. . . it's kind of fun to find the character of the car and express it in a name. In the animal arena, for example, my late Maine Coon cat was named "Arizona" -- he was large, sandy-colored, and with the general prickliness of a cactus.

I nicknamed the 420SEL "The Tirpitz", after the famous German battleship, because (duh) it was big, grey, and German. I considered "Bismarck", but that would have been too many letters for a vanity plate. (Though I have my limits: I never really considered getting a vanity plate that read "Tirpitz". Too many historically-challenged people would have asked me, "Why'd yuh name yore car 'Tar Pits'?")

The little gold C230 is still too new for a nickname, though its sturdy little manner has led me to liken it -- if the 420SEL was a thoroughbred -- to a quarter horse.

__________________
* *
-- Paul W. (The Benzadmiral)
('03 Buick Park Avenue, charcoal/cream)
Formerly:
'97 C230, smoke silver/parchment; '86 420SEL, anthracite/light grey; '84 280CE (W123), dark blue/palomino