A few weeks ago I received the usual bi-annual prompt from the DVLA, reminding me my car tax was due. Cue the usual exclaiming of ‘how have six months passed?’ followed by the realisation I didn’t really want to spend another winter with a car that’s become slightly temperamental.
My black and white mini was my first car. I owned her for seven years and flipping loved her. Even when my next door neighbour’s ‘for sale’ sign fell on her she still looked smart and remarkably good for her age. However my short trips to my old job have been replaced with longer journeys and I was on the look out for something a bit comfier.
Wandering around the dealership the other weekend eyeing up car with far fancier and modern features (such as the hugely newfangled invention, the glove box) I felt a few pangs of guilt. I felt I was cheating on my original car.
Did you see what I did there? Yes I referred to my car as ‘her’, like the mechanical box on wheels is a real-life person with human traits and feelings. This is of course completely ridiculous. My Dad thinks I’m mad.
When I first picked up my original car, the salesman handed over the keys and wished me many years of happy motoring in ‘Laufhn’. Coincidentally the registration plate was similar to my own name and so the title stuck.
After much umming and ahhing Laufhn has now been traded in for a younger model and I’m still getting acquainted to the quirks and perks of my new (to-me) car. The stop-start thing really baffles me! I’ve been surprised by how many people (both male and female) have asked what the new car is called, clearly there are a lot of people out there naming theirs. She is currently nameless but I’m open to suggestions.
Does your car have a name? Is it a girl thing to give your ride its own title? Does it make you take better care of it if you have a personal connection?
My first car, a maroon R reg Fiesta, was my pride and joy, many a road trip, post university adventure she took me on. She was called Pepper (because she was pepper red) and when I failed to break in time for a fellow motorist (who should have really set off) and wrote her off I cried real tears. I mean sobbing, I had killed her! And then I felt guilty about buying a new car and not attempting to resurrect her (even though that would have cost more than her worth) I still don’t think I’m over it.
My next car had no personality (a newer Fiesta) and therefore no name, she was my rebound car which I only stayed with for a few years before I was ready to move on to my present bright blue C1 and we’re in a loving committed relationship now I’ve finally moved on from the heartbreak of Pepper.
Mad? Quite possibly. But all true, there are some inanimate objects that are such a part of your life and specific times in your life that I think it’s perfectly normal to see them as people, they have their own little personalities and you can love them (just don’t get weird and try and marry them like people do in strange Channel 5 documentaries) xx
Oh my goodness, marrying a car sounds very Jerry Springer. Didn’t someone try to marry their horse one time?!
Glad you hear you’re over the loss of poor Pepper x
My mum and my sister have always named their cars, and in the same style my first car was called Monty (full name Monty Motor), and was a very temperamental green Corsa. Sadly, he is now in the great scrapyard in the sky! My husband still doesn’t get it…
I loved that he had a first name AND a surname too. And he was a boy! I think most of the cars I know(!) have female names…
I’m actually picking up my very first car tomorrow! I’m still to pass my test (its booked, honestly, its not as mad as it sounds!) but I wanted to practice and give myself as much motivation to pass as possible. I’ve had a tiny spin in her during the test drive but haven’t spent enough time with her to have a name yet! Its a bright red Corsa and I love it already…have thoughts of something like Betty…but I have to get to know her better!
Aw Annie how exciting! You and Betty will get along famously x
My little fiesta is called Bryan! When I first got him all that ever seemed to come on the radio/iPod was Bryan Adams – assuming the car was a fan, I figured he’d like to be name after his idol.
I do find myself referring to him as Bryan to people who have no idea it’s a car, I’m sure they must think I’m quite mad.
This is truly brilliant Sarah. You made me laugh out loud 🙂
My current car (a mini) has the letters MZY in the reg so of course has to be Muzzy! I also have a rather lovely old lady called Marigold – my 1974 VW camper… So no, not strange at all!!
Yey, a fellow mini driver 🙂
My first car was called plum. She was a wicked old lady with only four gears. She was older than me. I had her for six months then went on holiday and came home sand saw she wasn’t there. The conversation went something like this “Mum where’s plum” “uuuuuh” “WHERE IS PLUM” “don’t be mad but we had her scrapped” they didn’t even tell me. I was distraught. Then there was Marvin. My whole college course loved him. They would genuinely yell across the car park at him. I had him for 6 years until he slowly started dying – I traded him in on the scrappage scheme for a brand new car. This car proceeded to try and kill me. THREE TIMES. I now have a mini which I LOVE but am yet to name
May poor Plum rest in peace Clare. I’m not surprised you were distraught, that’s absolutely scandalous!
Marvin is a great name for a car BTW.
We haven’t named our current car as we both hate it and will be trading it in for something better as soon as possible next year! We only got it in February but I don’t trust it. Plus it’s not really big enough… We were desperate at the time though as our other trusty Paula Punto had to be scrapped and we were car-less! Otherwise we wouldn’t have bought this one… I said I didn’t want a red car (hate red cars, not sure why) and Al said he didn’t want another Fiat. So guess what we ended up with? You guessed it – a red Fiat Punto!
