Ask Patty Automotive Advice for Women Blog Carnival: August 21st

Welcome back to our blog carnival. Last week we took a drive around the doggie world as far as automotive was concerned and this week we are taking a trip with women and their cars! Jump on in for the ride!

Vauxhall just launched the new Agila, a trendy new sub-compact vehicle targeted at women. Vauxhall says the new model, due to go sale in March, is aimed specifically at women car buyers looking for a practical, versatile and funky city runabout – and it’s eco-friendly as well. I’m not sure what a “runabout” is but it sounds like fun! Is it like shopping?

Kara Stefan of the Disney Family blog talks about her first car buying experiences: “I remember the first time I haggled to buy a car. It took 6 hours, and I had my 6-year old son with me. He was an active little guy, racing around the showroom making car sounds. I'm proud to say he made the process as trying for them as it was for me.” Makes us bring up a good point: Shouldn’t car dealers offer kids’ play areas? I think this should be a requirement for opening a dealership.

Fresh Alloy has some great points about bad experiences at dealerships. According to their post, “We know that once you park your car and step onto the dealership lot, you will be on the defensive against every known sales trick in the book. And if you’re lucky to survive the initial onslaught, actually find the car you want, and think you got a ‘great deal’ – because the salesperson said so – you always leave and wonder if you really did.” Other than a root canal, most people find these to be the most exasperating experiences, when all you really want is for buying and servicing a car to be fun or - at the very least - painless!

According to Channel 4 News and a survey, women place the environment towards the bottom of their priorities when buying a car. But the survey, which looked at women's attitudes to motoring, showed there was more concern among the under-40s. Hopefully, campaigns will make more motorists aware of both the cost, and climate change advantages, of modern, cleaner engine technology.

In February, Autoblog Green wrote a post about the long history between women and electric cars. I'm thinking now that my focus was too narrow; women and green cars in general deserve a closer look. The Des Moines Register, for example, had an article earlier this year about a Meredith Corp. survey that showed that fourteen percent of women buy ethanol. Wow! That’ s a lot higher than we would have guessed.

CarBlabber is getting more and more reviews every day! Recently women reviewed the Smart Roadster and the Ford Fiesta Zetec. Holy foreign cars Batgirl! Amanda Jane, owner of the Smart, said “I bought this car because as a single woman, I don't need much else than 4 wheels and a seat. It's small, VERY funky, stylish, nippy to drive and can handle itself on the open roads as well as being an extremely capable city car.” She also reviewed her first Fiesta, stating, “I loved my little Fiesta and would definitely have another one.” Go Amanda!

Have you ever thought it would be super cool to buy a new car and do the negotiating through text messages? Misanthrope much? Well either way.. Text4Cars.com has answered that prayer. You can look for a car and if your car profile is not currently listed, the Buyer can opt for free text message alerts to be instantaneously and automatically notified when their dream car is entered in the database. Super cool! Too bad it’s only in Canada so far.

That’s it for this week! Thank you for all of your submissions! Make sure to submit next week! Please remember to submit your article using the online form or by emailing Ask Patty at info@askpatty.com .