# Do you give your vehicles names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 8, 2016, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530 "2016-02-08T11:35:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/21 "2016-02-08T18:05:11Z")
No, and I don’t really understand the practice of calling a vehicle by a name. I get stuff like “Old Red” for an old, red pick up truck or something like that. I totally don’t get calling your car George or some other human name. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/22 "2016-02-08T18:27:29Z")
Only one. It was a 1974 Chevy Nova hatchback with the godawful 250 cubic inch straight 6 engine. It was a beater when I bought it in 1982 and hadn’t been a performer when it was brand new. I did a little amateur body work on it and a friend of my dad’s painted it for me for free. He painted it black with leftover paint from another job. Somebody, my brother most likely, gave it the smart-ass nickname “The Black Mamba” and it stuck. I even called it that myself. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/23 "2016-02-08T18:32:49Z")
My car is known as “The Elf”, because “MY ELF” is the vanity plate that my wife got me as a birthday present a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![DeepLiquid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deepliquid/32/14893_2.png) [@DeepLiquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeepLiquid)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/24 "2016-02-08T18:42:10Z")
I had a 1970-something Plymouth Cricket in high school, it was a complete piece of crap; cracked dash covered with glued on indoor/outdoor carpet, door only opened by reaching through the vent window and jiggling the handle, and the exterior had been painted a nasty brown… with a paint brush. We called her Cow Pie, my dad would even use the name “come and get Cow Pie out of the driveway, I’m blocked in”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/25 "2016-02-08T19:08:13Z")
Nope. My father had names for the first two cars that I remember: the '54 Ford was Betsy, and the '57 Ford was Lizzie. The only car I ever sort of nicknamed was a very used '59 Plymouth station wagon that I called “The Tank”. Nothing slowed it down, whether mud, snow or ice. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/26 "2016-02-08T19:41:07Z")
We have small children and a giant scarlet Suburban, so he is inevitably Clifford the Big Red Truck. The Boy has a little old pickup truck, and various letters have been knocked off of the badges on each side - on the passenger side, it’s a “coma,” and a “Taco” on the driver’s side. So that’s Taco. My old Astro minivan used to be Old Betsy, because she was like a serviceable old mule at the farm - no style, but she always got the job done. I think she has changed her name now. I gave Betsy to my niece about 4 years ago, because I wanted to be sure that she had her own ride before moving away with her boyfriend. Betsy is still going and going and going, and is now Bunny. Last time I checked, 350k miles, and she still gets there eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/27 "2016-02-08T19:42:36Z")
Always. Ships have names, so cars need them, too. My current ride is named Dulcinea. You can guess what I was reading at the time I bought her. Previous cars have been Lorelei, Dawn, and Mona Lisa. ---
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/28 "2016-02-08T20:38:08Z")
Not typically. But when I was growing up back in the 80s my parents owned a Chevy Impala station wagon that we named “The Hog of Steel”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/29 "2016-02-08T20:44:22Z")
Toyota Prius: The Prius Jeep Cherokee: The Jeep MGB: The MG. Yamaha YZF R1: The R1 Yamaha XJ600 Seca II: The Seca, or The Seca II The Triumph Herald 1200 Convertible I used to have: Spiffy ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/30 "2016-02-08T20:47:06Z")
I don’t but a friend of mine had an old Dodge Power Wagon that the ‘Po’ and fallen off of so it became the ‘wer Wagon’. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/31 "2016-02-08T20:53:12Z")
Yep. The green Civic was **Royal** after Rob Orbison’s “Evergreen”, Almanzo Wilder’s brother Royal, and my Grandpa LeRoy. The red Corolla was **Digby** after my Grandma’s initials DIG, since proceeds from her death paid for it. The current dark blue Impreza is **Fitzwilliam** , after the dark, handsome and reliable Mr. Darcy. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/32 "2016-02-08T21:33:41Z")
I’ve never named my cars, but my sister had a friend with a mint blue/green Corvair. They called it the Crestmobile. ---
**Author:** ![pieceoftheuniverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7993a0/32.png) [@pieceoftheuniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pieceoftheuniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/33 "2016-02-08T21:55:15Z")
I got my first car when DS9 was on the air, and I liked the idea of a “host” (the car) and “symbiont”(the driver). So I named it Jadzia. For my second car, I kept with the theme, and named it “Ezri.” My latest car, I’ve dropped that naming convention. But since my car is a black Chevy Sonic, I’ve gone for the pun and named it “Canary.” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/34 "2016-02-08T21:56:03Z")
Not only that, I name pretty much everything else. I currently drive Phantom. Called such because right when I bought him I didn’t have a name, and it snowed, but it melted right away save for one patch around the headlight, which looked like the mask from Phantom of the Opera, I made the joke and thought “hey that’s a cool name!” and it’s stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/35 "2016-02-09T00:59:48Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Toyota Prius: The Prius > Jeep Cherokee: The Jeep > MGB: The MG. > Yamaha YZF R1: The R1 > Yamaha XJ600 Seca II: The Seca, or The Seca II > The Triumph Herald 1200 Convertible I used to have: Spiffy Yeah, I just use descriptive titles. “The Fiat”, “Old Truck”, “Big Truck” etc. and sometimes have to use color modifiers. “Red BMW” or “Black BMW”. I’ve got a “The”, “La”, “Das” and “Der” as well. But the Jeep is, “Fuckin’ Jeep”. 😛 > [@Kelevra](#): > > My first car was a used Volkswagen Rabbit. The “t” had fallen off the end so the car was forever known as “The Rabbi”. That is soooo not kosher! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/36 "2016-02-09T02:33:46Z")
Not my car, but my scooters are Pepper, Buzzy, and Coquette. ---
**Author:** ![Calla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Calla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calla)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/37 "2016-02-09T02:38:42Z")
Judy, Little Red, The Beast ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/38 "2016-02-09T02:50:33Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > Not my car, but my scooters are Pepper, Buzzy, and Coquette. Ahem. What about the FIT? La Cucaracha Azul. And Pepper was already mentioned, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/39 "2016-02-09T02:52:26Z")
The yellow 1981 Pontiac Gran Prix I had in high school was the Bananamobile. My 1978 Chevy Blazer was The Big Yellow Pill. My current 2011 Scion xB is the Gobomobile. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530/40 "2016-02-09T03:22:35Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > No, and I don’t really understand the practice of calling a vehicle by a name. You would probably hate my wife and me; we also name our coats. Mostly based on the logo on them. “Do you want a coat?” Yeah – toss me Twister". For us it started because I had multiple bikes and tended to be gone different periods of time depending on which one I was taking. Sometimes much longer than I had planned if the day was right and the roads nice. And her, not being from a bike or car family, really didn’t know the difference between them. So as I headed out back towards the garage, had I said “I’m taking the 67 FLH” it wouldn’t have meant a thing to her - when I said “I’m taking Betty” she knew not to expect me back for multiple hours. “I’m taking the Turtle” and she knew I would probably be back in a couple hours. We don’t name them all; some have zero personality or charm and aren’t around long enough to matter. But most have gotten some sort of name eventually. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-your-vehicles-names/745530.md?page=3)