Funny how when your adamant about not having something you often end up with it? x
I have always named my car! My first was Molly Micra, a bright red little thing bought for £500. When she died, I cried and made my parents get rid. There was no way I was doing the dirty work. My next little car – a rather more sporty MGF convertible – was Mimi Galore (for MG! See what I did there?) and again, when her engine exploded on some B-road around Dorset in the middle of the night I was inconsolable. We’ve just bought a new car and I’m tempted with Alba Audi, but my husband isn’t impressed!
Do it Sian!
I’m ashamed to say that I can’t remember if my first car had a name or not! She was a red fiesta (definitely a she) and I’m sure she did have a name but my memory escapes me! However my second car (who has recently departed me) did have a name and one I can’t forget as I’ve always thought of cars as female so you can imagine my confusion when she was a he! He was very feminine, soft shape (not boxy) and iridescent blue however the last three letters of the registration were AAL and the name Al just stuck. I could have pretended it was short for Alison, Alexia or Alexandra but no, there was something that made me think that he was a he. So with his feminine traits I was reminded of a name from South Park (which I have never even seen) and it just stuck. Welcome to the world… Big Gay Al! x
Yey for Big Gay Al – he was my favourite South Park character! x
Funky Fiona the Flirty Fiat. Just sayin…
Liking the alliteration there Kate.
my car doesn’t have a name but seeing as it’s a vauxhall meriva I think it would be called…Clive.
And so he should.
I have considered Clive as a cat’s name. It’s got a certain ring about it…
All cars need a name! Boris was my first car and I will never forget him! Since then, there has been Arnie the Automatic, Randy and now Milo!
All boys Rebecca, and Randy? Oh my! 😉
I’ve always named my cars. My husband thinks it’s bonkers. So we’ve had Big Red (a lovely red Ford Focus), Bandit (a black Focus ST), Maud (a very bland silver Focus, sensing a theme).
Then I bought my own, my very first car. Alfie, my gorgeous Fiat 500. I swore when I bought it that it would be a girl called Florence. But then I drove it and it was definitely a boy. Alfie just seemed to fit it. I sold him about a year ago and bought Dita a Peugeot 207 convertible (so named because she like taking her top off…a lot!). Finally a few weeks ago I sold her, she wasn’t being driven and my husband and I decided to combine vehicles. So now we have Bertha. She is Maud’s fat sister. A very very boring Renault Megane Estate. She has lots of cubby holes and a good MPG but she is definitely not sexy!
I’ve been so lucky with cars. Hubby’s Dad is a used car dealer so we never keep cars long. Having said that, I have cried every single time we said goodbye to one. Even Maud (which I hated). I get incredibly attached to them. I mourned the loss of Alfie and Dita for weeks! It’s pathetic really. 🙂
Dita is the best name ever for a convertible!
My poor old astra recently died and it’s only afterwards I felt guilty it didn’t have a name. So when I took ownership of my lovely new little c1 I let my 3 year old daughter name her. Now our little family consists of me, Esther, Jasper the cat and Penny the car 🙂
We’ve got a 1970 VW T2 campervan called Colin (inherited the name but it definitely suits him) and I drive a Peugeot 206 1.4l called Barbara, after Ms Windsor (because she’s small and dramatically underpowered).
ha hahahahahahhahaha!!!!!! Colin and Barbara – brilliant 🙂
It’s most fun talking to people and saying ‘we’re going away in Colin for the weekend’ or ‘we took Colin to France for the summer’. They look most confused!
My driving experiences started with the not very imaginatively titled, completely unreliable ‘Roy’ the Rover, it was a dysfunctional relationship – it stank and broke regularly, whilst I drove through a hedge into a ploughed field, and into a white van once.
Then there was Marilyn, a swanky red convertible MG that my partner was given by kind family member. It was a doomed name. I hit some black ice on a narrow road and poor Marilyn’s life ended in a suitably tragic way, all too soon and unnecessarily, the delight came when we got our insurance pay out for the write -off, meaning we could afford to then purchase a more masculine car.
Cue the matching Ford Focus’ – one Green, a girl Called Fifi, and one Black, a boy called … FaaFaa 😐 Oh dear.
Currently we drive a lovely VW Golf called Sean/Seany, named after an artist whose painting gained us a decent amount of return at auction, with which we bought Seany.
In Spain we once hired a car and named it Raoul.
I even scribble the car names on the relevant paperwork/files.
I didn’t realise this wasn’t normal, we’re blatantly bonkers.
Happy naming xxx
We’ve always named our cars! I’ve just had the one and my car is a little red peugeot 107 called “Roxy Rouge” 🙂
My hubby’s first car was a small silver ford named “Silver Lightning” next he had a Fiesta LX and we called it “Lexy Love” now he has a Nissan Nirvara which is know simply as “The Polar Bear”xx
Guilty as charged. I am a crazy car lady! I have a 12 year old Fiesta called Roxy and I love her sooo much. She is bright red and I thought she looked like a foxy Roxy when I got her. Although I am saving to hopefully get a new car next year I will be so sad to see her go. She has her quirks and hates anyone else driving her – she makes so much noise and seems quite stiff when anyone else has had the honour of driving her.
I love naming cars and have nicknamed other cars on my street, mostly based on reg numbers. Our neighbours cars include Gianluca the BMW, Felix Rex the C1 and Panda Pop the Panda.