Name Your Car Day: Sunday October 2, 2016

Cars are a part of our life, every day and in every way. We name our children, our pets, our body parts – and yes, sometimes our cars. (Alright, quite often our cars!)


In the CarAdvice.com office, Name Your Car Day is one of our favourite days of the year – alongside Donut Day, of course.

On Sunday, October 2 we'll be celebrating this special occasion, and we want everyone to get involved. We're even giving away free bumper stickers emblazoned with your car's chosen moniker, so you can introduce your pride and joy to everyone on the road.

In conjunction with last year's Name Your Car Day, we conducted a survey of our readers and found out a whopping 94 per cent of us name our cars. The names we choose are most often inspired by colours, brand names and power descriptors – names like Red Rocket and White Lightning the most common.

Fifteen per cent of us name our cars after celebrities, for example Neil Patrick Yaris or Taylor Swift. Rhyming and alliteration are also popular – like Rhonda the Honda or Suzie Subaru.

This year we asked around the office and, well... although there were a few exceptions, it turns out we're a largely unimaginative bunch. Shitbox and That Piece of Shit came up a few times, particularly when we were reminiscing about first cars. The Ford, The Merc, Maz, The Big BMW, Lance – these are all prime examples from our Captain Obvious clones. (Hey, I resemble that comment! - Ed.)

Unlike boats that are historically associated with being feminine, there is no consistent history of gender association with cars. One of our CA staffers, lead solutions architect, Jordie Bodlay, named his car Ashley - because the car is ash coloured and, as he explained, it's a gender neutral name.

David Zalstein refers to his cars as his 'boys' and was once the proud owner of Sammy, a manual, 1999 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-t with King Springs, a copy Apexi N1 cat-back exhaust, and an Apexi boost gauge.

Cars are an intensely personal purchase, and just like naming a child, the names we give our four-wheeled children mean something to us. Even if they leave others scratching their heads.

CA Producer, Mike Stevens, dubbed his 2008 Subaru Liberty wagon Leggy, because it's called a Legacy everywhere else in the world. "Oh, and because it has great legs." ... we don't want to know.

James Wong called his Kia Sportage Wanda... something to do with the number plate that features 1DE on it. Wondee... Wanda... a bit of a stretch but we figured it out.

Some have developed themes over the years. Mandy Turner has a penchant for old VWs, and also likes children's TV characters. She once purchased three Beetles and called them Huey, Dewy and Lewy. Bert and Ernie are pictured below.

NSW account manager, Mat McNay, couldn't decide what to call his 1963 Mercedes 220SE (below), so it answered to both Eleanor and Mercy.

Sometimes a car is perfectly suited to its name, and CarAdvice's marketing and communications executive, Kathryn Marshall, nailed it when she called her 2002 Holden Cruze (below), Spongebob Squarepants.

Nailed it.

Our CEO Andrew Beecher told us about a Suzuki Carry Van he used to own called Start Ya Bastard because it had frequent issues with the starter motor. He also had a dolphin blue Leyland Mini S that was christened Flipper.

James Ward has owned a lot of cars. A lot. His list includes an Audi A3 called The Handbag and Golgo the Nissan GT-R, which is pictured below.

He also had Mr Eight the Evo VIII MR, a Mini Cooper dubbed Snoopy and Chachi the VH Charger.

And no prizes for guessing what he named his beloved XB Interceptor replica pictured below. Take a bow, Max.

Our accountant, Masi Ghadiri, named her black 2003 Ford Escape Grizzly Bear, because it growled like a bear every time she turned the key.

We had a lot of fun discussing car names in the office, it's a great conversation starter and we'd love to hear what you call your car. Tell us what you named your car in the comments section below.

We're also giving away free personalised car stickers with your car name. To get your hands on one, follow the link here. If you don't have a name for your car yet, Sunday October 2 is Name Your Car Day, so it's the perfect time to choose one and make it official by smashing a bottle of champagne on the side.

Wait, no, don't do that.

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