The Gender of Cars

Disclaimer: the following is not intended to be sexist or gross, but simply research.

A friend and I were discussing the gender of cars and some other non-living objects last night and she (<-- keyword there) claimed to have always referred to cars as guys. I informed her that this was incorrect since cars were obviously females, judging by their anatomical characteristics (if you don't understand this, here's a hint: the gas pumps are the dudes...meaning, yes most cars have "been around the block a few times"...literally and figuratively). She had never heard this analogy and thought it to be outrageous.

So I gave her examples of other things (most of which she had also not heard) that were referred to as male or female, based on their shape and function, such as power plugs, nuts and bolts, plumbing fittings, and many more. She considered the whole thing to be rather sexist, but I think it is simply a naming convention that most will understand to make these parts easier to reference. So by this logic, if we're going to give a car a gender, shouldn't it be female? (Sorry, Herbie).