got named “The Luxury” and became the preferred date car for our kids. They were happy to get into the Luxury and out of our 1981 Datsun we named the “Partially Restored Japanese Sports Car” or “The Sportscar” for short. Now my wife and I are empty-nesters. We have a 2005 Highlander and have never had a thought of naming “it.” The Highlander doesn’t have the personality of The Sportscar, Betty Van Brown, or The Luxury. So, you have to feel the name. Don’t try to force it. It’s sort of like love- let it happen if it’s real. Thanks for many years of great car talk and entertainment. Richard Isakson, Provo, Utah
Back in April of 1978, when I was a senior in law school, studying for my finals, my beloved Audi 100 LS keeled over and died in a massive transmission failure. I bought a ten year old Plymouth Sport Suburban stationwagon with 160,000 miles on the odometer for $100 from my mom’s car dealer. I named it George Harvey Schlabotnik, because it was not only male, but big and lumpy. Nevertheless, it got me where I was going for two more years, until I was earning enough to buy my first new car! I’ve never named another car, but that one was perfect.
I think naming your vehicles just makes them more attached to you. All my cars have had names …mostly because my first car an old mettalic poop brown Ford Tarus. She got her name because she had trouble going up hills and my friends and I would rock ourselves back and forth to try to help it up the hill while yelling …:“common Bessy”. so Bessy it was. My next vehicle was my baby though I had a lifted Jeep Cherokee sport in Mint condition that I called Janeen after the jeep in the cartoon. After that i had a purple neon that never really got a name …well because it was a neon …not much personality in those. And now i have a beat up ford ranger appropriatly named “Sport” because it has been a good sport through the years as i rammed it in numerous snow banks and trees sliding around on the ice in Maine in a two wheel drive POS truck. It hasnt killed me yet but Im due for a new car. All this and Im only 25. I go through vehicles like sneakers.
Only if as a joke. Like my father, who named his Toyota Prius Brid. As in, “Hy, Brid!”
A good friend of mine has a late-90s Mitsubishi that used to have a worn belt. It would make such a racket that I could always hear when he would pull up to my front door to give me a ride somewhere. Science nerds that we are (hey - we’re grad students) we dubbed it “Der Kluge Hans” (or “Hans” for short) because of the knocking sound. The belt has been replaced but the name stuck!
The male name seems to work since we regard the car as a reliable old workhorse (not unlike the actual horse after which it was named).
My father was a coal miner and bought really bad cars to car pool with his buddies. We had a 1970 or so Chevy Vega which I called the “Lost Vega” and a about 1968 Ford Falcon 3 speed on the column which I called “The Wings of Man.” I could go on and on but you get the point.
LV
ASOLUTELY NOT!!!
My wife had named the car she had when we met. After we were married and several door transplants and other major surgery we finally decided to put “Babbins” down. Needless to say, it was a very tearful parting at the recycling facility. We promised each other that we could love our cars all we wanted but never any more names.
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My wife insists that we give a name to all our cars. Cars seem to run better when they are clean, have a new oil change and have a name. I haven’t named my Harley though,…and won’t. I recently sold my 1984 Jaguar XJ6 which I loved, and my wife had named ‘her’ Ms Kitty, (maybe that’s why I sold her…the car I mean). I recently sold my wife’s 2000 Volvo C70 and she had named it Ms Vivian (a V name for Volvo…of course???). The name of my current car, a 2005 Black Chrysler 300C (Hemi) is ‘The Stallion’ (It’s an awesome car). I recently bought my wife a bright yellow Audi TT Roadster and she promptly named it Ms. Daisy. I said, AWWWW Hell Honey, Now I can’t drive it!!
John C. Snider
Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)
Kissimmee, FL
Of course you should name your car, it’s a part of your family and I think they actually run better knowing they have a name. I have a lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee with 31" BF All Terrains. His name is ‘Lil Pepe’ from ‘Romancing the Stone.’ He’s my little mule and hauls our trailer with the bikes with ease.
I have some very colorful names for my cars when they aren’t working right…
I grew up on a cattle ranch. We had a rule. Never name an animal you are going to eat. By extension, never name anything you’re going to have to get rid of in the future.
TexasCharley
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There are just some cars that deserve a name.
My first was the “White Elephant”. It was a '66 Dodge Polara with a 383 engine. It’d hit a phone pole, and the front end was pushed in. No one else wanted it. My dad and I did the work, after borrowing equipment to straighten the frame from the body man next door.
Next was the “Blue Whale”, which was a huge dark blue Plymouth with a trunk lid so high that I could never figure out how close I was when backing up. It was a loaner from my mom while we searched for my next car, which was
“Scamper” the Scamp. Couldn’t kill that slant-6. I ran it 14 years, until the floors were soft with rust and I needed to retire it.
I picked up a replacement vehicle that my brothers nicknamed “Death Trap II”. DT2 kept breaking down; parts fell off (YES, fell off) the carburator, the rear end failed, I lost DRIVE and had to get it home 50 miles while in D2…you get the picture. I was so glad that one get towed out of the driveway.
Libby was my LeBaron. Another car I drove until we couldn’t repair it anymore.
