R50/53 Mini names
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1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39
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From: Cherry Hill, NJ
Mini names
How did you folks come about naming your cars? Or does MINI do it for you during the build phase?
I've always named my cars. My first was a '71 Super Beetle named Fritz. My wife had a blue Civic named "Wanda" as in "Wanda the Honda." It's been replaced by a red CR-V named "Rhonda."
I've always named my cars. My first was a '71 Super Beetle named Fritz. My wife had a blue Civic named "Wanda" as in "Wanda the Honda." It's been replaced by a red CR-V named "Rhonda."
6th Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,470
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From: Birmingham, AL
The way I view it, the car has already been named. "MINI Cooper Special"
We just called it "the mini". Our CLK 430 gets the name "The CLK", and our E320 CDI gets the name "the diesel". Simple, so i guess those are our names. :smile:
We just called it "the mini". Our CLK 430 gets the name "The CLK", and our E320 CDI gets the name "the diesel". Simple, so i guess those are our names. :smile:
Alliance Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,100
Likes: 229
From: York, Pennsylvania
My last car was Kicks'em: an '82 VW Rabbit S with a plate that
started with KXM....
My MINI MC is called BLIKSEM, which is a somewhat impolite
Afrikaans word for lightning (many weather-themed curses there).
started with KXM....
My MINI MC is called BLIKSEM, which is a somewhat impolite
Afrikaans word for lightning (many weather-themed curses there).
Trixie
I thought about it for days and then it just came to me.. I picture her as a sassy redhead pin-up from the 40's.
I thought about it for days and then it just came to me.. I picture her as a sassy redhead pin-up from the 40's.
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4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 448
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From: Frederick, MD
Midnight got his name for the way his indi blue paint looks in the evening twilight. It was either that, or Sapphire. Sapphire sounded a bit girlie (or so sayeth my darling wifemate) so Midnight it was. 
All of our cars have had names. Sometimes, it takes a long time for a car to trust its people enough to tell them what its name is. With Midnight, we waited almost 2 months before we knew. Other times, it goes much faster. We knew Rusty was Rusty on the test drive. (He's a '75 MGB.)
It also can take time to figure out the gender of a car. Rusty is male, but Margaret, my previous ('77) B, was definitely female. Both of them are the same color, and look almost identical in photos, but they both have unique personalities.
However, on a day-to-day basis, we usually refer to the MINI simply as "the Car of Smallness." :smile:
Perhaps the "fun-est" name for a car I have yet heard is Hugo, bestowed upon a VW beetle. The reason, according to the owner: "Wherever I go, Hugo!"
All of our cars have had names. Sometimes, it takes a long time for a car to trust its people enough to tell them what its name is. With Midnight, we waited almost 2 months before we knew. Other times, it goes much faster. We knew Rusty was Rusty on the test drive. (He's a '75 MGB.)
It also can take time to figure out the gender of a car. Rusty is male, but Margaret, my previous ('77) B, was definitely female. Both of them are the same color, and look almost identical in photos, but they both have unique personalities.
However, on a day-to-day basis, we usually refer to the MINI simply as "the Car of Smallness." :smile:
Perhaps the "fun-est" name for a car I have yet heard is Hugo, bestowed upon a VW beetle. The reason, according to the owner: "Wherever I go, Hugo!"
1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 33
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From: Houston TX
My new MINI is named Preston. How he got that name is a mystery from my brain but it fits him well.
My first new vehicle was a '92 Ford Ranger that my wife and I named Jim. It has to do with a long running joke about that old old TV show 'Mutual of Omaha' where the guy who gets sent in to wrestle the polar bear was named Jim. Thus my wife's '90 Nissan Sentra was named Marlin.
My second car, a '95 Acura Integra, never told us it's name, so he never got one. Same for the '97 Ford Contour.
And Preston's predessesor, a '01 Wolfsburg Jetta, got called Wolfie, especially when next to my wife's bright red Z3 convertible, Little Red Riding Hood.
My first new vehicle was a '92 Ford Ranger that my wife and I named Jim. It has to do with a long running joke about that old old TV show 'Mutual of Omaha' where the guy who gets sent in to wrestle the polar bear was named Jim. Thus my wife's '90 Nissan Sentra was named Marlin.
My second car, a '95 Acura Integra, never told us it's name, so he never got one. Same for the '97 Ford Contour.
And Preston's predessesor, a '01 Wolfsburg Jetta, got called Wolfie, especially when next to my wife's bright red Z3 convertible, Little Red Riding Hood.
Moderator
Joined: Oct 2004
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I've named two of my cars in dreams. Very spooky. It's almost as if the cars told me what their names were!
I dreamt of walking out to my MGA Coupe one morning, and there on the side where the roof comes down next to the rear edge of the window was written "The Beast." So it was "The Beast" or simply, "Beastie."
The Beast was my favorite car I've ever owned. I wouldn't be surprised if my MCS (which I will be picking up in 11 days - I'm not counting hours yet, but soon will be) displaces the Beast from that pedestal.
Two days after I ordered my MCS, I had a dream that we were playing on a twisty road together and I was humming "Waltzing Mathilda" as I drove. So my car had a name before I even drove her. (I call her "Tillie" for short.)
If I hadn't dreamt of a name, I would probably call her "Squirt." She may still get called that at times, like calling my daughter "Kiddo."
