Unintended consequences of naming my car

[David29]

Very nice, positive thread!

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

My kids are adults, and have only seen my 85D a few times. But.... I own a horse farm/riding academy. I named my car "Chestnut Mare" (a horse term meaning a fast, unpredictable, red horse). I don't ride horses, so this became my ride. The kids at the barn loved the name (and the car) and are constantly comparing my driving to various horsey terms. So, it's time to go on a hack, and maybe do a bit of a fast canter......

 

[Max*]

Very nice, positive thread!

Sorry, gotta get back to the negativity of TMC. Umn... Umn.... Umn... instead of letting us name the car, Tesla should be concentrating on fixing the nav! There much better.

 

[ohmman]

Sorry, gotta get back to the negativity of TMC. Umn... Umn.... Umn... instead of letting us name the car, Tesla should be concentrating on fixing the nav! There much better.

I find it completely ridiculous that Tesla doesn't support Aramaic characters, or at a minimum, Persian cuneiform!

 

[Half Dollar Bill]

I find it completely ridiculous that Tesla doesn't support Aramaic characters, or at a minimum, Persian cuneiform!

I think it's been clearly demonstrated that everything started to go downhill as soon as humans got away from Greek as a standard.

 

[Dbitter1]

for about 30 seconds, i thought you've named your kids "7" and "9"...

And for about 30 seconds, I wondered how long it would be before someone posted the "why is six afraid of seven?" joke... and no one has yet!

(Because seven-eight-nine... groan...)

 

[SMAlset]

Love the idea of the kids getting involved. Funny how it leads to anthropomorphism. Guess animated cartoons or movies like "Cars" helped. Don't let your kid know about the car graveyard or the "crusher". Nightmares for sure!

 

[berkeley_ecar]

I have the same experience as boonedocks. I even give Sparky a kind voice which talks to the kids.

As a failsafe for the inevitable trade-in, might I suggest you tell them what I did? Sparky lives inside the car. It's like his clothing. When we get a new one, he'll just have a new set of clothes. Voilà! No stress about selling it.

Explaining loss to children can be hard. It's hard to know how someone is going to react to losing something (or even someone) that was special to them. On one hand, you don't want to traumatize the kids, but on the other hand, it's important to prepare our kids for the real world. [...]

Or you can solve the problem with another approach: keep your car for as long as you can (which makes good environmental sense, too, given the embodied energy in automobiles). I'm just selling my 31-year-old Volvo station wagon, "Sven," prior to picking up my new Model S this weekend. It was the only car my now 32-year-old daughter knew. She picked the color for the new Model S. Sven is probably going to a nice family with 2-year-old twin girls, so they probably won't be able to follow this advice. Anthropomorphism is common with any frequently used major piece of equipment, and I've had many friends without kids who have named their cars, and even a few who have had "wakes" when retiring their vehicles. And what about the names we assign our networked computers?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

for about 30 seconds, i thought you've named your kids "7" and "9".

Growing up in a Star Trek fan family, my brother and I referred to our mother at Mter. (True Star Trek fans will remember Vger, shortened from Voyager.) Once my mom found out about her nickname, she started referring to me as "2 of 3", in a nod to the 7 of 9 character.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I decided to let the kids ... pick her name

OMG ... you guys over there not heard that we had a public poll to name a new Polar Explorer ship? And the public choice was? ...

... Boaty McBoatface !!

Make sure you have power of veto if you let the kids name anything!

 

[berkeley_ecar]

Hmmm ... HMS Boaty McBoatface ... had a nice ring to it! I was all for it.

Then again, even when a referendum is not binding, it can have powerful and perhaps unintended consequences (yes, please read between the lines)...

 

[P85DBeast]

The Conversation with my kids & wife in the car.
Daughter: "Dad can I drive the Tesla back to school?"
Me: "Nope buy your own"
Daughter: "DADDDDDDD WHYY??? Unlike Blake I actually take care of my cars"
Son: "I Know you are not trying to say I abuse my car's. You left a spilled soda bottle on your carpet and tried to hide it from dad when he picked up your car to get the oil changed."

