Alright, it's story time. Gather 'round, little children
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*Chimera looks pointedly at Archon, Entropy., and e*) and I will tell you the story of how I named my cars, since that is originally what this thread is about.
My first car was a silver Saturn. Since it was sleek-looking and classy, in my opinion, I named it Audrey after my favorite actress Audrey Hepburn. That car never let me down--it cheered me up just to drive around in her. She also was fiesty, with a lot of hidden power--I won many races from seminary to school in my little Audrey. I was really sad when the lease ran out and we had to turn her back in. Audrey had been an awesome first car.
I was leaving on my mission in five months, and I planned on being car-less, but than my dad got a great deal on a '94 Mustang at work. I was just happy to have a car--but a Mustang did sound cool. Then we drove from California to Utah and got stuck in a snowstorm. I cannot drive in snow (it just doesn't do that in Southern California), so I made my guy friend who had served his mission in Colorado drive. We weren't going more than 10 miles an hour, but it was on black ice and since the Mustang was rear wheel drive, not front wheel, it started spinning slowly and we went off the road and into a snowbank. Luckily we didn't hit anything, and eventually a whole suburban filled with teenage boys stopped and they pushed us back onto the road, but it was an unsettling experience nonetheless. I distrusted the Mustang after that. It just was not built for Utah weather. If there was even a hint of snow, it would start sliding. I literally slid to church one Sunday, not even able to stop for stop signs (luckily not a lot of people were driving). So I developed a grudge against the Mustang. As such, I never named it. It was not WORTHY of a name. I actually felt relieved when my dad wrote me while I was on my mission and told me they had sold the car. Cars like Mustangs are great for Southern California, but rear-wheel drive just will not cut it in Utah.
While I was on my mission, one of the new members was this adorable man named Francis but everybody called him Franny. Franny was sincere but not the best at remembering things, so he came up with nicknames for all the sister missionaries. Eventually he decided that I looked like Loretta Young, an actress from like the 40s or something. I was flattered to be compared to an actress. So Franny called me Sister Loretta, and would always say things like, "Let me see that movie star smile, Sister Loretta," and "Thanks for coming off the big screen to talk to us little people, Sister Loretta," and things like that.
So when I got home and got a silver Honda Civic, which reminded me of my Saturn named Audrey after the actress Audrey Hepburn, I decided to keep up the tradition and name it Loretta after Loretta Young. That way I could remember both my first car and also Franny from my mission. The good karma has worked--I love my Honda Civic, even more than my Saturn. Loretta is as dependable as can be. And I love having a fun (albeit lengthy) story to tell about my car's name.
So I agree with what 42 said, that you want to name your car something that reflects both your own and the car's personality.
