I am the patriarch of a VW family of many cars, some formally named, others just friends, depending on how they acted. Our oldest daughter had a '92 Cabriolet named Edie, don’t know what she has called her '97 Jetta or '03 Passat. Other daughter had a '90 Golf named (what else?) Tiger, and now drives a '97 Jetta, Gretta the Green Jetta. The only names I remember of mine were a '70 Beetle sunroof named Butch (something about the movie with the Sundance Kid, but once had a Plymouth Sundance without a name), beautiful deep red '61 Beetle named Rosie, and a silver '98 Jetta GLX, Tin Man.
Yes, yes, yes! Of course! How do we establish a solid working relationship if we don’t know the name of one with whom we work on a daily basis?
Male or female names? Well, here’s a few of the most recent ones I’ve known:
My car = Emma
Friends’ cars = Chloe & Ariel
Mom & Dad’s most recent car = Lisa (Before that, Bart, Rose & Goldie)
My brother claims he wouldn’t name a car. However, I know for a fact he once had a Renault named Damien.
Of that short list, just one male name. Hmmmmm…
I have never named a car. Like Tom and Ray, I have called some of my vehicles things but they were not names.
I am a 51 year old woman and three years ago I purchased my first new car, a little red Mini CooperS with the works. I always thought that naming a car was silly, but before I knew it my new 6 speed baby became known as Zippy! (No gender you notice.) I cannot explain how it happened but everyhting about the car is so endearing, it just had to have a name. Zippy is part of the family afterall!
I learned to drive on a 197? Ford Maverick. We called her Bessie because she was SO SLOW! I never named another car until 2004. In August '03 I bought a new Egg Yolk Yellow Ford Focus ZX3. The car was-and still is-so distinctive that I knew she needed a name. The following February -during a blizzard-I suddenly realized that her name was Suniqua.
Of course you should name your car. My first was a 1958 Ford Custom 300 named Freddie, bought in 1964 for $300. My 1954 MGTF is named Morris after the Morris Garage of England, I had some company cars that never got named but signiificant cars in my life did. My 1987 Maxda 626, my first new car 6 years after starting my business and getting divorced was named Rosie after the beautiful color everyone loved, my Mazda Millenia another beautiful car was Milton, my Subaru Outback was Sammy and my 528 BMW my first luxury car is Bennie (the Beemer). I’ve had some vehicles that were just transportation but milestone cars in my life meant a special attachment and therefore deserved a name.
Perhaps my need to personify my vehicles stems from the fact that I share an easy simpatico with dogs, horses and most animals. I enjoy no such skill with mechanical devices. If i name the device, it allows me some (albeit false) feeling of understanding.
My mother started it all. She always named her cars and even farm machinery. We grew up with Big John the tractor, Hazel the rake and Beatrice the Jeep. She went through the 80's with Suburbans named for the seated president- Ronnie and George. She now drives a Subaru Forrester name of Silver Fox.
I, too, now name every car that shows some personality. I drive Lester the Land Cruiser. He replaced a Durango that never earned a name. My pickup truck is a grey Dodge Dually named Fezzick, who replaced Arnold, a red Dodge Dually.
My husband, who is a farmer, does not share this impulse. But when I introduced him to my mother, she named his Chrysler New Yorker ‘Howard’ because he lisped when he requested “Please fathten your Theat Belth”. He remained Howard into his elder years of being used as a farm vehicle.
I like naming cars, but I like it best when they suggest the name themselves.Don/t we name ships, boats, houses, airliners and bombers? Why shouldn’t we, in fact oughten we, name our most prize transport?
My 2007 Ford 4WD Escape Hybrid’s name is FIST OF THOR. The name came to me the way of all great ideas – out of the blue. I got some chrome stick on letters (not cheap but worth every penny) to display the name under my license plate (a name without proud announcement is wimpy) This display allows others to know and refer to my red chariot by name. Of course I treat it better because it has a name, and by naming a soul. Others recognize this and treat it better as well. Unlike all of my other unnamed cars, no one nor ANY INANIMATE OBJECT dented FIST OF THOR during the first week of my ownership.
