Automobile Ownership, Driving, and Object Love

Anthropomorphizing vehicles is common among drivers. It's not unusual for car enthusiasts to assign gendered pronouns to their cars - he, she, it - and to refer to them by these names rather than simple descriptions like "my car" or "this vehicle". They may even name their automobiles, giving them personalities and assigning personality traits. This behavior might seem strange, but it's actually part of a larger phenomenon known as object love.

Object love refers to the tendency to form emotional attachments to objects that are not living beings. The term was coined by Sigmund Freud, who believed that humans had an unconscious drive to recreate early childhood experiences and interactions with parents through later life relationships.

A woman who has difficulty forming close bonds with other people may find herself drawn to her cat or dog, treating it almost like a surrogate mother. Similarly, some men may bond emotionally with their cars, seeing them as extensions of themselves and expressing feelings of intimacy towards them.

Anthropomorphism becomes a way for the driver to experience intimacy and connection when they can't achieve it in human relationships. By attributing human characteristics to their car, they can create a sense of closeness and companionship. They may also see the car as an extension of themselves, which allows them to project onto it their own desires and fantasies.

But why do some drivers feel such strong attachment to their cars? One possibility is that driving itself is a highly sensory experience, involving sight, sound, touch, and even smell. As we move along at high speeds, we are surrounded by stimuli that can trigger powerful emotions. We may associate certain sounds with our car - the revving engine, the screech of rubber on pavement - and these sounds become sources of pleasure and excitement. When we speak affectionately to our vehicles, we're expressing our desire to connect and interact with something larger than ourselves, to merge with the outside world.

Another theory is that the automobile represents freedom and autonomy. Driving provides us with a unique kind of independence, allowing us to go where we want, when we want, without being constrained by others. In the absence of social interaction, we seek solace in our cars, forming deep bonds through shared experiences. This explains why many people develop close relationships with their first cars or those with special memories attached.

Whatever the reason behind object love, it's clear that it's a complex psychological phenomenon that deserves more attention. For many people, it's a way of coping with loneliness or fulfilling unmet needs for intimacy. And while it may seem strange to outsiders, it's important to remember that there's nothing inherently wrong with attaching meaning to objects in this way. It's simply a reflection of our innate human need for connection and expression.