Loved Cars Have Names

by Michael Satterfield

I have had a lot of cars over the years, from classics to modern sports cars. But only a few have been special enough to warrant giving them a nickname. This last week I spent behind the wheel driving across 9 states in a car I paid just $1,000 for. We nicknamed that car the “Rust-O-Bird” because it was a trusty but rusty old T-Bird.

The “Rust-O-Bird”

Over the years certain cars I’ve owned have been worthy of being named. “The Pig” was a 1954 Ford Crestline that was a cobbled-together, the “Blugeot” was my bright blue Peugeot, and “Tank” was a 67 Ford Galaxie that drove like an old battle tank. Coming up with a name can be personal for many or just something that happens by chance, my classic Mini was just called “Cooper” and my little sister, when she was 6, decided that our blue Ford Escort would be named “Grover”.

“Cooper”

But in case you are having a hard time coming up with a name for your car, the team at Mobil 1™ has created the Nam-u-lator to help create the perfect name for your ride. I took the Nam-u-lator quiz myself for our 1962 Austin Healey project, the name it came up with is “The Broadster” a fitting name for a tiny two-seat sports car that I will be taking mostly on long cruises in the mountains with my friends.

“The Broadseter” prepped to take on a Mexico Road Race

Non-car people won’t get it – they won’t understand why you named your car – but for me, cars have always been a major part of my life. From shaping my career to giving me an outlet, be it behind the wheel or working on a project in the garage, most of my favorite memories include a car. I met my best friends because of cars and we bonded while building and driving them. We give cars names because they mean something to us. Sure they get us where we need to go, but the right car takes us so much further.