After naming it FIST OF THOR (FOT), I actually came up with a possible rational for the name. Thor (the god) is often portray with a fistful of lightning bolts while driving HIS chariot. Electricity is an intregal part of FOT’s hybrid drive train and Ford is godlike therefore…
'Way back in the '50’s, my future husbands’s car was named Zelda. My car at the time was Betsy. We haven’t name cars since then!
I think it is a fine thing to name one’s car. I have a 1996 Saturn black-gold SC2. She is one of the last years to have the design where the back end sides of the car gently curve out – like hips. Hmmm… I named her “Sly”.
As for things… sure they don’t have souls, but oh, it is so important to be nice to them. 
One school of thought holds that only a car at least 20 years old (some say 15) can be named. But I believe a car should be named for some characteristic of the car, not a person’s name. It has nothing to do with age. For example, I once had a 57 Bel Air that was royal blue with a light blue top. After an unfortunate encounter with a Ford Station Wagon, it ended up with a pea green front end from a 57 Biscayne. Henceforth it was known as “the Tricolor.” That car was followed by a 59 Anglia, fire engine red, that was referred to be coworkers as “a little red toot.” It was henceforth called “the Toot.” A neighbor of mine once had an enormous Dodge wagon (maybe a 76 or so) that was referred to by that family as “the Queen Mary” due to its size.
I have a 1959 Harley-Davidson Panhead which I have named Elizabeth. I have had Elizabeth for over 20 years, the longest relationship I have ever had with anything, let alone an Elizabeth, Sarah, Marcie, Joannie, or what ever. Any way, Elizabeth and I are both getting a little long in the tooth (so to speak), and since getting that way seems to have others believing that while ageing gracefully we may be, we also a tend to get a little crotchitty. The bottom line here is this: When Elizabeth is acting up and not wanting to start easily, for example (kick start only), having a name with which to personalize remarks, like “Elizabeth, you cantankorous old bitch, START”, takes some of the heat off of me for not being able to start her, but also gives creadence to other phrases which, like it or not, typify the behaveour of those reaching toward the golden years. As a disclaimer I will add that not all folks getting long in the tooth display times of being crotchitty, etc. I am, for the most part, a very even tempered, good natured soul, however sometimes Elizabeth drives me to blow a gasket!
I come from a family who nearly always named our cars. In high school I drove 59 Buick, monkey-poo brown with giant fins, named Big Ugly. I really didn’t have too many cars, we usually kept them for quite some time. In the early 80’s there was a huge grey Ford stationwagon named Baleen, my sister had a Baby Doll and a Winky, my brother an El Camino named Casper and an old F350 named Mr.Bones. There was also a black 41 Buick named the Black Swan. A couple of years ago, I knew it was time to retire my 86 Cougar, whose name was Slick (he was long on looks and short on character). Slick and I had been through a lot, and I cried at the Ford dealership when I traded him in on a 03 Ranger xlt (they didn’t charge me very much to take Slick). I felt like a real heel, getting rid of Slick but I knew if I kept him, he’d let me down in a big way very soon. One day while driving, I recognized Slick a few cars in front of me (I knew him by his “Earth, Love it or Leave it” bumpersticker) and followed the car to its new home. The lady driving him thought I was a demented stalker until I told her all about Slick and our history together. AFter knowing he had a good home, for how many ever days he had left, I felt at peace.
The truck I bought is a candy apple red Ranger named Maisie, and is the transmigration of the spirit of a dog (same name) owned by my Aunt Laura in the early sixties. This information came to me in one fell swoop while I was sitting in the salesroom getting jerked around on the price. Of course, I was still crying about giving up Slick (quite the talk in the office, apparently) and I soon got a price I was happy with. Maisie and I have had some good adventures - she is just as faithful and funny as the dog was.
I also named my bicycle, a cruiser name Sieglinde.
