Choosing a new car is like nothing else you will ever do. It's a cross between choosing a husband and welcoming a new baby into your home. Of course you should name it!

A car changes you life. You can go places at a moment's notice, carry stuff you wouldn't be able to carry on your own, visit locations that public transport doesn't reach, and most of all be independent! Suddenly you're a grown-up!

Your car becomes part of you. You choose it, hand over your hard-earned cash for it, wash it, put petrol in it and buy it presents. It almost becomes one of the family. Give it a name and you will really show that you appreciate it and take the relationship one step further.

You depend on your car. When you wake up on a dark and cloudy gray winter morning knowing that you have to go to work, you know that you can stumble out of the house and into the warm and welcoming interior of your car. The heating kicks in, the radio starts, and you begin to enjoy life again.

So how to you choose a name for you car? Start by thinking about what you use the car for. Is it a family car? Do you do long journeys in it? Is it a runaround? Do you use it for canoodling with your lover? Pick a name that sums up what it means to you and make it work. If you want to choose a funny name, don't make it derogatory, because the car will pick up on that! Pick a sensible name and let it develop later on if necessary.

Your car can sometimes be unpredictable, and start up in the morning with an unexplained noise, just as we sometimes wake up with a tickle in the throat. Talk to it, listen to it, and these things can be overcome. Build a friendship.

If you spend a long time in your car, she can become your confidante and diary-substitute. Chat as you go along, telling her about your hopes for the day ahead, and update it on the way home. Once it starts to be your best friend you will realize that of course it needs a name.

Choose a name that reflects your own personality or that of the car, but also give it a nickname. This can be used when you are mad at her for not starting or when you want to wheedle her into making the most of that last teaspoon of gas before you get into town.

Choosing a name for your car cements the relationship, and builds a stronger bond. If you don't choose a name, and just call it 'the car', who knows what will happen? Respect it, look after it, and it will repay you with years of good service.

Learn more about this author, Susan Hibberd.
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