According to a recent survey by insurer Swinton, 80 per cent of drivers give their car a pet name. Swinton, one of the UK’s biggest high street retailers for both men’s and women’s car insurance said that eight out of ten of us who own a car name it in order to bond with the vehicle.
Insurer Development Manager for Swinton, Steve Chelton said: “Drivers can easily become emotionally attached to their vehicles, and giving an affectionate name is the first step in this process.”
Customers who have an emotional attachment to their cars tend to look after them better, as they care for the car more like a person than a hunk of metal. As a result, females who gave their cars a name could receive cheaper women’s car insurance for taking good care of their car.
On the whole, women were more likely than men to name their cars, with 88 per cent of women giving their vehicle a name, but less than half of the men admitted to doing the same. This may be a contributing factor to why women’s car insurance is cheaper, as more women were willing to care for their vehicle and hence drive with more consideration.
Car owners who were choosing a name for their vehicle said that the most important factor which contributed to the decision was the car’s colour. Yellow cars tended to get stuck with names that included “banana” in the title, whereas red cars were given nicknames associated with going fast such as “Speedy”.
After colour, the manufacturer of the vehicle was the next most influencing factor in naming a car. Renault’s were imaginatively called Megan (after the Mégane) and Nicole after the popular Clio advert featuring Papa and Nicole.
Names were also inspired by celebrities or by celebrity vehicles, such as KITT from Knight Rider. According to the poll, 4 per cent of drivers named their car after an ex-lover. Men and women tended to name their car according to the opposite sex, with 81 per cent of men giving their car a female name and 91 per cent of women referring to their car as masculine.
The Swinton survey was conducted from a sample of 1,600 customers who had a mix of men’s and women’s car insurance.
