h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have a dilemma.

I have just bought a car, which I pick up tomorrow. The only problem is, I am having trouble choosing a suitable name for her.

My last car had the registration S...EAN, so was called Sean.

Before that, I had a Fiesta 1.1LX, and she was called Lexie (from the LX badge).

The new car is a Fiat Punto 75SX registration P...YWX. She's silver - but I don't want any silver related names, as I had one called Silvie, which was towed away for scrap!

Two questions for all you -
1) What do you call your car, and why?
2) Any suggestions for my car's name?

(Yes, I know that's three questions, but hey, what's a number between friends).

If you can, let me know before 10.30 tomorrow, as that's when I can last get to a computer before I go to collect her - and I would like to be able to greet her personally!

Thanks.

I had a Toyota Starlet called Stanley (The 'Tanley Man as my mother called him!) as Stanley Starlet sounded ish!

As a (company!!!) car now, I have a Micra called Marcel, cos it's an ever so slightly effeminate name for a very effeminate car!

My other half refuses to allow me to name his car as he thinks Land Rovers are too cool to have names, so I just call that The Charabanc!

I think you should call your car Penelope Punto. For no other reason than it alliterates well!

Personally, I would sell the Punto before you have to service or MOT it. Because they're shocking cars to own.

B

Sssh B! He's all excited bout his new car! Don't tell him the bad news yet!

My parents had a Volvo 740 which was called Ulrika, because it was Swedish with a big bum (this was several years ago now) .

My first car was a VW Golf which I called Gerhard - mostly because I liked the fact that it was a German name and alliterated with Golf . I then had a Saab 900 which I called Bjorn, for no reason other than it came across as a Bjorn.

My current car, a Seat Arosa, is nicknamed The Arouser. It's a pun on its model name, and also because the What Car summary of it once said;
"Pros: Named like a sex toy. Cons: Vibrates like a sex toy."

It's a pretty good car and I can't say that it vibrates that much .

My first car was a red Metro I bought from a friend. He called it "The Red Flash", and therefore so did I.

I replaced it with a black Fiesta, which boringly enough was known as "The Black Flash".

I then got a silver Daewoo Matiz, a tiny, tiny car with a tiny, tiny 796cc engine. This I named "The Silver Bullet", which, I would explain when people raised their eyebrows, was derived from the fact that it was silver, and about the size of a bullet.

I'm currently driving a Kalos, which is such a non-descript, relaxing, worry free piece of tin it is generally known as "the car". As I get older I'm coming more and more to the conclusion that anyone who says their car has "a personality" is actually saying it rattles and breaks down. My car has no personality. It starts first time, every time, it goes where I tell it and stops when I tell it. Personality is a *bad* thing in a car, and I can't imagine why anyone would want such an important tool to behave as though it were alive.

SoRB

Living in London, and being environmentally aware I don't have a car, preferring Chauffered transport sharing with a varying number of people.

If I were to own a Silver Punto, then something like 'Grey Mare' would spring to mind. Grey for Silver, and Punto from Pinto.

In Italian it would be Cavallo d'Argento.

Or how about Chevalier, still horsey.

Punto means full stop (I think) in Italian... I'd be tempted to pick an Italian name for it, like Pietro or something.

For some reason the name "Maurice" springs to mind when you mentioned Chevalier .

When I read that your new car's number plate is P...YWX I immediatly thought "Pixie." I know, that doesn't use the 'W' so it's not ideal. I can't think of anything else though.

I haven't got a car myself as I'm in London and it's just not practical. I named my last bike "Monsieur Claude" but when he was stolen I resolved not to name any more bikes. It just hurts too much!!!

I named my sister's car "Lance" but as no one else used the name I did feel a bit foolish when I called him Lance. but that was his name!

Many years ago, me and my then bf had an old L reg Beetle called Ludwig (as in Ludwig Van)

When the poor little thing could not take another day, we bought an orange one, which I called Petronius (after the cat in The Door into Summer)

I've own a fair few cars now, I don;t thik any of them had names Oh, tell a lie, after the Polo came a vauxhall cavalier known as the Big Beige Beast. I hated that car - it was the size of a tank, steered like a cow, started first time usually - through the method of sticking a piece of metal (not a key) into a specially crafted hole which presumably completed a circuit and basically hotwired the thing. The boot was tied shut with string. It was never locked due to the absence of a key (which snapped off in the driver's door lock) and yet, despite *really* wanting them to, nobody every tried to steal it.

Two fiestas, a peaugeot 405 (what a sucky car that was, but not sucky enough to need a name), and a puma (my favourite car ever, such fun to drive...) later and I agree with SoRB - names do appear to be reserved for the unreliable!

It seems I have started a two way battle here - to name, or not to name.

I like Penelope - I may abbreviate it to Penny.

As for names only being for the unreliable - okay, so Silvie went away on the back of a scrapyard truck, but Lexie, my old Fiesta, is still going strong - a colleague at work bought her, and has just put her through her MOT - 13 years old and she passed first time!

Babelfish tells me Punto means Point. I prefer that to "full stop" - not perhaps the ideal name for a car, that's what Silvie did!

I think you're mean telling me Punto's are nasty. Don't upset me too soon! I haven't got it yet!!

Anyway, keep the suggestions coming - and your own car's name. I thought Ulrika was excellent!!

<>

It's not that Land Rovers are 'too cool' to have names, it's more a case that they have enough problems of their own to deal with. Giving them ridiculous names just adds to the stress and worry they all suffer. Since most of them are named after their inherent faults, the references leave them feeling inadequate!

'Now, Leaky, are you going to behave for me today?'...

So not only can't we name the Land Rover, we're gonna have to fork out for a psychiatrist for it too?

"I think you're mean telling me Punto's are nasty"
No, their not not nasty. It is just that, like all Italian cars, they have personality.

Never named a car, but then I have only had 2.
My first bike was named Vera (for obvious, I 'm sure, reasons), the next bike was tentativelt named the Bug Eyed Monster, or BEM for short.

I haven't named any vehicles since that one. I found I always felt a little foolish calling it by a name. Well, polite 'proper noun' names anyway. Most o fmy vehicles over the years have had rather short nicknames too.

Hi

As the model is an SX surely it should be called sexy or am I being sexist?

BTW My partner had a Punto for five years and the biggest thing that went wrong in all that time was a set of brake pads so we can't fault them.

Walt

Thanks Walt. It's nice to hear I've got something other than doom and gloom to look forward to!

As for calling my car Sexy, I think my wife may be a little worried if I did that!

TOPIC DRIFT ALERT

I shared a room with a guy on holiday who rather liked the look of one of the ski lift attendants. Since the only thing he knew how to say in French was "Hi, my name is..." and "Your name is...", his chat up line was (in French):

"Hi. My name is Jamie, and your name is *sexy*."

So he tried this... and the response was - again in French...

"No. My name is Natalie. YOUR name is sexy."

This cause two simultaneous feelings:

1. Elation. The line worked.
2. Depression. The conversation was over.

He went back the next day with a phrase book...

SoRB

I've been puzzling over 'fiat punto' and meaning. If the meaning above is correct does that mean that it translates as 'let there be a point'?
And if so isn't a rather...I dunno, worryingly hopeful way to name a car.

I used to a girl who called her beetle 'lenny' because she thought it looked like Lenny Kravitz would if he was bald