'Betty Hot Box': The ridiculous names Kiwis have for their cars

As 2018 rounds to a close, you no doubt have your holiday getaway on your mind.

Maybe you have a good old Kiwi road trip planned, where you'll pack your loved ones into the car, grab some Twisties and L&P for the ride and have an epic playlist loaded.

No Kiwi holiday road trip comes without holiday traffic, where you'll sit bumper to bumper with a number of unfriendly looking cars.

But have you ever stopped to consider just how much the owners of these cars might actually really love them? To the point they've bestowed them a name?

Petrol station GAS ran a nationwide survey to find out what people call their cars and some of the results are nothing short of hilarious.

While "Betty Hot Box" featured on the list, a more wholesome "Betty" and "Betsy" were the most popular names for Kiwi cars.

The name, not seen on popular baby name lists for decades, mirrors trends in the UK and the US, where Betty is also the most common name chosen by car owners.

"We didn't realise Betty was going to be so popular," said Kylie Baudet, Head of Marketing at GAS. "People quite often form a strong bond with their car, so we wanted to see if there were common names and what the reasons were behind them."

While green cars may not seem overly common, coming in second is the moniker for the famous little green frog himself, Kermit. Green beast and Gaucamole were also picks for green vehicles.

Little Bob and other names involving the word little were also revealed in the survey of 432 people.

"We received so many funny stories as to how people created their names and what they call their car – not all of them family friendly!" adds Baudet. "It's certainly given us a lot of laughs, and even some tears to read the stories."

Other titles that reveal Kiwis' flair for naming their wheels include "Mazdarati", "Stella McCARtney", "Hondaway to the scrap yard" and "Lancer Armstrong".

And there were some cutesy names as well such as "Tuatua", "Gertie", "Humblebee" and "June Bug".

When it comes to cars and gender, 61 per cent of Kiwis believe their whip is female, 25 per cent said they were driving a male and the rest said gender wasn't a consideration, it was just a car.

Asked about how Kiwis decide on a name for their car, 42 per cent of the survey's participants cited the appearance: we'll guess "Pregnant Lady Bird" is a red Nissan March. Number plates are also noted as providing a source of inspiration.

Ten of the best Kiwi car names

Ancient Beast
Beat Up Betty
Copeland's Bread
Demio Levato
Fast Kev
Kids Taxi Service
Lancer Armstrong
Peeley the Green Banana Car
Swagger Swag Car
The Pregnant Ladybird