Dorothy Paskvan does not have to worry about people knowing her passion for the Wizard of Oz. She, and her little dog Toto travel in a silver Volkswagen Beetle named Dototoz. The car's number plate proudly boasts the name. People name pets, children and favourite childhood toys so it shouldn't be a surprise that some affectionately name their vehicles.
My cars have all had names starting with the initial ‘M’ for some reason. Starting with Maud and Mavis (old bangers), building up to Monika and ending with my current car Mel the Peugeot 206. I also speak to my car when I want her to start in the morning, but that’s another story…
Some people drive their cars 60,000 miles per year. If you spend that much time in your car you'll give it a name, because cars can become part of the family.
Eighty-two-year-old Gloria Budik has named her cars for years. The key to imagining a creative name is to find something that rhymes with the make of the car, Budik said. Her cars have included Rhonda the Honda and Rhonda the Second. Budik even named her daughter's and her ex-husband's Hondas, Vonda and Yolanda.
Her fascination with naming her vehicles started after a childhood neighbour called his car Old Jack Pontiac. Naming cars soon became a hobby, and Budik thinks she has a talent for it, she said. "I see a car and it just pops into my head," Budik said.
Jessica Roelofs, a 17-year-old from Milaca, shares the same affection for Neo, her 1997 Dodge Neon and Toby, a Honda 400 motorcycle. "It gives you a closer bond with your vehicle - whatever that may be," Roelofs said. "I talk to myself a lot, so I figure I can disguise it by talking to my car."
But then again, Roelofs names everything - pillows, dogs, stuffed animals and nonexistent children. She also gives her friends nicknames.
Sometimes cars have so much personality that they need names, said Paul Noskowiak, a salesman at Donahue Harley-Davidson & Buell in Sauk Rapids. In college, the St. Stephen man named his 1966 Catalina Convertible, Cat. A friend jammed a tape into the car's player, and the only song it played was "Bad Kitty." He also named a Ford Cube Van the Fun Bus. The floor of the Fun Bus heated up so much that it melted the rubber soles of shoes.
"Things that are named either need to be around for a while or have to have some character," Noskowiak said. "They get quirky. I had a car that when you blew the horn, the car would die." Noskowiak named his father-in-law's purple Harley-Davidson Road Glide, Barney. Barney's owner, Brett Donahue, rebuilt the motorcycle after its previous owner crashed it. Donahue owns Donahue Harley-Davidson & Buell.
To get back at Noskowiak for naming his motorcycle after a purple dinosaur, Donahue calls his son-in-law's yellow motorcycle Big Bird. It's not a name Noskowiak likes."I'm trying for that not to stick," Noskowiak said.
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