My current car has no name. We never bonded. It’s been good transportation, I paid a very reasonable price for it, and there’s been almost no maintenance surprises until this summer. My mechanic tells me not to put any more money into it, but drive it til it dies.
STill looking for a replacement. I’m hoping I find something else worth naming.
I think naming your car is very important for both your sake. My friend had “Betty” Ford, my wife had “Mary Todd” Lincoln, and I had the personalized plate ITSABRD on my '90 T-Bird. When you name a car you personalize its meaning to you, the owner, and I think you take better care of it. It’s like I heard about kids who enter their prized pigs, cows, chickens, etc. in the county fair: If they named it they’ll never let it go to the happy meal factory, thinking it’s a member of the family albeit very stinky. As cars get older, as well as us, we should change the name of the car to suit the times. My wife calls my '02 Grand Marquis my “Big A** Old Man Car!” I don’t like the name, but it does convey a certain attitude towards it, which also means that I don’t let her drive it unless we’re on a long trip where we need comfort and quiet, and then she’s not so judgmental. I did have a name for her '99 Concorde, which was “Crap Car,” and it described it to a “T.”
Hi guys,
My parents named our cars growing up and I have always named my cars.
My 92 Ranger is Charlotte and my Honda Shadow Aero motorcycle is Elizabeth - I have always considered my vehicles to be female.
My wife, however, thinks her 95 Corolla is male… but never named her cars.
When I asked, she chose ‘Anderson’ for the Corolla (from the mild-mannered alter ego of Neo in the Matrix) and our most recent acquisition - a 96 Sebring convertible has earned the name ‘Big D’ after the American sub in The Hunt for Red October – you feel her ‘tonnage’ when accelerating and she turns like a sub.
For us the names signify an extension of our personalities and express how I feel about them.
I feel that when one names a vehicle, it personalizes the relationship. It takes a little while to get a feel for the vehicle before a name seems appropriate.
My wife feels that the vehicles earn their name through developing ‘character’ and exhibiting their own unique quirks.
Anyway - I don’t think it makes a whit of difference in how the car behaves, but it’s a fun thing.
ERB
I’ve never named my car before, but after hearing of “Vlad the Impala” I’ve decided to name my new Hyundai “Carmen Elantra”.
I’ve named cars in the past, but I’ve felt like the only cars worthy of a name were especially unique cars, or ragged out, old cars likely to leave you stranded. Car names are needed in two instances. 1.)When you have guests over and you ask if they want to go around back and see “Betty” [as in a cool antique car]. Or 2.)When you are directly begging the [junky worn out]car to not let you down-example-“Come on Trixie, you can make this hill! You can do it-Pleaseeeee”
Car names I’ve had:
83 Mustang named Maybelline
circa 1990 Tercel named Chow Lee
25 year old Ford Truck named Old Blue [still own it]
and as a goof, the Volvo station wagon I owned was named Nouveau Bleu in contrast to old blue
Also, my 357 magnum is named “The Bitch”. None of these machines have souls, but people have a closer partnership with cars they’ve restored, or patched up to keep it going. Funny, you need to feel intimate with your gun, if you choose to own one, so maybe that’s why I named mine.
It all depends on the car. Anyone who says cars don’t have a soul, hasn’t owned the right car. Some cars most definitely have a soul. Some just don’t. I find a need to name or designate an identity to the cars I’ve had a real bond or connection with. There have definitely been a number of them with obvious personalities - some good, some unfavorable. Others like my little Honda I have now, are just heartless modes of transportaion. I’ve had many other Honda which had an inner soul and got names, but not this one. However, ALL of my BMW’s required names. Maybe the age of the car DOES have something to do with it. All of these newer plastic cars just don’t give me any kind of vibe!
I feel like old cars should be named. They’ve earned their names. That is, old cars that have been through a lot. I don’t feel like my ‘94 Subaru has been through a lot, as it has it’s original body still, for example (though it has plenty of dents and dings, and I’ve had it long enough so perhaps it deserves one by now…). But when we had our Buick LeSabre Olympic Gold Edition that we inherited from a dead friend, and during our usage ended up being deemed officially totaled, we slapped on a new front (a hip new two toned car–gold and maroon!) and then it also got a rear end and trunk covered in dozens of stickers from the dentist and the vet, then that car had earned a name for all its been through: Ole’ Bessie. Yeah, those seats were really comfy.
But I guess maybe the mentality that I have with naming older cars perhaps comes from the fact that it’s an outdated notion? I don’t know how many people name material things now adays, especially since cars I thought were usually considered females and then with the whole feminist movement and not wanting to be marginalized or materialized or I’m not exactly sure how to say it. And if I were to go along the stereotype/historic route, I might as well go along the lines of thinking that since it was males who were the ones in charge of the vehicles, driving, caring, and controlling them, then they’d want to name them female names, since they wouldn’t want to be considered gay in a time of rampant homophobia so they would declare their masculinity by naming their largest male possession: their car/truck. Also, the car is the object of the male gaze, just like the woman, so getting all Mulvey on this thang, then…I won’t go there because I think this whole spiel is probably annoying enough.