Do You Talk to Your Car?
Posted under: Oscar
My car’s name is Oscar.
Naming my car was probably the first sign that I was going to be a car-talker. Car-whisperer. Car-chatter. What do you think is a good term?
Praising the car for a job well done.
“Nice one, Oscar! That was a tricky parking situation.”
Begging the car.
“Please, please make it up this hill.”
Caressing the car (steering wheel, dashboard, etc).
“There’s a good car.” *pat, pat*
Apologizing to the car.
“Oh man, that was stupid of me, I’m so sorry, Oscar. We could have gotten hurt.”
Bribing the car.
“Just get me to the gas station before you run out, Oscar, and I swear I’ll give you a car wash. A wax. Whatever you want, just keep moving.”
Writing
In CHOOSE, Hank talks to the Miraj (especially in the installment that’ll go live this evening).
I don’t remember Captain Picard ever talking to the Enterprise, but I think Mal talked to Serenity and Han Solo talked to the Millennium Falcon.
Do you recall any other characters that talk to their vehicles?
Real Life
Do YOU talk to YOUR car? I’m guilty of all of the above, but maybe you do one or two but couldn’t imagine (for example) actually bribing your car.
Any other bribers out there who feel honor-bound to fulfill the promise of the bribe?
Also, how many of you named your car? Is there a story behind the name? Does anyone who named their car NOT talk to their car?
The obvious one is Herbie… I can’t say that I recally the person who talked to Herbie, I just know that all the people talked to Herbie and he tended to do the opposite.
I too am a car talker, her name is Bruiser (yes HER). My car is a purple PT Cruser with wood panneling. We kept calling her The Purple Woody and if you can’t firure out the genesis of the name Bruiser from that information, good for you for keeping your mind out of the gutter!
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Ha! I love it. “Bruiser”
And now all I can imagine is my grandmother driving a purple PT Cruiser and saying “You’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’!”
(my grandmother because that’s one of her favorite phrases and I always imagine her saying it, not because I associate you in any way with my grandmother. *grin*)
While Picard may not have spoken to the Enterprise, didn’t Scotty? Then of course, there was Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang… but I don’t know if they spoke to Chitty so much as sang to her, lol.
I’m pretty sure I’ve shared the story with you before about how my current car got her name, “A New Hope.” No, not just because I’ve been a Star Wars nut all my life, but because of the car I had before her.
My first car was a Buick Skylark, which I dubbed “The Phantom Menace” after losing count of how many times it would just up and die while driving (even at 60mph, which I can assure you is quite frightening), but it took about 10 trips to the auto shop over a period of a year before they could even remotely recreate the issue. Even then they still weren’t able to fix the issue 100%. So yeah, she earned that name.
Then, the day came where I traded her in for a shiny new silver car. That very day, I got in my new car, patted the dashboard and dubbed her “A New Hope”, “Hope” for short. Somehow it just seemed appropriate.
Of course, she’s also been named “Silver Bullet” by others given my tendency to prefer getting where I’m going quickly.
You have told me this story, but I love hearing it. <3
If I never got to drive a car again in my life, I would rejoice. Automobiles are not my favorite invention. My desire to create the illusion of some sort of bond with a car is beyond my sensibilities. I am completely indifferent to cars.
I have had no more interest, affection or appreciation for the 1982 Camaro (although, since it had a standard transmission, it does rank as my favorite car, and I HATED that automobile) than the Ford LTD, Buick LaSabre, Ford F150, F250, or Escort or any other vehicles I have owned or used in my lifetime.
No names. Never. No talking. Ever. I do not want that relationship.
Cars are rather like refrigerators or washing machines to me. They are just these things that I have that make my life easier in many ways, but take up space and money, need cleaning and repairs, and are mostly annoying to me. I don’t talk to my refrigerator or washing macine either.
Oh man, I wish I didn’t have to drive, too. The alternatives have too many negatives for me right now. =[
Oscar's only the second car I've had that I enjoyed owning, and I had the other one for ten years. =]
I don’t talk to cars. I don’t name cars. But I do have a couple of funny car-name stories I’ve encountered.
I was working in a lab and they had this BIG old green Suburban for doing field work. It was dubbed “The Green Hornet” or “The Hornet”. No one that drove it talked to it, that I know of. We just referred to it by that name.
My friend has an old (no idea what year 50-something?) Mustang that has been in his family since they moved to the US from Mexico when he was a kid. Her name is “Esperanza” which means “hope”. Because you *hope* she is going to get you where you want to go. LOL.
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Lol, nice! I love “The Hornet”.
Makes me think of “The Warthog” in Halo.
My car’s name is Tito since a friend of mine named it. I talk to it all the time, mostly because it tends to break down/have problems a lot. :)
Tito. I love it!
I wonder how many people who talk to cars do so because they’ve had unstable ones in the past?
