Ladies Start Your Engines!

Ladies, Start Your Engines! might sound like the beginning of a race on a feminist track, but really it is the beginning of a lifelong dream to help women understand more about the automotive world.  I remember back when I was wrenching on cars and female customers would come over to me to ask questions, they just seemed to feel more comfortable asking a woman. After I gave them an explanation many of them would say “you should teach a class for women.” I would smile, and go back to work.

I finally did start teaching those classes and found out that I enjoyed teaching them as much as women enjoyed taking them. After teaching this class for more than 10 years at an occasional dealership, I decided that there was enough interest to teach this class on a more consistent basis.  This year I decided to make it official and start my own business. On August 7, 2006 I launched my website, to what I hope, is the beginning of empowering women with automotive knowledge. After many years of trying different methods, I have been able to put the most important information into a 2 hr. class. Over the last 20 years I have been certified in Automotive Technology, acquired my A.A.S degree, spent 7 years working for a Honda dealership as a technician and a service manager, 3 years as an editor for Chilton automotive repair manuals and the last 6 working for the Community College of Philadelphia in the Automotive Technology program. I enjoy what I do and it shows when I teach a class. In this class women learn the basics of how an engine runs, the purpose of oil and anti-freeze, battery maintenance, the components of the braking system, how to check and change fuses and how to change their own wiper blades. The most important aspect of the class however is that every women learns how to change a tire. Since this is a hands-on class, they loosen the lug nuts, jack up the car and install the spare.