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Does Your Car Have a Name?

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My grandma has a new special someone in her life: a 2013 Buick Verano she affectionately calls Veronica. The new sedan replaced Mindy — that is, Mindy Malibu. The fact that Grandma names her cars is cute, but also a bit weird. Turns out, however, she’s not alone. According to a Nationwide Insurance survey, plenty of drivers name their cars.

The insurance agency polled 1,082 U.S. car owners and found that:

  • Nearly 25 percent of U.S. car owners have a special name for their car.
  • More than 31 percent were inspired by the vehicle’s color and appearance.
  • Car owners ages 18-34 are significantly more likely to nickname their cars (36 percent).
  • Women are more likely to have a nickname for their cars than men (27 percent versus 17 percent).
  • More than one-fourth (26 percent) of those surveyed think of their car as a girl, with women more likely to have a “baby” girl.
  • Men are more likely than women to name their car after a famous/historical person (9 percent men versus 4 percent women) or a character in a movie (10 percent men versus 4 percent women).

The insurance company’s survey is part of its “Meet My Baby” contest. Vehicle owners can visit http://meetmybaby.nationwide.com to submit their car’s name and picture; five winners will get a $2,500 gas card, and the grand prize winner will take home $5,000 for a road trip. The contest runs through Nov. 3.

Now it’s your turn to fess up; tell us in the comments section below what you call your “baby.”

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News Editor

Hellbent on finding a journalism job after earning an English degree from DePaul University, I stumbled into the automotive industry in 2003 — much to the delight of my Corvette-obsessed dad. After working as an editor at Consumer Guide Automotive for several years, I joined Cars.com in 2011 and am currently an expert reviewer, certified car-seat technician and mom of three. I wear a lot of hats — many of them while driving a minivan. My first car was a 1994 Mercury Tracer, and I currently drive a 2012 Mazda5.

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