Don’t go into naming your vehicle with a pre-conceived idea - the name and sex will come to you - the car will make it known, if you are receptive. And no, I do not wear tinfoil on my head to keep out the voices…
Well, I don’t think it’s a matter of should or shouldn’t; that’s an individual thing. I, however, DO name my cars. Each auto I have ever had has been a friend, a family member. And, I feel that a car responds better to you if he or she has a name. Yes, I wrote “he or she.” Some cars are males, some females. I’ve had both. Right now I have a female named Nora. She and I are great friends! She gets me where I need to go and seems to enjoy doing it. Even when I’m the only one in the car, I’m not alone; I’m with Nora! So maybe I’m a crazy woman in the eyes of some. But it sure is fun!
YES!
We’ve always named our cars. The car name should start with the same letter or sound as the car model name. My Corolla S is Camille (she think’s she’s sporty and sexy, but she’s really quite practical). My mom’s Impala (a work car) is named Emma (she’s a BIG girl - kinda hefty, but can still move).
It’s just nice since we both spend so much time with our cars to personify them.
Some cars have personality - some don’t.
I once drove a Triumph Spitfire which was obviously female and was called PENELOPE.
She was followed by a Fiat 125 Special, a masculine car, and he was FERDINAND (the licence plate included the letters FUR).
Now I live in the USA and drive a Nissan Xterra which has no detectable personality and has no name.
Paul, Los Angeles
Absolutely! I have always named my cars. And I also believe that talking (nicely) to them is important. The one I currently drive is called “Yoko” (a Honda Civic Hatchback named for the quintessential fluxus artist.) My previous car was “Kar’heinz” (a Dodge Colt named after Herr Stockhausen) and so on. Of course, my friends think I take this anthropomorphism a little too far, since I also name all my computers & hard drives (Cage, Callas, Mrs. Peel, Mr. Steed, Maneki Neko, Fellini, Keislowski etc.) and I’ve even been known to name a few other odd devices as well ? a CD Jukebox called “Meg” for instance. But, I still think I’m reasonable. I’ve never named a kitchen appliance…
Pamela Z
San Francisco
I believe I had a very good reason for naming my car, although I no longer do this. And I do think those who name them might well take better care of them also.
My first car was a British Racing Green 1966 MGB. I acquired it in 1977, so it was far from new. I named it “Winthrop” for one primary reason - so I could CURSE at it by name when I was fixing it, which consumed at least as much time as driving it! A secondary advantage was that sometimes I could finagle parts at the wholesale price and have them billed to “Winthrop Racing, Ltd.”
Mind you, I’ve owned plenty of other cars since then. I can say that the MG NEVER stranded me - there was always enough warning before a catastrophic failure, whereas I was once stranded by a BMW 325ix in a rather bad way, and I’ve been stranded by a couple of others too, I think.
I suspect that the reason it never stranded me was due more to my constant attention to its needs (it was my first car and I am a gearhead, and you KNOW how much maintenance they need) than to any particular design achievement by Morris Garages (this was pre-British Leyland).
Special note to Tom - I sure wish I still had it.
My parents had a 1935 Ford named Leapin’ Lizzie. We traveled from L.A. County to N.Y.C. and back, in 1950, in that car and passed new cars steaming on the side of the highway as we went over the Rockies. Then they had a 1950 Ford they named Gertrude. Of course I name my vehicles. Not every one of them, but when I bought a 1986 Ford Ranger 4 x 4 in 1990, it was like an answer to a dream. That truck was cinnamon and tan, so I named it The Whole Enchilada. Then I got married, and my husband owns a 1965 El Camino painted green. Its name is The Green Dragon. A few years ago, we painted the Ranger green, and changed its name to Strider. (If you can’t figure that one out, read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy.) We became The Green Team. Yes, vehicles have personalities. I think we imbue them with more than we realize. From Lily, at www.bloomingrosepress.com
The history of naming and imbuing gender to locomotor vehicles is quite ancient - even though the sex of the name and the gender attributed to the device frequently are diametrically opposed (consider “Abraham Lincoln,” “George Washington,” etc.). The rationale for this tradition, in the best known case, was explained by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet during WWII:
“A ship is always referred to as ‘she’ because it costs so much to keep one in paint and powder.”