I dreamt of walking out to my MGA Coupe one morning, and there on the side where the roof comes down next to the rear edge of the window was written "The Beast." So it was "The Beast" or simply, "Beastie."
The Beast was my favorite car I've ever owned. I wouldn't be surprised if my MCS (which I will be picking up in 11 days - I'm not counting hours yet, but soon will be) displaces the Beast from that pedestal.
Two days after I ordered my MCS, I had a dream that we were playing on a twisty road together and I was humming "Waltzing Mathilda" as I drove. So my car had a name before I even drove her. (I call her "Tillie" for short.)
If I hadn't dreamt of a name, I would probably call her "Squirt." She may still get called that at times, like calling my daughter "Kiddo."
2nd Gear
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 144
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From: Austin, TX
Since my '04 MCS shares a garage with a '69 Chrys. 300 Conv which has been named "Big Red" ever since I bought it new 35 years ago, I was going to name my CR/B MINI "Li'l Red". . . until I discovered that three other Chili Red MINIs in Texas already carried that name.
So I named mine "Rojito" instead (the same thing, but in Spanish). I was even able to get Texas license plates with that name !
Joe
So I named mine "Rojito" instead (the same thing, but in Spanish). I was even able to get Texas license plates with that name !
Joe
6th Gear
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,654
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From: Grosse Pointe, MI
Originally Posted by joesantoyo78757
Since my '04 MCS shares a garage with a '69 Chrys. 300 Conv which has been named "Big Red" ever since I bought it new 35 years ago, I was going to name my CR/B MINI "Li'l Red". . .
I had a 2000 Olds Bravada when I got my 2003 Cooper.. I wanted to get plates that said BIGSEXY and LILSEXY
7th Gear Gal
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 36,087
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From: Weeblegabber West (aka WLA)
Originally Posted by GrizzledVeteran
How did you folks come about naming your cars? Or does MINI do it for you during the build phase?
I've always named my cars. My first was a '71 Super Beetle named Fritz. My wife had a blue Civic named "Wanda" as in "Wanda the Honda." It's been replaced by a red CR-V named "Rhonda."
I've always named my cars. My first was a '71 Super Beetle named Fritz. My wife had a blue Civic named "Wanda" as in "Wanda the Honda." It's been replaced by a red CR-V named "Rhonda."
What great taste in auto names! My MCS is "Wicked Wanda!" She's SUCH a little vixen! 
My first MINI was a Cooper named "MINIclo," which is where my username originated!:smile: I have major Wanda-lust and motor cross-country every spring!
Clover
1st Gear
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 35
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From: Ann Arbor MI
Names Names Names
i have always named my cars.
Here's the list -
1988 Blue Ford Ranger - "Buster" - my first car. it just looked like a "buster"
1991 Blue (with wood-panel sides) Jeep Grand Wagoneer - "Woody" - obvious reasons
1989 Red SAAB 900 Turbo - "The Swedish Rocket" - again, obvious reasons (but it wasn't actually anywhere near being a true rocket)
1996 Black Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon - "Max" - named after the son of the previous owner, Maxwell, who came out during my visit to look at the car and to his Father's despair, began pointing out all of the not-so-obvious cosmetic defects.
2005 Chili Red Mini Cooper - "Samantha" - named after the female lead charachter in the movie, Garden State.
Mom and Dad's Cars -
2001.5 Light Blue VW Passat - "Quicksilver" - It was fast and it was silvery-blue.
1993 Green Mercury Villager - "Gigi" - Short for "Green Girl."
2001 Silver Honda Oddessy - "Hal" (Michigan vanity plate - HAL 2K1) - Any one see 2001 A space Oddessy?
I guess we are pretty weird as a family when it comes to cars.
Here's the list -
1988 Blue Ford Ranger - "Buster" - my first car. it just looked like a "buster"
1991 Blue (with wood-panel sides) Jeep Grand Wagoneer - "Woody" - obvious reasons
1989 Red SAAB 900 Turbo - "The Swedish Rocket" - again, obvious reasons (but it wasn't actually anywhere near being a true rocket)
1996 Black Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon - "Max" - named after the son of the previous owner, Maxwell, who came out during my visit to look at the car and to his Father's despair, began pointing out all of the not-so-obvious cosmetic defects.
2005 Chili Red Mini Cooper - "Samantha" - named after the female lead charachter in the movie, Garden State.
Mom and Dad's Cars -
2001.5 Light Blue VW Passat - "Quicksilver" - It was fast and it was silvery-blue.
1993 Green Mercury Villager - "Gigi" - Short for "Green Girl."
2001 Silver Honda Oddessy - "Hal" (Michigan vanity plate - HAL 2K1) - Any one see 2001 A space Oddessy?
I guess we are pretty weird as a family when it comes to cars.
Last edited by nrd2052; Nov 22, 2004 at 09:49 PM. Reason: update
5th Gear
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 611
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From: Citrus Heights, Ca.
I've always loved the look of the Union Jack flag, and the colors seemed to fit our car well, so we put an oval UJ sticker on his front and rear windows, UJ license plate frames and UJ valve stem caps, and named him "Union Jack" or "Jack" for short.
A UJ decal will be going on the sunroof sometime in the future.
A UJ decal will be going on the sunroof sometime in the future.