My '87 Westy has had a name change, from Silverado for its somewhat
silver color, to Toasty because of how warm it gets inside now that I
had the thermostat replaced.  :^)

My other car was named Sapphire by my girls for its beautiful blue
color.  My last car, a VW Passat, was originally given the appellation
of Black Jack, but I finally had to cave in to my Dad's suggestion of
Pissant after 10 months of mind-melting torture from one problem after
another.

BTW, this from my Dad, a folklorist:  When trying to decide what to name
your vehicle, how do you tell what sex it is?  Simple.  You look between
its back wheels!

Happy Friday y'all,
Marc Perdue

80 Westy Pokey wrote:

> Well after searching for a name for my syncro, I did what I
> should have done in the first place... I talked to the
> original owner. My van's name is SIMBA, named after a film
> about a big lumbering African lion.
>
> Sailors rarely change the names of thier ships as it is
> considered unlucky. In respect of this tradition I kept the
> name for my old van "Pokey" named for the similarly coloured
> pal of Gumby, not a comment on its speed or acceleration.
>
> Since I can live with Simba the syncro, I think I'll continue
> the tradition of not renaming the van, besides part of
> Simba's low price was due to minor deer damage on the
> passenger side. While I don't know if there are deer in
> Africa, I do know that Simba is a hunter. The name stays.
>
> Like many thins on the list, we've covered this topic before.
> There is a similar "Nickname" thread going on type 2 right
> now as well. But my Topic for Friday is:
>
> Why is your van named what it is?
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
>
> 1980 Air Cooled Vanagon L Westfalia "Pokey"
> 1986 Waserboxer Vanagon GL Syncro Westfalia "Simba"