My car’s name is Sarah Jane. My car before that was Sally. Before that, I had a truck I did not name who only stuck around for a year anyway. Prior to that was Bessie. The car I had prior to that, my first one, I sadly can’t remember the name of. :(
Cars have personalities, and things with personalities tend to attract names, even if it’s just, “Jerk” for toaster oven that either doesn’t toast or burns everything, or “Vlad” a computer that draws blood whenever you move it anywhere due to sharp corners.
*giggle* I love your name list, those are awesome! Particularly the non-car ones. I have yet to name my toaster, but now I’m tempted …
Yes, all the time.
“gooooood, girl. mama loves you.”
*high five*
Our current car is Mimzy because the first 3 characters of our license plate are MMZ. I wish I could find a ‘The Last Mimzy’ decal. Despite having a name, we don’t talk to our car. I have named my home computer (Ram Rom the Tumputer) and talk to my home and work computers a lot.
I know people who name their GPS machines and talk back to them.
I remember Ram Rom! <3
I’m intrigued by the number of folks who name but don’t speak to their car.
And I wish GPS companies would get with the program and offer many different personalities for those voices. *grin* If they had picard, I’d be all “take me around the block again. Read to me. Anything. How about the phone book?”
Sadly, no. I talk *in* my car, emphatically, to myself. I tried talking to my car once and it died on me anyway. Animism just doesn’t work for me. ;)
I don’t know that animism “works” for anyone outside of fiction. It’s just fun. *grin*
My last four cars have had names. Trucklet was a Chevy S-10 (which is a small truck, natch), Owl was a green Chevy Cavalier (the color was important to the naming process, see below), Vince was a “champagne” Mazda Protege (and a lemon, but we won’t go there), and the current vehicle of choice is a green Ford Focus named Kestrel.
Vince acquired his name because the old/new name for a Protege is a 323. A friend’s son’s birthday was March 23rd, and his name was Vince.
My first-ever car was a Navy green (green as dark as Navy blue) 1966 Ford Falcon. Therefore, every green car I’ve owned since has been named after a bird of prey.
And, yes, I talk to my car. Always have. And here is also a good place to admit that one of my absolute favorite places to be is behind the wheel, between places, out on the open road. Not here, not there, but nowhere at all.
Oooh, love the bird of prey naming scheme. That’s awesome. And I’m amazed at how many green vehicles you’ve owned!
I love listening to people who love to drive. There’s a zen there that I don’t personally get, but I think it’s very cool. I think everyone has that THING, but not everyone gets the opportunity to find it.
Green is my favorite color [g]. Although what constitutes green to the car manufacturers is a whole nother argument — the Falcon was almost black, Owl was almost teal, and Ford called Kestrel’s color “tundra green,” which to my eye is a grayed version of copper patina, and is gray to a friend of mine, who swears it isn’t green at all.
I spent most of my childhood summers in the back seat of a car – my late father’s idea of vacation, according to my mother, was to get in the car and drive just as far as he could possibly go before he had to turn around in order to get back to work on time. So I come by my itchy feet honestly.
And, yes, there is something very zen about being behind the wheel of a car. I don’t even listen to the radio or audiobooks most of the time. I just get most of my best thinking done, and admire the scenery.
My current car is sort of a limepeel zest color. It’s fantastic. <3
LOVE the story about your dad, that's amazing.
I get that, to a certain extent, when going for walks. I wish I had a horse again (and this time, not one that was going blind). I believe I'd feel exactly the same way behind the saddle on a familiar path with a bomb-proof horse. Just saddle up and ride. *happy sigh*
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New art! I especially like the art for your art section!
<3 You're the first to notice! (it's not been up very long, either!)
(Do please ignore the header for now. It's Under Construction and I'm not sure how it's going to end up. *grin*)
I noticed first thing this morning! While I am at it, I have always loved how the art on the sidebar changes on each page. The “smile” art is always my favorite.
I ain’t ignoring nothin! I’ll pay attention to that art work if I want!
<3 Thank you!
I can't believe it took me so long to find SOMETHING to do with all that old art after it's been posted. *grin*
And you can look at the ART, it's just the train wreck of the background patterns I'm playing with that I'm asking you to avoid. I'm tryin' to SAVE you.
Oh, thanks! Cuz of all the train wrecks in my life, THAT background pattern is the one I need saving from! Surely, it is the threat to my life and well-being. Shield my eyes!
*shields your eyes*
You are SO welcome. ;)
Tami´s last post ..Do You Talk to Your Car
My mother has a classic mini, she’s a rover ’99 MPI electronic fuel injection. I can not begin to explain my, almost emotional bond with it, I don’t know what it Is but I love it with all my heart and I always talk to it! All the time, it’s as if she can understand me, I’ll never forget one cold december morning when she was struggling to start up and as i went to turn the key for the last time, I leaned forwards to the steering wheel and whispered “please, I know you can do it.” and it fired straight up. I am very protective over her, I honestly don’t think i’d want any other car on my drive.
Ha! Awesome! I love that kind of personal touch. <3