<VV> Naming Cars

[Tony Underwood]

At 01:48 PM 11/29/2006, mhicks130 at cox.net wrote:
> >******************************************************
>Can't answer the fuzzy  dice (Clay) part any more than I can explain pet
>rocks. But as for the naming - it goes way back farhter than cars. Steam
>engines on railroads frequently had names, and before that ships had
>names. Explain it? How long have you  been in this paralell universe? Lon
> >******************************************************
>
>Pretty much my whole life I guess.  I can see naming 
>ships,  locomotives and horses.  I can also see naming certain, 
>unique or famous cars but naming the cars in MY driveway?  I don't 
>think so.  They're just frigin' cars  ya know.

My ancient 4-door isn't just a car.   It's an old buddy, showing some 
wear and age but it's not "just a car".   To someone else, perhaps, 
but not to me.    The ugly little toad has a life and a home with me 
for as long as I continue to live.    If nothing else, it's long 
since become a matter or principle.


>Then again, if I was naming a locomotive, it would be engine #1 or 
>something, not Fred or Barney or Hollingsworth or whatever.  Plus, 
>when people refer to ship's names, they add "the" in front of the 
>name.  LIke "the Edmond Fitzgerald".

You've not seen much of British ships...  they weren't referred to as 
"The" anything except by others.   RMS Titanic was the glorified 
luxury liner variant of the Olympic class of ocean liners.   RMS 
Olympic was the flagship of that line.   Not "the" Olympic, but 
"Olympic".   Also, not "the" Titanic, but "Titanic"... likewise 
"Britannic".    Titanic we know about, Britannic was sunk during WW-I 
while serving as a hospital ship.  Olympic served a long and fruitful 
life including service during WW-I as a troop carrier and was indeed 
unsinkable following mods done after her sister Titanic went 
down.   Torpedoed, shot up, run aground, etc, Olympic picked up a 
nickname of "Old Reliable" by her crews while serving in wartime, and 
is also credited with sinking a German U-boat which made the mistake 
of trying to outrun Olympic after torpedoing the liner.    Olympic 
looked so much like Titanic that it was difficult to tell the two 
apart even up close.   Unlike her unfortunate sisters, Olympic served 
safely and efficiently for many long years after her wartime service 
before finally and eventually becoming obsolete and was retired and 
decommissioned.

Likewise "Sheffield" and "Arc Royal" and "King George-V" and 
"Rodney", all ships involved in chasing down and dispatching the 
Battleship Bismark.    Incidentally, although history tells much of 
the power and might of Bismark, it's seldom ever mentioned that the 
British battleship Rodney was a formidable vessel in its own right 
and when it came down to the last fire fight, it was Rodney and its 
big guns that beat the mortal Hell out of Bismark (not even Bismark's 
armor could stand up to Rodney's firepower) and left it a smoking 
crumpled wreck which went down shortly after Rodney fired the last 
shots.    The UK was quite proud of Rodney after that.     Nobody 
else ever remembers... and it was never "the" Rodney.

By the way, let's not forget all the combat aircraft which were named 
by their crew.    These airplanes became objects of affection and 
trust by the people who flew them.

On the other hand, my first car Back When was known by all as "The 
Lump".   Yep...  THE Lump.   The name became so synonymously 
associated with that model vehicle that all my friends began 
referring to other like model vehicles as "Lumps".

In spite of all this, I have yet to name a Corvair.   Yet.


>I don't hear car people say "the Veruca" or "the Alice".  It's like 
>they think they really are car-shaped people.  Worrisome to me.


You'll get over it...  ;)



tony..