Don’t worry, it’s not weird if you name your car

Personification is a weird thing. We humans give names and personalities to inanimate objects seemingly for no real reason. However, spend some time around a classic car and you’ll see each has a certain attitude—one that often fits a human of the same age. Turns out most Hagerty readers amplify that perceived personality and pick a name for their car. So, it’s not as weird as some might think.

For the Hagerty Forums Question of the Week, we solicited whether naming a car was a popular move. The responses poured in. Normally, we don’t have the ability to look at the answers with much, if any, scientific perspective, but after watching the most recent Engineering Explained video and subsequently acquiring my internet math degree, I decided to break this one down by the numbers.

Into the minority fell those who thought naming a car was varying degrees of absurd. To be fair, it kind of is. Cars don’t have any need for a name beyond the identifying model bestowed upon them by the manufacturer, so these 22 respondents cannot be faulted for their practice of keeping names reserved for family members who can’t rust.

Among the larger group were the 95 folks who not only chimed in with a yes or no, but also allowed us to go one step further with our analysis. From the yes column, the majority (63 answers) did not give their car a “human name” like Karen or Steve, but rather a name that came from other aspects of the car. Paint color seemed to be a favorite, with names like “Red Rider” or “Old Blue” cropping up often.

Our weekly studies continue this week with a return to a more opinionated topic—one in which you get to help dispel that one bit of misinformation you just hate to hear. We want to know your favorite automotive myth. Whether it’s the one you love to spread or the one you just can’t stand hearing one more time, let us know and we just might dig in and find out more of the history behind it.