Then they continue to argue with each other....

Wife: "Thats enough! Do not make us turn this car around and take you both back home"
Son: "But MOMMM she's always starting stuff"
Daughter: "But that doesn'........"
Me: "You know what im sick of the arguing you both zip it. Or go back home. which do you choose?"
Both: "Sorry Mom and Sorry Dad...."
Daughter: "No but in all seriousness dad can I drive the Tesla back to school? Please!!"
Me: "Fine but your driving your mothers car"
Wife: "I DONT THINK SO NOT MY CAR SHE CAN DRIVE YOURS"
Me: "I'll think about it."

4 Hours into the trip......

Daughter: "Dad have you thought about it yet?"
Me: "Yes I have. And my official answer is NO"
Daughter: "Ok but your gonna change your mind"
Me: "I think not"
Wife: "Can you both quiet down so I can listen to the radio"
Me: "Ok bu......"
Wife: "Nope I dont want to hear it"

Now I want you to guess how old my 2 kids are........
They even argued about the name of our car's so my wife picked her name and I picked my name!

 

[berkeley_ecar]

Just heard it on NPR: Boaty McBoatface lives!! Hurrah! He even has his own song.
This may help me in my search for a name... hmm... lessee... Tessie McTesface?

 

[ucmndd]

This is what happens when your drunk younger brother figures out how to name your car.

 

[Btrflyl8e]

Explaining loss to children can be hard. It's hard to know how someone is going to react to losing something (or even someone) that was special to them. On one hand, you don't want to traumatize the kids, but on the other hand, it's important to prepare our kids for the real world. I'm reminded of the when actor Will Lee (who played Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street) died:


Mr. Hooper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sesame Street - Goodbye Mr. Hooper - YouTube

Obviously a car is no Mr. Hooper, but if you know you're kids are attached, it's still a loss that your kids would have to go through. A loss of something that's special to your kids. I would honestly say that the best course of action is to tell them the truth. Let them know what's happening and why, and be willing to listen to them and how they feel. Give them time to process it. Though it might be hard, it'll be the truth, and you'll prepare your kids to know better how to deal with tough emotions.

And you never know what they might be attached to. When I was 5 or 6 I freaked out and cried for hours when my parents got rid of our old console tv (I'm not even 100% sure it was color) and replaced it with a more modern version. I remember watching from the window as the men hauled it out to the truck. I was an odd child.

 

[TI Sailor]

And you never know what they might be attached to. When I was 5 or 6 I freaked out and cried for hours when my parents got rid of our old console tv (I'm not even 100% sure it was color) and replaced it with a more modern version. I remember watching from the window as the men hauled it out to the truck. I was an odd child.

My soon-to-be 18 year old son did the exact same thing for the exact same reason when he was 5 or 6. Since it was newer than yours, luckily it had a remote. I offered to let him keep that and he was thrilled. It still has a place on one of his shelves in his room.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Great to get the kids involved in the ownership experience.

I was a bit concerned that you have a name for your car but call your kids 7&9! :wink:

At least it's not 7 of 9!

 

[Btrflyl8e]

My soon-to-be 18 year old son did the exact same thing for the exact same reason when he was 5 or 6. Since it was newer than yours, luckily it had a remote. I offered to let him keep that and he was thrilled. It still has a place on one of his shelves in his room.

Thank you! I don't feel so weird now.

With our tv, unfortunately I was the remote...

 

[berkeley_ecar]

I picked up my new S90D on Saturday, at the factory. A kind but mischievous local friend ferried me there and helped with going through the checklists I had assembled in advance. Something odd happened when I turned my back...

 

[somnambule]

We let our 5-year-old son pick the color and the name. He was more excited than I was the day we picked up Tessie and literally hugged the hood as if finally meeting someone he had been waiting a long time to meet!

The attachment to Tessie helped ease the pain of letting go of the previous car (although he still mentions it from time to time). I guess I now have to let him make even more decisions on the next car to ease the pain when we need to replace Tessie .