Random car naming thoughts.

"Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv) 04/08/2020 at 13:44 • Filed to: None

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Many people like to name their cars. I named mine Phoebe. Some have suggested that this is a tradition carried over from captains naming boats. But boat names and car names tend to be rather different. Not many people name their cars things like “Royal Princess”, and there aren’t as many boats out there with regular people names, which seem to be the most common names for cars. But it seems weird to me that car naming traditions supposedly carried over from boats. Wouldn’t it be more logical for car naming traditions to have carried over from horses? I mean, that’s what we used before cars, so shouldn’t cars have horse names? Cars tend to be faster than the average horse, so they should probably have race horse names.

But race horses always have weird names like “Lady Worcestershire” or “Viagra’s Revenge”. I mean, just look at some of these things:

So we’ve been naming our cars wrong this whole time! I guess I’ll have to tell Phoebe her new name is “Earl of Braedalbane’s Domestic Dispute”, or whatever....

ranwhenparked > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 13:48

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If anything, I'd say naming cars has more to do with the nicknames mariners often give to the ships they serve on, since the car's make and model is its proper name. EG "Big E" for USS Enterprise,"Big U" for SS United States, "Magic Stick" for RMS Majestic, etc. 

CB > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 13:50

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Question: if it is actually something that historically comes from boats, is it also bad luck to rename a car?

Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 13:50

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Just a piece of trivia for those who don’t know - t he race horses have weird names because you legally cannot repeat a name any race horse has already had. So after a few years of Daisies, Klauses and Maxes people had to get creative not to repeat a name ...

Nom De Plume > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 13:53

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I think you are close with horses, oxen, and other beasts of burden.  Race cars and race horses are complicated beings which are reflected in their names/team names.

Jim Spanfeller > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' 04/08/2020 at 13:55

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But still, who names a horse “Te levision Studio”?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' 04/08/2020 at 13:55

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I wonder if that’s the same thing that drives show dogs’ names. There are some pretty crazy show dog names out there.

Jim Spanfeller > CB 04/08/2020 at 13:59

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Maybe... Unless I’m somehow circumventing that by rejecting boat naming traditions in favor of horse naming traditions. Considering that Earl of Braedalbane’s Domestic Dispute is currently trapped in a closed shop, I think I’ve been having kinda crappy luck already, so who knows? Maybe renaming her will actually turn my luck around...  

3point8isgreat > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 13:59

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I tend to name cars either based on some specific trait, or as a play on the name of the car. So my Mustang is named Kevin, because the heater vent would make the same noise as the bird Kevin from the movie Up! And my S10 was named Keith because Keith Urban was on the radio when I first drove it.  Magnum was just the Magnasium though.  And the Veloster is too new to find any unique traits, so it’s just Velosteraptor for now.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 14:00

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I can’t stand people who put names on boats under 30 feet in length. It’s tacky as hell, and generally frowned upon in the boating community.

Jim Spanfeller > Nom De Plume 04/08/2020 at 14:05

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“S ocial Distancing” would make a fantastic race horse name now that I think about it...

Jim Spanfeller > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 04/08/2020 at 14:09

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What if we apply race horse names to small boats? I’d love to see a rowboat named “Prince of Bourbon”.

Jim Spanfeller > 3point8isgreat 04/08/2020 at 14:11

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I just wanna say I love the name “V elosteraptor”.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 14:58

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Chariotoflove > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 15:08

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I go back and forth between “ Daughter’s Tuition” and “ Alimony Payments are for Suckers” .

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' 04/08/2020 at 15:55

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I’m surprised “Built for Pleasure, ” “Sinister Minister,” or “Imperious Spirit” wasn’t already taken. :P

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/08/2020 at 15:56

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My two dogs were named by a breeder who intended them for show use, and their names are “Slam Dunk” (we call him Kobe) and “Majestic Turquoise ” (Turkey), so they could be crazier except Turkey is not majestic at all.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/08/2020 at 16:01

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We struggled with Rocky’s name. I’m not sure what my wife finally filed, but Rocky comes from Thor: Ragnarok. Considering the destruction he can wreak upon his toys, the name seems appropriate. He also likes to pick up decorative rocks in the back yard.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chariotoflove 04/08/2020 at 16:03

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I used to work with a guy who was going through a divorce with a spouse who made significantly more money than he did. So much in fact that she was going to have to pay him alimony. He always said that after things were settled he was going to sell his Mustang Cobra (that she’d also paid for but he got in the settlemen t ) and was going to buy a truck and a boat and name it “Shallo mony. ”

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/08/2020 at 16:04

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That’s a good one. “Turquoise’s” more widely used nickname is Turk (not turq because reasons) but I think Turkey is much more fitting, considering he is a little crazy and easily fooled.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jim Spanfeller 04/08/2020 at 16:08

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One of the horses is named “Social Inclusion.” They could be rivals!

Chariotoflove > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/08/2020 at 16:16

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Good deal.

I tell my wife she was supposed to keep me in the manner to which I’d like to become accustomed. She contends that was never in the contract.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/08/2020 at 16:31

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I tried to come up with a turkish joke... I got nothin’.

If he’s anything like Rocky, Turkey might be a reference to his eating habits - he’s a gobbler.

Jim Spanfeller > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/08/2020 at 16:54

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Social Inclusion raced in 2014, so he/she is pretty old by race horse standards now... Perhaps one of its offspring could be named Social Distancing.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chariotoflove 04/08/2020 at 19:15

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Ive tried similar tactics. So far it hasn't worked.