Characters and Cars

While thinking up a new character’s background the other day, I realized that I put a lot more thought into what kind of car she drove than what color her hair was or where she was from. I had to stop and wonder where this need for a unique car came from. In order to answer that question, I ran through the list of books that have had a big impact on my writing and found that almost every single one of them had their main character tooling around in a memorable vehicle. More importantly, these writers masterfully used the vehicles to lend substantial depth to their characters in a more natural way than using pages of inner dialogue.    

Here’s a quick list of the characters and vehicles that came to mind.

 Patricia Brigg’s puts her leading lady, Mercy Thompson, in a VW Rabbit. It makes total sense since Mercy is a VW mechanic. However, it also pokes a little fun at the fact that the character is a shape-shifter who can turn into a coyote. The Rabbit is a vehicle that can’t be brought to just any kind of mechanic (not that Mercy would need another mechanic since she can fix it herself) and was a bit of a fixer-upper when Mercy first acquired it. To me, this is a great reflection of Mercy’s uniqueness and that she doesn’t play nicely with everyone.

 I can’t think of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files without bringing to mind wizard Harry Dresden’s little Blue Beetle. I love that the character has to practically fold himself up just to fit in the car but refused to get rid of it. Butcher could have given Harry any car but instead assigned the wizard with a compact car that was seemingly out of place with the wizard’s big ego and even bigger frame. However, the use of the Blue Beetle really works for the story since, like Harry, the car is battered and barely runs at times yet still manages to (mostly) get the job done.

Kim Harrison’s series about the witch Rachel Morgan is another that comes to mind when I think of strong characters and their memorable cars. Here, however, the vehicle is linked with the roommate to the main character. Ivy Tamwood is a living vampire that exudes animal magnetism and lives on the edge. It only seems natural that she zooms around on a sleek motorcycle, enhancing her character’s sex-appeal. 

 

Stepping away from urban fantasy and more into the land of the mystery novel, Janet Evanovich puts a twist on her character, Stephanie Plum’s ownership of vehicles. When Stephanie’s cars get blown up or flattened by a dump truck, she always falls back to the impenetrable Big Blue, a ’53 Buick previously owned by her late uncle. Though Stephanie seems to loathe the car, readers love it and know that things have gotten dicey (or desperate) for the main character whenever she is forced to drive the boat of a car.

Okay, now I know this is a post about books, but I can’t help but at least throw in a quick television reference. There is absolutely no way for me to think about Supernatural without conjuring up the sleek image of the ‘67 Chevy Impala. Not only does the Impala reflect the mental states of the two main characters of the show, it’s actually become a character unto itself and has even been given its own name, the Metallicar, by fandom.   

This is a fairly short list so I’m sure I’m leaving some characters and their cars out. Let me know if you can think of any other memorable cars from books that help to add depth to their drivers.