What Kiwis call their cars
Damien O’Carroll.
Are you one of those people who likes to give your car a name? Or do you prefer to call it whatever springs immediately to mind when something goes wrong with it?
If you are in the second group, then it probably isn’t ‘‘Betty’’ that you scream at your car on the side of the road in the middle of the night, but if you are the sort to give an inanimate object an affectionate name, then this, apparently, is the most likely one.
Gasoline Alley Services (Gas) recently carried out a nationwide survey of its customers through its 130 outlets around the country to find out what people call their cars and why.
Betty and Betsy were the most popular names, which mirrors a trend seen overseas, as they are also some of the most common names among United States and United Kingdom drivers.
Kermit was second (no points for guessing what colour the ‘‘Kermits’’ probably are, by the way). Bob and various names involving the word ‘‘little’’ also recurred in the survey.
‘‘We didn’t realise Betty was going to be so popular,’’ said Kylie Baudet, head of marketing at Gas. ‘‘People quite often form a strong bond with their car, so we wanted to see if there were common names and the reasons behind them.’’
Baudet said that 432 New Zealanders took part in the survey and 79 per cent of those who named their car were female, with those aged 18-44 most likely to give their car a name.
When it comes to hitting on the inspiration for a car’s name, an unsurprising 42 per cent cited its appearance as the main reason (hence all those green Kermits). The number plate also proved a source of naming creativity.
Names do imply gender as well, so why not go the whole hog with the personification thing and throw gender in there, too? When asked what gender they thought their car was, 61 per cent of responders said female, 25 per cent said male and the rest stated neither.
Japanese cars dominated the survey and a handful of German marques also appeared. But Korean cars didn’t appear, suggesting to us that they have no endearing personality traits that inspire a name.
According to Gas, some ‘‘noteworthy’’ names to appear in the survey were ‘‘Mazdarati’’, ‘‘Stella McCARtney’’, ‘‘Hondaway to the scrap yard’’ and ‘‘Lancer Armstrong’’.
We here at the Stuff motoring section can’t say we are the carnaming types, but I did once own a 1979 Mazda 626 that I regularly called an Offensively Yellow Piece of... actually, it’s probably best to not go there. A key element of a congestion-free driving future – and ultimately an autonomous-driving future – is what carmakers call ‘‘Car-to-X’’ or ‘‘Vehicle-to-infrastructure’’ (V2X) technology.
That’s where individual vehicles have the ability to talk to roading infrastructure like traffic lights and even parking buildings, enabling them to flow at the right speeds and pick the correct routes to keep traffic moving.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is currently developing a piece of V2X tech called the Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA) system.
It allows cars to communicate with traffic lights and inform the driver the speed they should stick to as they approach intersections or signals, so they don’t have to wait for the green.
JLR says that widespread adoption of the V2X technology will prevent drivers from racing to beat the lights and improve air quality by reducing harsh acceleration or braking near lights.
The goal is for V2X to create free-flowing cities with fewer delays and less commuter stress.
The connected technology is currently being trialled on a Jaguar F-Pace, as part of a collaborative research project.
Like many modern vehicles, the F-Pace already has a range of Advanced Driver Assistance (ADAS) features, like camerabased autonomous braking and adaptive cruise control.
GLOSA is designed to enhance ADAS features by increasing the line of sight of a vehicle when it is connected, via the internet, to other vehicles (aka ‘‘car-to-car’’ or V2X) and infrastructure. GLOSA is being tested alongside other measures to reduce the time commuters spend in traffic.
For example, Intersection Collision Warning (ICW) alerts drivers when it is unsafe to proceed at a junction.
ICW informs drivers if other cars are approaching from another road and can suggest the order in which cars should proceed at a junction.
JLR has also addressed time lost to searching for a parking space by providing real-time information of available spaces to drivers, and developed an Emergency Vehicle Warning to alert motorists when a fire engine, police car or ambulance is approaching.
The trials are part of the NZ$37 million government-funded project, UK Autodrive, which has helped accelerate self-driving and connected technology.