Click for more from Sue Smith.
One in three UK motorists have given a nickname to their car based on its registration plate, color, or make and model; and 34% of nickname-givers say cars without a light-hearted epithet are “missing something.” This from a Volkswagen survey released today on National Name Your Car Day in the UK. Among amusing car nicknames British motorists have adopted are The Beast, The Flying Banana – and Flo – because its plate started with FL0. The poll of 1500 motorists found 32% believe a car can have “a real personality.”
“Naming your car isn’t just a tradition, it’s a celebration of the bond you share – and it’s clear from all the feedback we’ve seen on our social media channels that Volkswagen owners really love their cars,” said Fiona Jones, Social Media Manager at Volkswagen UK. “Every car has a story and giving it a nickname somehow makes it more human. It’s a companion and a real part of the family. We’ve always known we have a strong fanbase, but it’s been particularly heart-warming to see so many stories coming through from owners during this project.”
Volkswagen commissioned the research ahead of National Name Your Car Day, which is today Monday 2 October, with further awareness gained via a social media campaign. Arguably VW has one of the most famous named cars of all time – a Beetle known as Herbie, aka The Love Bug, which is well known in the US despite the two nations being separated by a common language.
VW also revealed data of some of the most common names British VW owners use for their vehicles, including ‘Tiggy’ or ‘Tig’ for a Tiguan, and an ID.5 named Idris. Some were inspired by TV or movies, with one naming their vehicle “Gandalf the Grey Golf,” while another opted for ‘”Pamela Vanderson.”
The VW research found 31% of nickname-givers will administer one to their car as soon as they get it. But 37% will give it a few weeks and wait for inspiration to present itself as they get to know their new pride and joy. More than six in 10 (65% ) feel even more protective of their vehicle, once they’ve given it a name to know it by, with 70% admitting they often think back about old cars they owned in the past, and the quirky nicknames they had.
Brit Comedy Car Nicknames
- The Mystery Mark
- Flo
- The Flying Banana
- Deeney
- Bumble
- Noddy
- The Beast
- Kentucky Fried Ostrich
- Dreadnought
- Hotty Totty
Brit Namers Top 10 Inspirations
- Its paint colour
- Its model/brand
- A celebrity
- A fictional character
- Its size
- Alliteration
- Rhyme
- Its license plate letters/numbers
- Friends
- Family
Sue Smith from Porthcawl, South Wales: “Every car we’ve owned has had a name – my husband’s car when we met was Emily the Escort, our daughter Emily is named after her. A G-plate 1.8l diesel automatic was named after my grandmother, Dorothy, as she had been her car – when we got our first Passat my husband kept calling her Dotty which we changed to Potty. I’ve always given my cars names and talked to them. It was always a dream to own a Beetle – they are classic cars and I’ve wanted one ever since watching the Herbie movies in the 70s. Kitty was my belated 40th birthday after a terrible year when our then two-year-old Tommy was diagnosed with cancer on his second birthday. After nearly a year of chemo and a major spinal op we felt we could celebrate at last, and I ordered my dream car. Tommie insisted she was called Kitty, so I could hardly refuse.”
To give people inspiration for their own car names, Volkswagen has produced an Instagram filter at @VolkswagenUK that lets wannabe namers scroll through a list of common nicknames until finding one that fits your wheels.
One-Third of UK Motorists Name Their Car
Click for more from Sue Smith.
One in three UK motorists have given a nickname to their car based on its registration plate, color, or make and model; and 34% of nickname-givers say cars without a light-hearted epithet are “missing something.” This from a Volkswagen survey released today on National Name Your Car Day in the UK. Among amusing car nicknames British motorists have adopted are The Beast, The Flying Banana – and Flo – because its plate started with FL0. The poll of 1500 motorists found 32% believe a car can have “a real personality.”
“Naming your car isn’t just a tradition, it’s a celebration of the bond you share – and it’s clear from all the feedback we’ve seen on our social media channels that Volkswagen owners really love their cars,” said Fiona Jones, Social Media Manager at Volkswagen UK. “Every car has a story and giving it a nickname somehow makes it more human. It’s a companion and a real part of the family. We’ve always known we have a strong fanbase, but it’s been particularly heart-warming to see so many stories coming through from owners during this project.”
Volkswagen commissioned the research ahead of National Name Your Car Day, which is today Monday 2 October, with further awareness gained via a social media campaign. Arguably VW has one of the most famous named cars of all time – a Beetle known as Herbie, aka The Love Bug, which is well known in the US despite the two nations being separated by a common language.
VW also revealed data of some of the most common names British VW owners use for their vehicles, including ‘Tiggy’ or ‘Tig’ for a Tiguan, and an ID.5 named Idris. Some were inspired by TV or movies, with one naming their vehicle “Gandalf the Grey Golf,” while another opted for ‘”Pamela Vanderson.”
The VW research found 31% of nickname-givers will administer one to their car as soon as they get it. But 37% will give it a few weeks and wait for inspiration to present itself as they get to know their new pride and joy. More than six in 10 (65% ) feel even more protective of their vehicle, once they’ve given it a name to know it by, with 70% admitting they often think back about old cars they owned in the past, and the quirky nicknames they had.
Brit Comedy Car Nicknames
Brit Namers Top 10 Inspirations
Sue Smith from Porthcawl, South Wales: “Every car we’ve owned has had a name – my husband’s car when we met was Emily the Escort, our daughter Emily is named after her. A G-plate 1.8l diesel automatic was named after my grandmother, Dorothy, as she had been her car – when we got our first Passat my husband kept calling her Dotty which we changed to Potty. I’ve always given my cars names and talked to them. It was always a dream to own a Beetle – they are classic cars and I’ve wanted one ever since watching the Herbie movies in the 70s. Kitty was my belated 40th birthday after a terrible year when our then two-year-old Tommy was diagnosed with cancer on his second birthday. After nearly a year of chemo and a major spinal op we felt we could celebrate at last, and I ordered my dream car. Tommie insisted she was called Kitty, so I could hardly refuse.”
To give people inspiration for their own car names, Volkswagen has produced an Instagram filter at @VolkswagenUK that lets wannabe namers scroll through a list of common nicknames until finding one that fits your wheels.