Does everyone have car names for their favorite mode of transportation?
It is true we grow extremely attached to our cars. We take them on road trips, commute to the office, and go on shopping excursions. Our cars become part of the family, and we like to name them. If you are looking for a name for your new family member, we have compiled a list of possibilities. Enjoy checking these cool car names out, and maybe you will find one for your little buddy.
Good Car Names
You just bought a new or used car, and now you need to name it; here is a list of good, solid car names, and there is more to follow:
The Dream
Mercury
Iron Man
Black Widow
Quick Silver
Pony Boy
Fireball
White Noise
Tarantula
Moon Buggy
Silver Fox
Dead Straight
Galactic Gears
Hot Wheels
Judge Dredd
Alan
Best Naming Ideas
Magic Machine
Maximus Prime
Bug-Wiser
Jeepster
Thunderbolt
Jet Powered
Pure Victory
King of the Road
Full Throttle
Turbo
Stroked and Bored
Paddle Shifter
Rocket ‘88
Deadman’s Curve
The Godfather
Flathead
Cute Car Names
You’re cute, your car’s cute, face it, you need a cute name for your car. Here is a list of some that just might work:
Smooth and Silky
Fast Lane Freddy
Andrea
Duchess
Rusty
Betsy
Poison Ivy
Slow Ride
Princess
Mary Ann
Cinderella
Jam Van
Xena – Warrior Princess
Fred
Chili Pepper
Ride Sally Ride
Kitten
Ginger
Greased Lightning
Queen of the Road
Beep…Beep
Slick
Wild Child
TV and Movie Car Names
Movies and TV Shows have spawned many memorable cars. Whether it is a good chase scene or an outrageous ramp to ramp jump, these cars won our hearts and our imagination.
Monkeemobile – From the 60’s television series The Monkees. This was a 1966 Pontiac GTO customized into an oversized convertible that could accommodate 7 people.
Cannonball – A bizarre car from the movie Death Race 2000. It was a Volkswagen Beetle rebodied with a Corvette body. The body was decorated to look like a dinosaur with teeth.
Mystery Machine – The classic van from the cartoon series Scooby-Doo. Scooby and the gang would ride in the van while trying to solve mysteries. The van was a 1960’s vintage Chevy panel van.
Mach 5 – The fictional race car from Speed Racer. The car was designed specifically for the cartoon series.
Batmobile – Based on the concept car the 1955 Lincoln Futura, it was the real star of the 1966 TV series. The best part was when flames shot out the back.
Black Beauty – The Green Hornet’s treasured machine gun toting ride was based on a 1966 Imperial. His sidekick Kato was played by Bruce Lee in the series.
Ecto-1 – A 1959 Cadillac Hearse was used for the transportation in the 1984 comedy/science fiction thriller Ghostbusters.
Drag-U-La – In addition to the car seen in the Munster’s opening credits, Grandpa Munster had his own drag racer. It was a fiberglass coffin mounted on a chassis that held a 350 HP 289 Ford Mustang V-8 engine.
Canyonero – Cartoon Car from the Simpson that weighed an astonishing 65 tons.
Famous Car Names
Bumblebee – From the Movie Transformers, this 1976 yellow Chevy Camaro transformed from car to a bumblebee.
K.I.T.T. – From the Knight Rider TV Show, this 1982 Pontiac Firebird was named K.I.T.T. It stood for Knight industries Two Thousand.
Bluesmobile – A 1974 Dodge Monaco was used for the 1980 movie Blues Brothers. Actually, the production company purchased 19 of them for the film from the California Highway Patrol.
Bullit – This 1968 movie featured two cars, a 1968 black Dodge Charger and a green 1968 Ford Mustang GT. The mustang was driven by Steve McQueen in the movie and recently sold to a collector for $3,740,000.
Family Truckster – The over-the-top fictional station wagon from the comedy National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Herbie – The “Love Bug” from the 1968 Disney Film. It was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle.
Mad Max – A 1973 Ford XB Falcon provided the base for the armored war wagon driven by Mel Gibson’s character in the film of the same name.
General Lee – A 1969 Dodge Charger decorated with the now infamous Confederate Flag. The car would be seen routinely flying through the air in wild jumps. Several cars were destroyed during the filming of the Dukes of Hazard TV series.
Christine – This 1958 Plymouth Fury from the Stephen King film of the same name chased people menacingly.
Mirthmobile – A 1976 AMC Pacer from the 1992 Wayne’s World movie. The car served as the setting for Wayne and Garth lip synching “Bohemian Rapsody.”
Striped Tomato – Affectionately named by Hutch, the 1970 Ford Grand Turismo was red with white stripes. The car was featured in the 1970’s TV series Starsky and Hutch.
Funny Car Names
Who doesn’t want to have a car name that makes people laugh? Well, here you go:
Bronco Billy
Jet Set
Blew by You
Dusty
Nitro Zombie
Tiger Tires
Just Ducky
Smoke Maker
Dudley Do Right
Low Rider
Devil Driver
Lead Sled
Fog Cutter
The Flasher
George of the Jungle
Mars Rover
The Beater
Demented Driver
Speedy McSpeed Face
AUTOmic Bomb
The Joker
Crank Shaft
The Streaker
Road Kill
Road Roarer
Can’t Catch Me
Lunar Rover
Full Throttle
Over the Limit
Willie Wheels
Electric Car Naming Ideas
Small-scale electric vehicles date back to the mid-1800s. In 1898, Porsche developed an electric car called the P1. Before World War I, there were 10 Electric Car manufacturers in New York City alone. One of the most successful was Baker Electric. Jay Leno of The Tonight Show and Jay’s Garage fame owns three Baker Electrics dating back to 1909. He also owns an Owen Magnetic, which was the first hybrid. This 1916 car has a gas engine and electric motor.
