SOL 20 Going strong at 98

"She just turned 98," he noted proudly as he stared down at her red head. "It seems like yesterday she joined our family!"

My husband was referring to Matilda, my 3 year old VW.  She, like Roald Dahl's character, is magical!  She gets upwards to 50 mpg (amazing)!  We have been "personifying" our cars (and tractors) for as long as I can remember. 

Back when I first met my husband, he was driving "The Cutty" but over the years their names have increasingly reflected our family's interests!  There was  Clifford, the "big" red Focus (pun intended, he really was quite small) and the Silver Bullet (an aging Volvo P1800 who really yearned for movie fame).  There was Heidi (who loved to take off her top like the Heidi Klum poster that snuck into my house).  My daughter still drives Stella (from a Streetcar Named Desire) and my son drove Patty (named after an inside out peppermint patty) for a few years. And, these days, my husband takes Johnny (Deere) with him to help with the yard work!

I guess back in the old days, it was not really necessary to name cars.  You had one per household and you took THE car if you were going some place.  Not so anymore.  It's very helpful to state clearly which car you are taking and why.  SO we call them by name!  As soon as I shower, Matilda and I will begin our daily mini-marathon. She loves to run fast and play in the traffic (loves those tractor trailers who use the same fuel she does) so we get out there and run 5 days per week.  All this running is why she is aging faster than your average car!