At the risk of starting what may be a slightly contentious thread (yeah, right…), I am curious as to what peeps think of the act of giving their car a personal name. Is this taking the love of their Deux Chevaux a teeny step too far, or is it an expected part of the natural bonding process betwixt mankind and basic machine? (You can reposition that ‘basic’ if you like.)
A quick perusal of the ‘Your A-series’ thread suggests that most peeps simply don’t name their wagons, or at least fail to admit that they do. Others do so – and proudly.
And where do these names come from? Some – the best ones, imo – are witticisms based on the peculiarities of the vehicles in question; Galvanizer, Slamboo, Mylo, etc. strike me as being pretty nifty examples. Others are perhaps a bit too ‘cutesy’ and are as likely to invite a ‘keying’ of the vehicle when the owner isn’t looking as much as an “Ooooh – ain’t that sweet…”
(Ok, holding my hands up here, I have to confess I originally introduced my 2 2CVs with terribly contrived monikers – Bugsy and Birdie. I hereby call on mitigating circumstances which include (a) my wife, and (b) my kids. Oh, and (c) me being too chicken to admit I, too, was involved in the naming process.)
So, what’s yours called?! And why? And, why not? Or, what do you think of car names? Or naming cars in general? Or the people who name cars? (As I said, not in the least bit contentious…)
(My Charlie will be having a seeing-to fairly soon, so its name will very likely change from the original ‘Bugsy’ which was based on the plans of it becoming a black & red ladybug. I’ve since toyed the idea of covering most of the panels with road maps of the world, which I thought would look nifty along with black wings. Or, perhaps keeping the colours fairly neutral – perhaps white body with black wings - but with ancient maps of t’Worlde stuck on t’doors. With either of these options, I would likely have named my car ‘Tout’ (pronounced ‘Toot’) for ‘Tout Le Monde’ (gettit? fnurr fnurr). And then, after seeing Old Nail’s beautiful car in the stunning pastel shade he chose, I’ve since been thinking I might keep things more traditional. In which case ‘Deux Rigueur’ comes to mind as a suitable name (oh my - slaps thigh…))
So, what’s your loves and hates in the naming business?
(PS. I'm off on a couple of weeks holiday, so won't be able to look at this until I return. Keep it calm, eh?)
) would feel incredibly twee. But each to their own and all that.
(but to me, it's "the Citroen", "the 2cv", or "the Deuche").
....depending how charitable I'm feeling].
I sometimes just have to just sit at the wheel and the world is just perfect!