Quote. London, Mon. - Forty-seven per cent of British motorists regularly talk to their cars, giving words of encouragement ahead of a long trip and lavishing praise for a job well done at journey's end.


A survey of 2,000 owners also found 40 per cent thought their car had a personality and was capable of being upset, while 19 per cent worried about how their car was feeling.

The poll, conducted by organisers of July's British International Motor Show found women rather than men tended to have a close relationship with their car. Giving a pet name to their car but not their human partners was admitted to by 20 per cent of women.

Drivers in the southwest worried most about their car's feelings(36 per cent); the Welsh were the least to attribute a character to their vehicles (28 per cent); while the taciturn Scots least enjoyed a good natter with them (26 per cent); and half of all cars on East Anglian roads rejoiced in a pet name. - Reuters
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