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Michael Knight (aka David Hasselhoff) famously talked to his high-tech, crime-fighting Pontiac Trans Am “KITT,” short for Knight Industries Two Thousand, in the original NBC television series Knight Rider. Most of us don’t have cars we can talk to, but a poll by car sales Web site webuyanycar.com suggests we would like to.
More than half (53 percent) of poll respondents give names to their car, with Betty, Betsy and Bess the most popular, according to the survey, the findings of which were reported by the U.K.’s Press Association. Bertie, Daisy, Bertha and Meg are also popular, as were Charlie, Herbie and Bob. And Harrison has been used by owners of Ford vehicles, the poll found.
One respondent even said he called his car God as “it moves in mysterious ways.”
Up to 60 percent of women and 41 percent of men said they feel emotionally attached to their car, while 25 percent of those polled shed a tear when they part company, the report said. The survey of 3,000 people showed that red and blue cars were the most likely to be given a name, while grey and green vehicles were least likely to receive a name, the Press Association said.
What’s your car’s pet name? Leave us a comment and let us know.
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Deerslayer - because she survived more that a few encounters with deer on the highway.
Our Volvo is named VOLVOL and our large crossover is named JUMBO. Our 5 year old named both.
I currently drive a Ford Taurus - so the cars name is Harrison. My previous car was a Mustang - so naturally it was called Sally.
Harrison Ford and Mustang Sally
I currently drive a Ford Taurus - so the cars name is Harrison. My previous car was a Mustang - so naturally it was called Sally.
Harrison Ford and Mustang Sally!!
I call mine "POS". Also "IMa" for Illegal MAgnet, since I seem to attract every uninsured, illegal driven car to run into me, and I pay for it myself.
Beth, she gets resurrected with every new car I buy!! (currently a Ford F150 FX4)
My first car, a 1963 Ford Falcon, was named "Pauline" because it broke down often enough that taking a trip in it was like the Perils of Pauline.
Our family has always named our cars. Whenever one of us gets a new car that's the first question we ask - what's its name? LOL. My own vehicles have been named PeeWee (Honda Civic), Blue Ben (Honda Accord), Monte (Mercury Mountaineer), and my current car is Felix (Ford Flex).
I've always named my cars and have taken to naming others' cars as well. I currently drive Camilla the Camry and she is family :)
(1) 1970 MG-B named Miss Emma Gee (2) 1977 Riviera "Black Beauty" (3) 1978 Chevy Malibu, orange: The Bionic Pumpkin (3) taupe 1976 Jaguar was Mrs. Thatcher (4) 1990 Civic "Wanda Honda" and I now drive a 2000 Accord who responds to "Rhonda" If you DON'T name them, they will not be nice to you!
I have a black BMW named "Midnight," a white F250 named "Appa," and CR-V named "Momo." I also have a Valkyrie, named "Desdemona."
(1) 1970 MG-B named Miss Emma Gee (2) 1977 Riviera "Black Beauty" (3) 1978 Chevy Malibu, orange: The Bionic Pumpkin (3) taupe 1976 Jaguar was Mrs. Thatcher (4) 1990 Civic "Wanda Honda" and I now drive a 2000 Accord who responds to "Rhonda" If you DON'T name them, they will not be nice to you!
Mine is called Hyundi!
The Red Baron - 2002 Ford Focus station wagon
My 2009 Nissan Versa hatchback is named TAS (The Asian Sensation).
My Miata was called "Valentine" when I owned it. I still miss that car. My current daily driver is a Chevrolet Cobalt, but it's just not interesting enough to attach a name to. However, my "toy" car is an old Mazda RX-7, and I either call it "Rotary Engined Devil" or "Devil in Black". Anyone who owns an old Mazda rotary will know it's not the devil because it's fast, but because it's a fun but high maintenance cantankerous beast.
What fun! My cars have always had names that I think go with their mechanical state (personality). There was "Caroline" the '62 Caddy Deville, "Flossie" the '67 Plymouth Fury, "Debbie" the '70 Ford Galaxie, "Helen" the '72 Chrysler Newport (my fave), "Denise the Bitch" a '76 Ford Elite with issues (should have kept "Helen" longer), "Connie" an '84 Toyota Celica, and last but not least "Claudia" the '95 Ford Taurus. All were coupes except "Claudia" which is still running strong today with 189,000 miles on her 3.8 V6. She is also known as my "Good Girl".
Little Red was the name of our red Mazda truck that ran for ever . . . more recently I called my purple Chevy HHR "Mystic" (miss that car, but it was a lemon - oops I mean egg plant!) and my Subaru Impressa Outback Sport is known simply as "Ru".
We call our Toyota Sequoia with a 5.7 liter engine "Polar Bear Killer" On the flip the car is 30 months old with only 20,000 miles...(less than 7K a year) and we expect to drive it for another 20 years... go to work cars get 25 MPG...
I named my 2002 red Ford Thunderbird "Bettie", after the late, great Bettie Page.
I even have a Bettie Page license plate on the front!
My 1st car was a 74 superbeetle. HIS name was Gizmo, after the Gremlin movies. After that, I dind't name a car, till I got the 97 Dodge caravan. Her name was/is Buela. She took good care of us, as did my mother's nannie. After that, there was Jade, a 2004 PT Cruiser. He was named due to the green flames painted on it. Step grandad called it a little green dragon. Then Came Alvyn. A 2007 Jeep compass. He was much aligned by fellow jeepsters, so he got the name due to the "Chipmonk" name the jeepsters called it. Now we drive a 2011 Chevy Equinox. We still have yet to name her. I'm sure that it will come soon. Buela is still in service, taking care of another great family.
Thanks for the article, it was great!
My 2002 Ford Thunderbird is named "Bettie", after the late, great Bettie Page.
There is even a Bettie Page license plate on the front!!
My car's name is KITT as well since I have the original Knight Rider voice of KITT, William Daniels on my GPS. You can get it at NavTones