Here is a list of electric cars currently available on the market and their manufacturers:
G8 – Xpeng
I-Pace – Land Rover
U5 – From Always
e-up! – Volkswagen
K27 – Kandi
ES8 – NIO
Etron 50 – Audi
Fetish – Venturi
C-Zero – Citroen
Model S – Tesla
Soul EV – Kia
Nexon – Tata Motors
I3 – BMW
Ze Car – Stevens
Clarity Electric – Honda
Soul EV – Kia
Bolt EV – Chevrolet
2 – Polestar
Sion – Sono Motors
Spring – Dacia
Luka EV – MW Motors
Smart Electric Vehicle – Smart
Mustang Mach E – Ford
Citigo – SFODA
Quds EE – EV Electric
E 28 – Rayttle
Zoe – Renault
Ioniq Electric – Hyundai
eRod Race – Kyburz
I-Min – Mitsubishi
Lightning GT – Lightning
B-Class Electric – Mercedes Benz
ZS EV – MG Motors
EV1: The Electric Car That’s Buried in the Desert
In the early 1990s, General Motors wanted to explore the Electric Car Market. They designed and built the EV1. The EV1 was a stylish two-door coupe available in a range of colors. GM leased the cars to consumers for $250 to $500 a month. Unfortunately, it cost GM approximately $340,000 to build each EV1. The lease payment would never allow the EV1 to be profitable.
So, GM recalled all of the EV1’s in the market. The cars were transported to Arizona and crushed. The crushed remnants were buried somewhere in the desert. About 40 cars were spared and can now be found in museums or research facilities. Occasionally, parts of the cars are offered for sale.
Sources – San Jose State University and Motor Trend Magazine
Animal Car Names
Car companies like to use animals to name their cars. Some of the best-selling cars in the world are named after our furry friends. Here is a list of some of those cars:
Wolf
Cougar
Badger
Raptor
Mustang
Stingray
Colt
Falcon
Marlin
Road Runner
Tiger
Cobra
Barracuda
Viper
Fox
Rabbit
Blackhawk
Pinto
Bison
Cheetah
Firebird
Jaguar
Mustang
Cougar
Sable
Wildcat
Sunbird
Robin
Impala
Puma
Concept Car Names
Each year at auto shows worldwide, car companies “test the waters” with concept cars. These cars feature cutting-edge designs and interesting new features. Here is a list of concept car names that didn’t make it to production:
Caimano – Alpha Romeo
Up – Volkswagen
Y-Job – Buick
Modula – Ferrari
Furai – Mazda
Norseman – Chrysler
Margarete Rose – Volvo
Downtown – Fiat
Gina – BMW
New – Toyota
Ray – Kia
Aqua – Volkswagen (A combination Car and Hovercraft)
Scrambler – Subaru
Zeo- Dodge
Eye – Fiat
Frenzy – Renault
Nucleon – Ford (This concept featured a uranium reactor)
Gallardo – Lamborghini
Bird Cage – Maserati
California Cruiser – Chrysler
Monster – Saab
Land Glider – Nissan
Nagare – Mazda (Japanese word for flow or stream)
Centurion – Buick
Honey-B – Peugeot
Track Trainer – BMW
Levacar Mach 1 – Ford (Also a combination Car and Hovercraft)
Wow – Honda
Hurricane – Jeep
Groove – Chevrolet
Debutante – Cadillac
Copperhead – Dodge
Hypnos – Citroen
Tapiro – Porsche
Bulldog – Aston Martin
Clever Car Names
You want your car name to reflect your personality and your car’s personality. Pick out something clever and memorable. Here is a list of clever car names:
Boomer
King of Chrome
Speedy
The Doominator
Jack the Cadillac
Carzilla
Iced Lightining
Little Red Corvette
The Chairman
Surfer Dude
Vlad the Inhaler
Heavy Chevy
Swifty
Highway Star
Fly by Night
Going, Going, Gone…
Max Power
Street Storm
Eat My Dust
Speed Hunter
Red Line
Dodge Ball
Need for Speed
Shifty
Porsche Pacer
Rubber Burner
Tennessee Earnie Ford
Grimm Reaper
Street Shadow
Hellon Wheels
Luke Streetwalker
Speedy Dan
James Bondo
Hot Rod Lincoln
The Streak
4 x 4 Monster Truck Names
Who doesn’t like to see a subcompact crushed by a Monster 4 x 4 Truck? Ok, well, some of you probably don’t. But you can’t beat the flamboyant names for these bruisers. Here are the names of some real and fictional trucks:
Axe Grinder
The Crazy Crusher
Dark and Dangerous
Maximum Pain
Fire Breather
Metal Pedal
Wizard of Wheels
Big and Bad
Dragon’s Breath
Gear Grinder
Truck of Mass Destruction
Tidal Wave
Iron Sides
Junkyard Dog
Bad News
Monster Masher
Grave Digger
Cannibal Crusher
Wheeled Warrior
Stand Back
Unidentified Crushing Object
T-Wrecks
Swamp Thing
Mega-Death
Sasquatch
Bad Car Names
Many consider the Ford Edsel or Pontiac Aztec the ugliest car of all time. In a similar vein, there is no shortage of awful car names, including The Thing, Probe, Ka, Lettuce, Le Car, Mysterious Utility Wizard, Pacer-is-Better, and Titan Dump.
By Tim Moodie
Tim Moodie loves cars. For his 65th birthday, his wife gave him a 2003 BMW Z-4 convertible. The car is named “Herman the German” (although it was built in Greer, South Carolina). Even at his advanced age, Tim enjoys cruising around town with the top down. The “Racy Renault” was the name of his car in college.
Encore
You are on our Car Names page.
You might like: