Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / A Girls Guide to Cars: Driving Change, One Story at a Time

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A Girls Guide to Cars: Driving Change, One Story at a Time · BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show

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BreakFix podcast is all about capturing the living history of people from
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all over the autosphere, from wrench turners and racers to artists, authors,
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designers, and everything in between.
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Our goal is to inspire a new generation of petrolheads that wonder How did they
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get that job or become that person?
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The road to success is paved by all of us because everyone has a story.
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Born as a community of writers, influencers, friends, and women
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who buy, care for, and live their lives in and around their cars,
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Their own car, the family car, and often the cars of family members.
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A Girl's Guide to Cars is dedicated to sharing car purchase information,
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experiences, and stories told from personal points of view and focusing
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on what is important in a fun, smart, advice from your best friend sort of way.
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A Girl's Guide to Cars brings together the insights and views of writers and
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reviewers who share their unbiased, honest, and personal narratives
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about cars and their lives in cars.
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And with us to talk about this rapidly growing platform and share some great
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stories is Managing Editor, Sarah Lacey.
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Thank you for having me.
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It's great to be here.
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So like all good break fix stories, we always say everyone has a story.
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So let's talk about the origin story behind A Girl's Guide to Cars.
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How did it all get started?
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What's the who, what, where, when, and why behind A Girl's Guide to Cars?
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The founder, Scottie Reese, was approached to develop this website back in 2013.
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And at the time, you know, she liked cars and enjoyed cars, but didn't
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really have an enthusiast perspective.
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And so she was invited to collaborate on this website.
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She wasn't really certain that it was a thing that she wanted to do.
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And after kind of going away and thinking about it and doing some research, she
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was really struck by this statistic that 85 percent of car purchases
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are made by or influenced by women.
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And that got her really thinking about, wow, how do manufacturers, how do
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dealerships communicate with women, and how can I facilitate a more comfortable
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relationship with women in cars?
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Then, is A Girl's Guide to Cars a digital magazine?
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What services or features does it offer?
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It is a magazine.
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And, you know, we have all of our articles that are posted there daily, usually
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update three times a day with either news or reviews or, you know, travel pieces.
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So we have that, but then we're also on YouTube at a girl's guide
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to cars on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, you know, all of that.
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And we just started making our content available on Microsoft start.
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We also share our articles with peer wow and parents.
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com.
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So.
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We're trying to kind of make our stuff available everywhere.
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How is the content broken down?
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Are there different categories?
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What would I find there if I was going to a Girl's Guide to Card for the first time?
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If you went there, you would see just our main page that's
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got our most recent posts.
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And that might be a review.
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It might be travel tips.
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We do podcasts and playlist recommendations.
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So it's a little bit of everything.
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But then of course, we do have the searchable bars at the top
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where you can look for reviews.
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You can look for travel articles.
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So if there's anything in particular you're looking for, if you're looking
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for a particular make or model, if you're looking for a three row
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SUV, you can search that way too.
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Do you have standing authors that are contributing to girls guide to cars?
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I know I've seen Anika Carter contributed and she was a previous
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guest on the show as well as Elizabeth Blackstock, who is a Jalopnik writer.
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You invite folks and they come in or out.
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Or do you have like a standing crew that are always there in
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the background with guests?
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Writers.
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Yeah, that's a good question.
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You know, it's mostly built of freelance writers.
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We welcome lots of different types of writers into our environment.
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We do have like some travel bloggers and we do really pride ourselves in this is
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something that you want to break into.
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If you want to learn how to write about cars and talk about cars
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and learn about cars, we're really happy to help you with that.
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We do have writers such as myself, like you mentioned, she's back at Jalopnik now,
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so we don't have access to her writing.
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As much as we would like, but we do try to keep people coming back regularly.
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Some of our writers right now that we're really excited about are
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Kristen Shaw and Jill Simonello.
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If those names don't sound familiar to you, they will soon because they are
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embarking on a journey with the world.
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The rebel rally, and they've been sponsored by Hyundai and they're driving
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a Santa Cruz in the rebel rally, which is an off roading navigation type rallies.
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You'll be seeing probably some pieces by them and about them
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after the rally wraps in the fall.
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So that's pretty cool.
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That is definitely very cool.
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Look forward to checking out some of those articles.
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We had any listeners that their interest is being peaked right now and
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they wanted to contribute an article.
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Is there a process for that or how would somebody do that?
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Yeah, we do actually have a tab on the website that you can click on that
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it's under the about us section and they can just click on that outlines
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how to become a contributor and kind of puts forth our expectations and
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basically fosters the conversation for us to bring new people on board.
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That's awesome.
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Yeah, thanks for asking that.
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We like contributors.
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So I pulled a thread out of there, which was I heard you
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guys also cover motorsports.
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We are getting better at covering motorsports.
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Like a lot of automotive related content, we're working at finding people who Enjoy
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that subject, whether it's NASCAR, hot riding, whatever, and really writing about
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it more in a way that brings people in and helps people understand why our writers
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are passionate about those types of races.
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So it could be something informative, like one of our favorite posts recently
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was how to attend race that was fun.
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Like I said, we're going to be covering Jill and Kristen coming up and we want
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to expand, but we want to do it in a way that brings our audience in and doesn't
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alienate them, not unlike all of the other types of articles that we post.
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And we've talked about this before, especially on our drive thru episodes.
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Right now we're on the precipice.
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Of an awesome revolution in the motor sports world.
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There's more and more, not only just female drivers, but all female
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teams coming on the scene with the work that Beth Perretta is doing.
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And then just recently at Le Mans with the Iron Dames running their Ferrari.
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I mean, that's got to draw in the female motorsport enthusiasts as well.
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Absolutely.
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And I think, you know, there are some pop culture moments with
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the formula one drive to survive program, bringing people into it.
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So I think that kind of lays a nice foundation.
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And if we can work with that and kind of create that language and.
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bring that viewer in and talk about other types of racing formats.
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We would love to do so, but we also want to do it in a way where we have
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experts talking about it and helping people learn and understand what those
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different types of races are about.
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Before we move on into the next segment of our talk and get deeper down into the
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conversation around a girl's guide to cars, I want to share something with you
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that I found really recently and it might not be the earliest girl's guide for cars.
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But it's the earliest one I've ever seen, and she was a previous guest on
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our show, and I didn't know this existed until I unearthed it just last weekend.
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And this is published in 1984.
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This is Lynn St.
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James's car owner's manual for women.
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Oh my gosh.
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Oh, how cool.
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Wow.
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What a find.
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I looked at this and I said, how apropos, this must be like the
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original girl's guide to cars.
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And it's literally laid out just like a car manual that you
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would get in your glove box, all written by Lynn and all that.
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I thought this was just an absolutely incredible find.
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So I thought this was really cool.
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What is she talking about in there?
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Everything.
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How to change your tires, you know, the pattern of torquing your wheels,
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how to sell a car, how to buy a car.
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Oh my gosh.
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It's a hundred and 60 pages long.
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We actually reached out to her cause obviously she was on the show and
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she said, if you send it to me, there's not many of these left around.
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I will autograph it and send it back.
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Did you?
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Not yet.
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Cause I'm still, I'm still holding it.
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Did you save it for me?
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You saved it for me.
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How cool.
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You know, if anybody's interested, we're going to post
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this in the show notes as well.
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Just some photographs of it.
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So you guys can see it again.
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This is a really, really rare book, but I thought this was really cool and right
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in line with what we were talking about.
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Absolutely.
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Oh, what a fine, very cool.
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So going back to the a girl's guide to cards story in the
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introduction, we mentioned, and this is posted on the website as well.
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Women think differently about cars than men.
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So as a guy, I'm perplexed.
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What exactly does that mean?
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Can you explain it to me?
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That is a question that I get so often.
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Like, consumer is a consumer.
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You know, the thing that you should care about is the thing
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that you should care about.
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Our mantra really is cars on your terms.
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So whatever it is that you find important about a car is important
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because it's important to you.
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I think at times men tend to focus on statistics.
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They focus on the mechanics and the engineering and that is important to them.
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And obviously that's important in the function of a car.
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Women for a long time are much more consumed about life in the car.
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How is it going to function for me on a day to day basis?
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Yes, I know I'm going to get from point A to point B.
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I know that I'm going to be able to go out to my car and turn on
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the heater and have that happen.
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And what's important to me is, am I going to be comfortable?
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Am I going to be able to reach the pedals?
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Am I going to have a good cup holder?
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When I started writing about cars from a woman's perspective back in 2005 and 2006,
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it was just not okay to talk about it.
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And it took a Very concerted effort to say no, it is okay to talk about
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because I do have a beverage in my car.
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I do have kids in my car, so it is important to me how the car seats fit.
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Those are things that aren't necessarily front of mind for
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guys when they go car shopping.
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I've heard it said before that a lot of us men and women, the first thing we do
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when we buy a car is we buy with our eyes.
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We'll put a pin in that and talk about it a little bit more later.
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Aesthetics is like, I think where we both branch from and go, do
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I like the way it looks or not?
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The rest of this stuff becomes a little bit auxiliary and to your point, it
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becomes a lifestyle choice, right?
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The guy wants the horsepower and the whatever, and you're
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looking at other parts of it.
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You started writing at a time, you know, in the, in the early two
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thousands when a lot of things were changing in the world of car seats
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and ergonomics and things like that.
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And just to bring up a factoid in the German car world.
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Cup holders were really rare, even to that point, because in Germany,
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there were laws that said you couldn't have those sorts of things in the
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car, so adding them in for the U.
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S.
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market was awkward and clumsy, and so they just did it to do it.
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We've evolved in the way we buy.
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In the same way that the manufacturers have evolved to
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keep up with the way we buy.
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So it's a, it's a little bit of a tug of war there, right?
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Absolutely.
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Absolutely.
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And whenever there's an innovation that takes place, there is a push pull between
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the consumer and the manufacturer.
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You know, I say, I want.
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a nice cup holder, or I want a double stroller to fit in the trunk, or whatever.
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I don't think it's a matter of the manufacturer not
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wanting to make it happen.
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It just tends to not get listened to, at least back in the day, it
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wasn't listened to as much just because it wasn't front of mind.
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So in a way, when women start writing about cars, it starts creating that
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change and the manufacturers go, Oh, to your earlier point, I didn't know that
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was a thing, but now I know it's a thing.
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So let's see what we can do to bring it to life.
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It's a very symbiotic process.
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I think more than adversarial.
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And it probably helps more as time progressed in the
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history of the automobile.
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And now in modern day, there's more women also that are in the room and
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the automotive manufacturers, right?
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So they can have a say, but 50 years ago or whatever, all the men in their suits
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at Ford, there were no other women there.
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They weren't.
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Giving opinions, right?
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They didn't care.
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They only saw it from, you know, their perspective.
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You're so absolutely right.
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And women in the room has affected a lot more than just
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some basic creature comfort.
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You hit the nail on the head.
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When someone is in the room, who's been taking her kids to practice and sitting
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in the parking lot for an hour and a half at a time, while the kid goes and
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does gymnastics or baseball or whatever, that's a different way of being in a car.
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And the person in the room can articulate that and help people understand
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Why it's important to have some additional features that would make
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that way a little more comfortable.
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Definitely.
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For sure.
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If we go back and look at the articles on a girl's guide to cars, and
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I've read a few myself, and I think they're quite refreshing because it
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is that different outlook on things.
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I do get slightly tired of the standard industry rags where it's this
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shootout competition and drag race.
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And you know, what's your lap time at the Nurburgring.
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I'm like, I don't really care anymore.
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You know, They're all getting beat by Tesla's anyway, so it doesn't matter.
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So when I read your guys articles, I do see that other perspective.
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And then I start to wonder what are some of the most important
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topics that you guys are covering?
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You know, your audience isn't me, it's Tanya and other women out there.
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So what are those pillars that you're trying to focus in on?
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A massive interest is occurring with electric cars and electric vehicles.
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And a lot of people are wondering things like, when are we going
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to see three row SUV EVs?
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So EVs are huge.
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Wanting to feel better about your car purchase from an
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environmental standpoint is key.
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A huge topic.
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I think another huge topic is driver safety features and
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systems, driver assist systems.
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How do those work?
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Are they standard?
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And what is standard even mean these days?
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A car with standard X, Y, Z features meant that that car just came with it
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and now we have all these different trim levels and what standard on this
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Nissan Leaf is going to be different than what standard on that Nissan Leaf SL.
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What am I getting?
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When I buy a certain trim level of a car, am I getting those safety features?
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Yeah.
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Unfortunately it becomes a bunch of badge engineering and alphabet soup, right?
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When you get down to it sometimes.
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Absolutely.
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And we work really hard and I think it makes our articles more understandable
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and more readable and more functional.
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Because we take a lot of the capital letters out kind of normalize a lot
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of one manufacturer might use one acronym for say blind spot mitigation.
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So we just say it's a blind spot management system.
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It kind of creates a normalized language.
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So when you're reading the article about.
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This car and the article about that car.
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You can compare terms and know that we're talking about the same thing.
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I think you'll have a lot of content in this subject area for a while.
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Cause if you've heard how BMW is piloting subscription features for
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like heated seats and, and adaptive headlights, high beam headlights.
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So now you're going to have your audience confused of like, so what's in my car?
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There's heated seats, but I can't use them.
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I have to pay for them.
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I had it last month.
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Why don't I have it this month?
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And what is the thing?
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And I think that's such a good point, Tanya.
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And I didn't even think about going forward, kind of managing
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your features on a regular basis.
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I had this and now I don't, or I want this.
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And how do I keep it?
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That's going to be an interesting experiment to keep track of.
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There's a question about whether or not American consumers will tolerate that.
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We'll have to see, we already have 10, 000 subscriptions to everything else.
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Right.
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And we talked about this on our drive thru episode.
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And part of it has to do with the economics of building a car.
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And to your point about those trim levels, if you think about BMWs from a
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strategy perspective, it makes sense.
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They build one car with all the features and then you decide what you want rather
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than building 16 trim levels and you don't know what you're getting to your point.
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So you just go, I bought.
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And M3 and it comes with everything and I turn on and off,
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a la carte, what I want today.
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I want heated seats for three months.
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I pay an extra two bucks when I don't, I turn them off.
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I mean, it's silly from a manufacturing perspective.
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I totally get it because unfortunately the bean counters are in charge, right?
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And we've learned, we've learned that we are all a lot more trainable
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about that than we thought, right?
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A hundred percent.
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I hate to say it, I hate to say it, but I will.
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This actually dovetails into a really great question on this show.
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We have a sub series called what should I buy?
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You know, we have shopping criteria.
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Somebody comes to the table and says, I want to buy a station wagon and a
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panel of us get together and we kind of chew on the idea until we come up
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with suggestions that the person likes.
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We've done collector cars.
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We've done Italian cars.
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We've done ugly cars, all sorts of things.
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I started thinking about it.
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And if we were to set one up for a girl's guide to cars, what would be
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the top five things that women look for when they're buying a new or
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used vehicle that let's say we could use in a, what should I buy episode?
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That's a great question.
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And I think it's a little tough to answer because it's like
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painting and broad strokes.
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By and large women.
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Tend to like cars with light interiors.
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They tend to like large storage areas for their purse.
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Like in a center console, they want those safety systems.
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As I mentioned earlier, they want to not be shamed for liking
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a car because of its color.
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You know, we were talking about that a minute ago.
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You know, you want to, you want to like what you see.
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You want to like what you look at.
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You want to come out to your car and you want to feel
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proud and excited to drive it.
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So those are some, some main features, but I do think that women
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more and more are really excited about some luxurious details and
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manufacturers that haven't always been paying attention to that before.
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And I think EVs are giving some manufacturers an opportunity to
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integrate some of those things.
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You know, we're seeing little crystal bezels and features that
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are just really luxurious to the touch and not feeling plasticky.
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I think those are some of the big pieces for the ladies out there.
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So pivoting off that, are there brands that you're seeing
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that cater more towards women?
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Or which of those brands would you say are giving those extra features that
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women are really gravitating towards?
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I want to call back what you said earlier.
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There are a lot more brands that have women in executive positions.
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Chief officer positions that just kind of bring the whole entire brand on board.
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One of the interesting product launches we saw was infinity did a marketing campaign
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with their SUV, where they basically built this whole story around Claire and
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Claire live life like Claire, you know, and they really looked at the life of a
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woman who wanted to drive a luxurious SUV.
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Car, where did she live?
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Where did she go?
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What did she do?
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And you know, Kate Hudson was at the forefront of that marketing campaign.
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So infinity has been really dialed in.
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I would say Genesis is really an up and comer with that too.
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I've tested a few of their vehicles.
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Now I had the GV 70 and then I went on the launch for the electrified
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G 80 and I loved how adjustable everything in the car was.
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I loved that they were Ford.
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Just making every surface feel great, not skimping on things.
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They have features like ambient noise that makes you just feel like
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you're at the spa and very Zen.
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These are coming from brands that maybe haven't focused on that before.
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Someone had mentioned Volvo.
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I think.
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Volvo has always been very attentive to women.
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And part of that is because they're so dialed into safety.
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So they want to make sure that anybody in the car is having a quality experience.
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And they've included women in that historically.
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Everyone's getting a lot more on board and are very excited to hear feedback
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from our reviews, from our test drives.
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What did we like?
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What worked?
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what didn't work.
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I love that.
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It's making me very happy to say that there's not just this brand or that brand,
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that it's a more sweeping and inclusive feeling from just about everybody.
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And I think the interior comments are even more important today as electric
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vehicles kind of removed a lot of things from the consoles and whatnot.
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So there's a lot more room now for the designers to do different things
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that haven't been done in the past.
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And it's funny because it's Oh, man, 10, 15 years ago now, it was funny.
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There was a young lady I knew, and she actually said that when she went
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to go buy a car, she didn't actually care what it looked like on the outside
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because she was spending all of her time looking at it from the inside.
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So it was very important to her when she was testing different
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cars that the interior.
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Was aesthetically pleasing and like you've been saying has all whatever
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comforts and adjustability that they need.
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And so now like full circle, it's like she would probably still have that today,
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but even have even more choices for prettier interiors and things like that.
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There's, there's market now for that area.
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I love that you said that Tanya I'm in the midst.
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I'm having a moment right now of, and the market is too, of recognizing
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that people don't necessarily want what I call the Jetsons car.
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They don't.
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Necessarily want that minimal, spacey, weird looking.
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Ev and I went on the launch for the, as I mentioned, that Genesis, the
21:34
electrified G 80, and one of the things that they were talking about is that
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it's essentially, it is the G 80 and it's just got the electric powertrain, right?
21:43
There's no difference in the interior between the electrified
21:47
G 80 and a regular one.
21:48
And they were saying that they didn't feel like they really had
21:51
any competition in that department.
21:53
at this time, most EVs in terms of their interior look and feel, they all were
22:00
kind of going in this EV direction.
22:03
And Genesis was like, yeah, but what about people who don't want that?
22:06
We're going to talk to them.
22:07
So you've been reading my mind this whole time.
22:09
Cause I was thinking that myself and I've commented more than once.
22:12
My biggest issue with EVs is that that you sit inside them and they
22:15
all feel like an Ikea showroom.
22:17
They're extremely utilitarian and very simple and they lack the creature
22:22
comforts that we've gotten used to.
22:24
To your point, we've also said that it was going to take time for the
22:28
major manufacturers, especially the luxury manufacturers to catch up.
22:31
So Genesis being the luxury arm of Hyundai, but then you have.
22:35
Audi and Mercedes coming to the table with, let's call them more
22:39
normal looking cars as well.
22:40
Yeah.
22:41
What's the difference between the e tron GT and let's say the RS7.
22:45
They're very similar cars when you come down to it or, or, you know,
22:48
the Taycan or anything like that.
22:50
So you get inside the Audi and you feel like you're in an Audi.
22:53
You don't feel like suddenly you stepped into, I hate to say it, like a Nissan
22:57
LEAF, something that's much simpler, you're going to see a lot more of that.
23:01
To your point, people are going to turn away from the simplicity factor and
23:04
they don't want cars that look funky.
23:06
They want something that looks classy and refined.
23:08
Yeah, and I think that a major point there too is the fact
23:12
that we now have battery power.
23:14
And the range that's extended that now we don't necessarily have to
23:19
lighten everything up kind of like, well, we have a little bit more power.
23:23
So now you can have some of these other things that we thought we had to take out.
23:27
I mean, early on with EVs, it was absolutely a necessity to try to.
23:31
Kind of eliminate all this stuff that was going to suck the battery power.
23:34
And now, you know, you can go 280 miles on a charge.
23:38
So maybe you can have some of those heavier weighted knobs that feel nice to
23:44
turn and, and all this, and you don't have to rely so much on just a touch screen.
23:48
And what we don't want to end up though, is with a 9, 000 pound plus Hummer.
23:54
That's the scary part of that.
23:56
It says you Eric, it says you.
23:59
Maybe I totally want that.
24:02
Underlying here.
24:03
We've mentioned some of these manufacturers.
24:05
There's two in particular that have stuck out to me over the years that not only
24:09
do they have women in the boardroom, but they have all female design teams and
24:14
those clock in at Volvo and at Hyundai.
24:16
Hyundai, again, being the parent company of Genesis.
24:18
To Tanya's point earlier about are there automotive brands
24:22
that cater more to women.
24:23
That adds some more of those features that you guys are looking for.
24:27
I think those are two in my mind that really stick out.
24:29
Absolutely.
24:30
Absolutely.
24:31
And I'm excited.
24:32
I'm so excited about that because I think automotive is really good
24:37
at the rising tide lifts all boats.
24:39
And I also think it's fair to say that what women want men want
24:43
to, you just don't always want to say it out loud in front of your
24:46
friends, maybe, but I will say that our readership is 35 percent male.
24:52
You know, the things that we think guys don't want, turns out that maybe they
24:56
do, or they will take that in addition to the horsepower and the torque.
25:00
And the other things, I want a cup holder.
25:02
Also, I want my big gulp too.
25:07
Are you seeing a trend with your audience?
25:10
at all in terms of what type of car you're talking about that.
25:14
Is it convertible, coupes, sedans, SUVs?
25:17
Are there anybody out there still want a wagon?
25:20
No.
25:22
To my heartbreak.
25:24
I know I love a wagon.
25:26
I was a wagon owner.
25:27
I had a Saab nine five wagon that I just loved until she broke my heart.
25:33
SUVs, SUVs.
25:34
All day long are the vast majority of what our readers are looking for.
25:39
And so I think because SUVs have kind of replaced the minivan as the family car.
25:46
Van life forever.
25:48
If you don't have a station wagon.
25:52
You should have a van.
25:53
You should, you should, but you're not, you're not gonna nobody's doing that.
25:59
You know, it was funny.
26:00
I just gone on vacation to Italy and I loved how many station wagons there were.
26:06
This is station wagon heaven.
26:08
I love it.
26:08
All brands.
26:09
Yep.
26:10
Little ones, big ones.
26:11
I was just like, for some reason, not meant to be here as smart
26:15
as it is, as great as it is.
26:18
It just, they can't get traction and keep it with the exception of the Outback.
26:22
That's true.
26:22
You tell me, I don't know.
26:24
The last wagon standing.
26:27
That's going to be their slogan at Subaru for the next 10 years.
26:30
There's always going to be a wagon.
26:33
We always have the wagon.
26:34
We always have the wagon.
26:36
Are you differentiating at all between SUVs and this hot new trend that's
26:41
been the last couple of years of the.
26:42
Compact crossover SUVs.
26:45
Have you seen a difference yet or are people gravitating when,
26:48
or is it just too early to tell?
26:50
Don't have the data.
26:51
It's too early to tell, you know, what I will say, I think people don't
26:55
always attach to those designations.
26:57
You can be like, Ooh, that's a compact crossover.
26:59
And they're like, well, it's just a small SUV.
27:02
I think, yes, people are liking those.
27:05
To a certain degree, more than they're going to buy a small sedan.
27:08
Yeah, they're going to buy that.
27:10
I don't know that people are consciously thinking, gosh, I really
27:14
need something that's smaller than my CRV, but bigger than my Corvette.
27:20
You know, I mean, I don't know.
27:21
I don't know.
27:21
I just feel like sometimes.
27:23
Manufacturers do tend to throw something out there and see if it sticks.
27:28
I have to say that when I first started writing, I came to automotive
27:32
writing at the dawn of the crossover.
27:34
So it was the Chrysler Pacifico is just coming out and The Ford Freestyle, if you
27:41
remember that, it was kind of this weird time where people are like, is it a wagon?
27:45
Is it a truck?
27:46
What is it?
27:46
Is it a SUV?
27:48
The language merges and people start shopping just
27:51
for what it is that they need.
27:53
Definitely.
27:53
And I think if you've been watching Eric's facial expressions, you know
27:57
his opinion of compact crossovers.
27:59
Tell me, tell me, Eric.
28:01
We use all these fancy words to say hatchback with a six inch
28:05
lift because that's all it is.
28:07
You take a VW Golf.
28:09
And put it on stilts.
28:10
That's it.
28:11
I don't get it.
28:12
But you know, if you call it an all road, then somehow it doesn't do well.
28:16
I don't know.
28:17
I hear you.
28:18
I might even be on board.
28:20
I've got a pit stop question for you.
28:21
Okay.
28:22
It's a derivative of other ones, but it's really important in the
28:24
context of this conversation.
28:26
There's one vehicle on this planet that most people agree is probably like
28:30
the worst car, ugliest car, whatever.
28:32
And that's.
28:33
The Pontiac Aztec, some of us hold this vehicle in high regard.
28:38
It was ahead of its time.
28:39
There's all these arguments that can be made back and forth.
28:41
So whether you love it or you hate it, but I've been asking this question
28:45
lately, which is if the Aztec, if you look at all the things that it came with.
28:50
As one of the early crossover SUVs, right, came out in 2000, even before you
28:55
started writing, if it was introduced today, would it be better accepted?
29:00
I'm going to think out loud about this and I might ask you a question back.
29:05
I'm not entirely sure because I don't see a whole lot of Honda elements
29:10
still out there as glorious a fan following as they had people think they
29:16
want a thing sometimes when they're given that thing that will manifest
29:21
all their camping, hiking dreams.
29:24
They might not actually wind up using it for that when push comes to shove and
29:27
they're thinking about buying a vehicle that will do those things, they don't
29:31
do it because they're like, Oh, I maybe I'm not actually going to go hiking.
29:34
Maybe I'm not gonna go skiing as much as I thought maybe.
29:38
So that's me thinking out loud about it.
29:40
So let me ask you this question since you said that, then why the SUV craze?
29:44
Because if we're talking about people space and cargo space and family space,
29:49
the wagon and the van are smarter choices.
29:52
If you don't live in an area where it snows six feet a year or something like
29:56
that, you need to charge through that.
29:57
What are you doing carrying around all that extra drive train and the bulk and
30:02
a lot of SUVs aren't that roomy inside.
30:04
There's very few of them that offer third row that aren't the size
30:08
of a suburban or an expedition.
30:10
You know, the Durango is an exception or now I guess the, the Wagoneer
30:13
or whatever you want to call it.
30:14
So I guess the same question applies to those folks.
30:17
Why are you buying that SUV?
30:19
If what you're looking for is people's space.
30:22
I will say that I think that the SUV is popular because there's
30:26
the inclement weather fear that people buy into with the SUV.
30:31
I think the SUV, you can get people in there.
30:34
And if you are carrying kids around, you're going to have stuff.
30:38
So your point is not lost on me that there are wagons, there are hatchbacks,
30:43
there are cars that can do the same, but if you're going to spur of the
30:46
moment, not go camping, but maybe you're going to invite your kids
30:50
baseball team to pizza after the game.
30:53
And some of those kids don't have a ride or their parents
30:56
are going to go do other things.
30:57
So can you blah, blah, blah.
30:59
There's more of the people moving factor that I think plays into it.
31:03
And again, the van.
31:04
Hands down, right?
31:05
You have the deep well in the cargo area of a minivan that you don't have in an SUV
31:10
that can bring all the gear and all that.
31:12
It's not even that there's one factor that finally got my wife
31:15
to cross the bridge to van life.
31:17
And we should have done it years ago because she was a hatchback girl.
31:21
Then she went to wagons.
31:22
Then she got her first SUV and she really didn't like it.
31:24
And we finally got a van and what did it.
31:27
The one thing that a van still has over every other vehicle,
31:31
because it already has third row, it already has the deep well for
31:33
luggage, all the creature comforts.
31:35
Some of them have vacuum cleaners in them, right?
31:36
They got everything you can think of what they have over all other
31:40
vehicles, especially people movers are sliding side doors and with
31:45
kids getting them in and out.
31:48
I don't care what SUV you have and how cool it is, nothing
31:52
beats those sliding doors.
31:53
They are amazing.
31:54
It's so funny you talk about that.
31:55
Scotty and I were talking about that, like, especially at the
31:59
dawn of the crossover, like that was this big opportunity to just
32:03
kind of normalize sliding doors.
32:05
Why did that not happen?
32:07
You know, you're, you're putting vacuums in the car.
32:10
You can put refrigerators in the car.
32:13
You can certainly put a mechanism to slide the door open and
32:16
closed for a little while.
32:18
I think it was at the Mazda five that did that.
32:20
It was kind of that little mini minivan.
32:23
And I thought for sure, I'm like, Oh, They're on to something.
32:26
This is going to happen.
32:27
This is going to be a thing.
32:28
And I'm on board with you, Eric.
32:30
I agree.
32:30
I think the sliding door is to God's end.
32:33
I don't know why it's just relegated to minivan life only.
32:38
Since we're talking about that, we didn't answer the Aztec question and that's okay.
32:42
We shouldn't, we're just going to leave it there.
32:44
No, I totally want to answer that.
32:46
I totally want to answer that by the way, cause I was thinking out loud, right?
32:49
So I will say if the Aztec were invented or brought back to life today, given that
32:56
there are a lot of people looking at van life and working remotely, I'm going to go
33:00
out on a limb and say it would be a hit.
33:03
Is that edgy?
33:05
Yeah, no.
33:05
And edgy is the right word because we are back in a time in car design
33:09
where angular You're so right.
33:13
That's what I was gonna, I was gonna go with a yes also because all those
33:17
sharp, weird lines fit in today where they felt out of place back then.
33:22
Absolutely.
33:23
Everything in the early 2000s was still a carryover from the 90s.
33:27
Very marshmallowy, very round.
33:29
The Aztec came at a time where it was like, what?
33:32
I don't get it.
33:33
By the way, a little bit of trivia.
33:34
The same guy that designed the Aztec is the guy that designed the C7 Corvette.
33:39
So just do the math on that.
33:43
All right.
33:44
You know, one was during a fever dream, the other wasn't.
33:49
You know, we've been skirting around this other, I don't want to call
33:52
it issue, but there's this moniker that was bestowed upon certain
33:56
cars over the last hundred years.
33:59
And that's The mom mobile, right?
34:01
And maybe that's the problem with minivans.
34:03
That's the stigma that's attached to them is that they're a mom mobile, right?
34:07
Just like the Outback could be a mom mobile or whatever have you.
34:11
Does that concept still exist today in 2022?
34:15
Is there a new mom mobile out there?
34:17
I know there's probably a couple that Tanya could offer up as suggestions.
34:22
Tanya, are you going there?
34:24
Do you want me to go to the ID Buzz's momobile?
34:27
I think so.
34:28
I think that's a number one candidate for the next generation of momobile.
34:32
I don't know if I would have chosen that, but I wouldn't rule it out.
34:35
I mean, it's electric.
34:37
It carries people, the thing about the ID buzz, and it's something that we're
34:41
seeing with a lot of brands, right?
34:42
This kind of revival of their heritage models, right?
34:46
Broncos, you can go on and on and on the ID buzz.
34:50
The thing that makes it maybe more palatable and less mom mobile
34:53
is the fact that it has this treasured past as the micro bus.
34:57
You think surfers, you think road tripping.
35:00
It doesn't really necessarily evoke this whole mom mobile stigma.
35:05
That being said, when we write now, when we write now, when we do, when we do that
35:16
about cars that formerly would have been considered mom mobiles, typically just
35:20
refer to them as family cars, because fundamentally it might be the mom's car.
35:25
During the week, but dad's certainly you're driving everybody around
35:29
on the weekend or moms and moms and dads and dads and whatever.
35:34
So it's a more utilitarian title and not quite as mom shaming mom
35:40
mobile, but you're absolutely right.
35:42
I mean, there is.
35:43
There's certainly a point in time in which the mom mobile was kind
35:46
of this very unsexy tag that really gave women pause about when they
35:51
went to go and purchase a minivan.
35:53
I think there might be less of that now, but it certainly would explain
35:57
the popularity of the SUV because the SUV seems a little more individualistic
36:02
and rugged and not quite so mom ish.
36:04
I think you hit on something, Eric, that I never really thought about before until
36:10
you just said it now, because I don't.
36:13
Think about minivans.
36:14
I've never needed to think so in depth about them, the stigma.
36:18
So the first minivan came out in the mid 80s, right?
36:23
The Dodge Caravan.
36:24
It saved Chrysler.
36:25
Yes.
36:26
Lovely square.
36:28
Classic Dodge Caravan.
36:30
The 80s.
36:30
I mean, that was an interesting time for women in the workforce and everything.
36:36
And you were starting to see them want careers and climb the
36:39
ladder and things like that.
36:40
So to say, go buy this mom mobile, it would have been off putting
36:45
because I did have a professor who would have been out of college.
36:49
First job in that timeframe had gotten married, was starting to have kids.
36:53
Her husband had suggested back then.
36:56
Oh, you should get a minivan, get rid of your BMW, whatever she had.
37:00
And her answer was basically, hell no, I will never have a minivan.
37:04
Don't put that on me.
37:05
So I'm wondering, you know, maybe there was a bit of that, like the
37:08
career woman didn't want to be put down in that way with the minivan.
37:13
Yeah, that's held the minivan back.
37:15
I want you to write that article for me.
37:20
That is brilliant.
37:23
What she's saying is we need to elevate the minivan now.
37:26
It needs to have a resurgence, a rebirth, a renaissance.
37:29
You know, I think that that has been tried.
37:31
Remember, Toyota had their whole swagger wagon campaign for the
37:35
Sienna for a long time, and Yeah, but that's, that's so lame, though.
37:39
Yeah, I know!
37:41
They gotta take the top gear approach.
37:42
Like they always said, the fastest car in Britain is a Ford Transit van.
37:46
Boom!
37:46
Done!
37:46
And then you get everybody excited about it.
37:48
Yeah!
37:50
I really, I'm Really enjoying that line of thinking, Tanya, that really the
37:55
minivan showed that the career woman was doing something other than just
38:00
being the career woman or not being able to have the career woman car, but
38:05
also have the minivan, which wasn't.
38:08
As compelling and sexy and great and all those things, this is what
38:14
happened to the sliding doors.
38:15
It all started had not been stigmatized with mom mobile.
38:19
We all have sliding doors.
38:21
Now we know.
38:22
Now we know.
38:24
I mean, I'll say this.
38:25
I have no shame in driving my wife's van.
38:27
Okay.
38:28
Stop right there though.
38:29
You just said that you have no shame in driving your wife's van.
38:34
Why isn't it your van, Eric?
38:36
Why isn't it your van?
38:37
Our van.
38:38
You should say our van.
38:41
Our van.
38:42
Driving our van.
38:46
So I'm going to put it this way.
38:47
We have a lot of cars and there are definitely cars that are my cars and
38:51
then she is territorial about her car.
38:55
The van is hers and she refers to it as Her car.
38:58
So I refer to it as her car as well.
39:01
That being said, I have no shame in driving her minivan.
39:06
And I tell you what, it's a Pacifica hybrid.
39:09
I will embarrass some people at traffic lights.
39:11
I have fun with that thing because it puts all the power to the ground immediately.
39:15
And then it's got 330 horse to back it up.
39:18
I mean, you get that breadbox move at it.
39:22
There's no better way to put it.
39:23
I love it.
39:24
I love it.
39:25
I love those kind of like those sleeper things.
39:27
And for the guys that are listening, I mean, you got to try
39:31
some other cars because there's some fantastic stuff out there.
39:34
I'm with you guys.
39:35
I brought up the whole momobile concept because you know, there's been other
39:38
cars to like sports cars that have been set over the years that well, like the
39:43
Camaro was really designed for women.
39:45
If you're a guy and you want a muscle car, you buy a Mustang and
39:47
you look at the statistics and more women bought Mustangs than men did.
39:51
Oh, interesting.
39:52
All that nonsense for me goes out the window.
39:54
I think cars are asexual, but I think it goes back to that.
39:57
thing we were talking about when we buy cars, we buy with our eyes, right?
40:01
It's all about the aesthetic.
40:03
I've also heard it using the metaphor that cars are like women's shoes because there
40:08
aren't a lot of diversity in men's shoes.
40:10
It's like black shoe, brown shoe, lace up shoe, slip on shoe, right?
40:13
It's pretty basic.
40:13
But when you look at women's shoes, handcrafted, they evoke emotion.
40:18
They're used for different purposes.
40:19
Maybe you're going to a wedding or graduation, or you're going
40:22
to work, or you're going camping.
40:23
You know, there's like five things.
40:24
50 million different styles and the same is true of cars.
40:27
It makes me wonder using one of our all time favorite pit stop
40:31
questions, Sarah, is there a sexiest car of all time for women?
40:37
Does that even exist?
40:39
Is that how cars are viewed?
40:41
Like from your perspective?
40:42
You know, that's a good question.
40:43
And again, it's, it's kind of getting into that dangerous territory
40:47
of painting and broad strokes.
40:49
So I don't know that there's a, Fundamentally, hands down, all women
40:54
think this car is sexy type of car.
40:56
I can tell you what I think is a sexy car.
41:00
I would say that the Mercedes SLS AMG.
41:08
We laugh because Tanya loves fences.
41:11
So you guys are good.
41:13
No, I have, I have, I've said that car multiple times.
41:19
No way.
41:20
I love it.
41:21
It's got everything.
41:22
It's all of the pieces.
41:24
It's exotic.
41:26
There's touches of color.
41:27
There's, Just a beast of an engine.
41:30
There's going doors.
41:31
I mean, oh my God.
41:34
That's pretty much usually how I go through the spiel too.
41:37
Yeah.
41:40
Maybe the ladies do have something in common.
41:43
I will say I was thinking about this a sexy car guys.
41:48
Is a clean car.
41:49
Can I get an amen?
41:51
Yes.
41:51
Those cars that look like someone's been living in it for 30 years.
41:58
Oh,
42:02
out of the cup holder.
42:04
Yeah.
42:05
I'm not even going to get into details, but yeah.
42:07
So speaking of details and detailing, do you guys cover car care and detailing
42:12
and maintenance and things like that as part of a girl's guide to cars?
42:15
We do.
42:16
We have quite a few posts.
42:18
regularly about caring for your car.
42:20
One of the things that we always advocate for is like on Mother's
42:24
Day, a great Mother's Day gift is to go and get the mother of your
42:28
child's car washed and detailed.
42:31
Cause it's just such a nice feeling to come out to your
42:33
car and have everything tidy.
42:35
And it wasn't a chore that you had to put on your own plate to do.
42:39
Some of our most read posts It's our car care posts and how to
42:43
buy tires, tire maintenance.
42:45
When do you need new tires?
42:46
Those posts are incredibly popular too.
42:48
They consistently do really well for us.
42:51
Our issue, like so many other outlets is always just, can we create more
42:57
content more regularly for those types of posts, but moving into each
43:01
season, we do usually say how to get your car ready for like now, how to
43:05
get it ready for fall and winter.
43:06
What do you need to take out?
43:07
of your car that you may have had in there for the summer that
43:10
you won't need for the winter.
43:11
And what do you need to put in there?
43:12
Always fill up windshield wiper fluid.
43:14
Always, always, always, always check your tire tread, that sort of thing.
43:18
Season to season.
43:19
We have different needs.
43:20
Your other recommendation for mother's day, it's like a spa day for the car.
43:24
So you got to think about that or something.
43:26
Again, I think I've just found my two new writers.
43:33
I love it.
43:34
So if we go back to the question of aesthetics, and again, you can answer this
43:38
personally, you don't have to generalize for the larger female population, but
43:41
is there that Birkenstock of cars, you know, that ugliest car of all time?
43:46
And the Aztec doesn't count.
43:47
We've already talked about it.
43:48
Ah, well, you know, it's funny because I think the car that I think is one of
43:55
the ugliest is also such a gateway car.
44:00
For modern vehicles, and I hate to name it because it's kind of now maybe
44:06
getting a little retro cool, but I'm going to say it the AMC Eagle sedan.
44:12
It is not.
44:14
Oh, for way back in the day.
44:16
Yeah, did you?
44:17
Oh, sorry.
44:17
Did you, did you mean like something?
44:19
Oh, no, no, no.
44:21
All time.
44:21
Okay.
44:22
Of all time.
44:22
Cause that, that's a great call.
44:24
And a lot of people forget about that.
44:26
That was one of the last AMCs before they were completely
44:29
absorbed into Chrysler and Jeep.
44:31
So it's pretty cool.
44:32
You bring that up.
44:32
In Colorado, they were really popular because they were four wheel drive and
44:38
you know, they had the ground clearance.
44:39
So you didn't have to buy a Jeep or a Scout or a Wagoneer.
44:42
You could get this.
44:43
Cute little sedan.
44:45
And then it was like, but is it cute?
44:47
I don't, I don't know.
44:49
It's kind of weird.
44:50
And the dimensions are kind of strange and that brown color.
44:53
So nice.
44:54
And that brown color and my friend had one and it had plaid seats and it was
45:00
just a visual cornucopia of weirdness.
45:06
I have to give it props for laying the foundation for Subaru.
45:11
I mean, I don't know that, I don't know that we can make a definitive
45:14
connection that Subaru looked at that and said, we're going to do that.
45:17
But it blazed a trail and with consumers that, oh, you can have
45:21
this kind of car and it actually would really work really well.
45:25
It was yet another great idea that maybe just couldn't last through
45:30
the market doing what it was doing.
45:32
So here's another pit stop question for you.
45:34
Yeah.
45:34
As we lead into our final segment, if there was one lady from the automotive
45:39
world, whether it's industry, whether it's from the aftermarket or from
45:43
the motor sports world, whatever, who would you like to sit down and have a
45:47
glass of wine with and discuss cars?
45:50
Is there somebody on your list?
45:51
Like one of your female heroes?
45:53
Oh, just one.
45:54
Oh, I mean, give me a list then.
45:56
Well, okay.
45:57
So I grew up learning about Michelle Mouton who drove Audi
46:03
up the Pikes Peak Hill climb.
46:05
I just really admire her.
46:07
And I just think she was such a trailblazer, pardon
46:10
the pun, but she had sass.
46:13
She had confidence.
46:15
She was a hell of a driver.
46:17
And of course to do it in that car.
46:19
It's just what a story.
46:21
You know, there's, there's a woman who is still writing and very
46:26
active and her name is Sue Mead.
46:28
And she's always written from an off roading perspective.
46:33
She's a wonderful human being and an incredible off roader.
46:37
She has been in the off roading hall of fame as a journalist, but she's
46:43
Yet another person who's lifting everybody with her as she goes.
46:48
And she recently participated in one of the first all woman rally races.
46:53
Well, she didn't participate, but she supported racers in an all woman rally
46:57
race in Saudi Arabia called the rally Jameel and she's just incredible.
47:02
And she's.
47:03
Friendly and wonderful and so inspirational because she
47:06
started her riding career.
47:08
I think she said she was around 40 when she started.
47:11
She's very inspirational to me.
47:14
Yeah, those are two.
47:15
Those are two that I can think of off the top of my head.
47:18
Speaking of motorsports again.
47:20
So how do we engage or invite more women into motorsport?
47:24
How do we do that through your articles?
47:26
Or are you guys leaning in that direction at all?
47:29
How do we put more women in the seats?
47:32
I feel a bit that that is a community mandate.
47:35
It starts with people being willing to talk to us and bring us in and teach us.
47:42
You know, we want to teach our readers.
47:44
We want to pass that passion on.
47:47
So when we find a writer like Annika, for example, you know, she's super
47:51
excited and very enthusiastic and you can read that in her writing and we
47:56
want to be able to answer the questions.
47:59
And I think oftentimes motor sports.
48:02
Can feel so intimidating because I don't know about horsepower.
48:06
I don't know about torque.
48:07
I don't know displacement and gear ratios and all these things that you think
48:11
you have to know in order to enjoy it.
48:13
And fundamentally to bring more people to motor sports, it's letting
48:18
them know that you don't have to have that technical knowledge.
48:21
You have to be excited about a racer.
48:24
You have to like, Maybe the smell of the track, when you get out there
48:27
and you can smell the exhaust or the tires, it's making people understand
48:32
not unlike bringing women to cars.
48:34
It's okay to like a red leather interior say, you know, it's
48:39
okay to like this for the driver.
48:41
It's okay to like this because you want to go and sit out.
48:44
On a Saturday afternoon with your family and see what happens.
48:48
You don't have to know anything technical, anything specific other than that.
48:53
Like a lot of things, it's just kind of about making people feel
48:56
welcome and that whatever it is that they like about that particular
49:00
motor sport, that that's enough.
49:01
So the future of a girl's guide to cars, is there ways people can help?
49:06
You know, they're hearing about this or getting excited.
49:08
They want to, you know, help the cause.
49:13
Or do you guys do anything to help promote charity events or
49:17
fundraising or things like that on the flip side, both ways helping?
49:20
Yeah, you know, one of the things that Scotty is great at bringing people in.
49:26
She really embraces if you love cars, but maybe you don't know how to write
49:31
about cars, we can help you with that.
49:33
We are happy to help you with that.
49:35
So let's talk about if this is something that interests you and
49:39
that you can passionately engage in and write about for our readers.
49:43
So in joining the cause of bringing motorsport, Go to a girl's guide to cars
49:48
and read the articles that are there.
49:50
We are always working to attend races and create more content
49:54
about those particular events.
49:56
Oftentimes we just don't have the people.
49:59
If you are showing us that this is something that's important to you by
50:02
reading what's there, asking questions.
50:05
This is a great opportunity for me to know that there are people
50:09
that want to read about it.
50:10
So, you know, just have me on here a lot more.
50:15
Shameless self promotion, shameless self promotion.
50:18
We've got a, what should I buy episode with your name all over it.
50:22
Yeah, for sure.
50:24
Well, and you know, I, you know, oftentimes people just don't, even
50:27
I, I don't know how much people want to read about certain things.
50:31
So being here really is helpful for me to know that there is an
50:34
audience out there who wants to read.
50:35
To read from our perspective about different races and different rallies
50:39
and different kinds of motorsport events.
50:41
Absolutely.
50:42
And we've had the very good fortune of meeting a lot of women in motor
50:46
sports from, you know, the McReynolds sisters who are in motocross to Lindsay
50:50
James and everybody in between where we want to capture those stories.
50:54
We want to get people to understand and recognize that it's not just
50:58
a bunch of dudes in the paddock.
50:59
Like many people have said, when we talk about diversity in the paddock,
51:03
which goes beyond gender, right.
51:04
And race, religion.
51:05
and color and everything else.
51:07
If you don't see yourself there, you know, that reflection as an example,
51:12
you don't feel like you belong there.
51:15
And so it's difficult, I think for diversity in general, in motor sports to
51:19
say, how do we break those walls down?
51:22
How do we make it more inviting?
51:23
And I think you guys are making the right steps in the right direction, wanting to
51:27
be there, going there, having to be there.
51:29
People like Anika and Elizabeth who writes motorsports articles
51:32
for Jalopnik and things like that, being present, being there.
51:35
And one thing I want to remind the women listeners that are listening to
51:39
this episode is everyone is welcome.
51:41
That's the one thing that we're always championing here at GTM at
51:45
Grand Touring Motorsports is that motorsports enthusiasm has no boundary.
51:49
If you get excited about motorcycle racing or drag racing or go
51:52
karting, or maybe it's, you know, world challenge racing with SRO or
51:55
whatever, have you go to those events.
51:58
Go Absolutely.
51:59
Not only are you satisfying your curiosity, you're helping to perpetuate
52:04
motorsport because as the fans have turned to, well, I could just
52:08
watch it later on my DVR and on TV.
52:11
That whole realness of racing has left when you look around the
52:14
grandstands and they're half empty.
52:16
So being there as part of it and that, then again, you see yourself there and now
52:21
other people see themselves there as well.
52:23
And that's really, really important.
52:24
So we always want to remind people of that and bestow that upon them.
52:28
We.
52:28
We do have a series called What Drives Her on a Girl's Guide to Cars, and we
52:32
interview women who own their own garages.
52:35
We interview women who run racetracks.
52:38
We interview executives.
52:40
So it is an opportunity if you're interested to know and understand just
52:44
how many people send that same message.
52:47
Just come, just come.
52:48
You're welcome.
52:49
We want you here.
52:50
That certainly solidifies.
52:52
That message for us.
52:53
I think what you guys are doing is really important.
52:55
And, you know, yes, we were talking about the motor sports and all that,
52:58
because obviously we care about getting just in general, the more
53:02
people that are engaged in the sport, we'll keep it alive for years to come.
53:05
But just even in everyday life.
53:08
Cars have always been boys play with cars and girls play, you know what I mean?
53:12
So like that, there's been that ingrainment.
53:14
And so as you get older and suddenly you have your first car and you need to go buy
53:19
your first car, you're treated a certain way when you walk into the dealership or
53:23
into the mechanic shop to fix your car.
53:25
So, you know, by you all creating these articles that are helping to
53:29
explain how to go do this and how to go to that and what to look for, you're
53:33
empowering women to feel more confident.
53:35
To go to these traditionally male dominated, if you will, areas, right?
53:41
Environments.
53:43
Exactly.
53:44
And so I think that's really important, you motorsports, but just everyday
53:48
life, what you guys are doing and these articles that you're sharing.
53:51
Thank you.
53:52
It's so validating to hear that.
53:53
And it's validating all the time when we have the numbers that we
53:56
see of people reading our articles.
53:58
But the idea of cars on your terms, it's so true and it's okay.
54:03
You know, it is empowering to know that the things that are important to you
54:07
are valid, whether or not they're valid to the dealership or whatever other
54:12
environment you're in, in the car life.
54:14
I will say this.
54:15
I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by strong women in my life.
54:18
And hopefully my daughters will be that way as well.
54:22
There is nothing more entertaining than watching either my
54:26
mother, my sister, or my wife.
54:29
Go to a dealership and buy a car.
54:31
I don't have to say a word and stand back and just watch the fireworks go because
54:35
all three of them coming from, you know, either being in the car world, racing
54:39
world, or exposed to it, they got their guns out when they go to go buy something.
54:43
And it is just hilarious.
54:44
I mean, I've seen some sales reps be like, Oh my goodness.
54:48
And I'm like, you don't mess with these ladies.
54:52
I love it.
54:53
I love it.
54:53
I, I detect a podcast tips, tips and tricks.
55:00
My mom's favorite, her staple is she walks in the door and
55:03
asks, does it come in a manual?
55:04
And they say, excuse me, ma'am, did you say manual as in transmission?
55:08
She goes, yes.
55:09
Does it come in a manual?
55:10
And they inevitably say no.
55:11
And she turns around and walks out the door and leaves.
55:16
Her reasoning is I never learned how to drive an automatic.
55:19
That's a riot.
55:20
So, I mean, it's just like, they just lay it out there.
55:23
She's like, we're not going to waste time.
55:27
I love it.
55:28
We focused a lot on a girl's guide to cars and we didn't talk about
55:32
your journey as a journalist and coming into the automotive world.
55:35
So I want to wrap that up in a single question.
55:38
So if a young lady came up to you, Sarah, and said, I want to do what
55:42
you do, I want to write about cars.
55:44
I want to do this kind of job.
55:45
What would you tell them?
55:46
What steps would you tell them to take?
55:48
What lessons have you learned that you could pass on to these young
55:52
ladies that might be interested in following your career path?
55:55
First I would say we can do it together.
55:57
There are so many people in this business who are willing to help other people.
56:02
So fundamentally, always ask.
56:04
Ask the question.
56:05
Ask for help.
56:06
Make it known what you want to do.
56:08
That's first second.
56:11
And these seem like esoteric sort of things, but one of the most difficult
56:17
things I think it is to learn in this business and, and in a lot of them.
56:21
In many ways, one thing that I am working with my writers with quite a bit is owning
56:27
your expertise, whatever level that's at.
56:30
As women, we tend to say things like, well, I kind of think
56:35
this, and it might be that.
56:37
And so and so said, this is a great car.
56:40
And I tend to agree, no, you have a knowledge base.
56:44
You are an expert and people are coming to you for this information.
56:48
Own it.
56:49
Talk confidently, be brave.
56:52
We will help you do this.
56:53
It's a matter of learning how to know that, you know, enough kind of
56:58
that classic imposter syndrome thing that we all fight from time to time.
57:03
But I think young women particularly can fall victim to it and.
57:08
Not even want to start something because they feel like they don't belong.
57:11
So the first thing they need to do is say that this is a thing that they want
57:15
to do and find the people who are going to want to help them in that journey.
57:19
Cause they're everywhere.
57:20
Sarah, any shout outs, promotions, or anything else you'd like to share
57:24
that we haven't covered thus far.
57:26
Oh my gosh, this has been such a wonderful experience and I hope you'll have me back.
57:31
And in the meantime, you can find me at our website, agirlsguidetocars.
57:36
com.
57:36
Again, we're on Pinterest, we're on Instagram, we're on
57:40
YouTube at agirlsguidetocars.
57:42
com.
57:43
We have lots of videos and articles everywhere just waiting for you
57:46
to come read them and come see us.
57:48
A Girl's Guide to Cars, their mission, to empower women to
57:52
be smarter, happier car owners.
57:54
Women think about cars differently than men.
57:56
So why should they talk about them, read about them, and
57:58
evaluate them the same way men do?
58:00
A Girl's Guide to Cars brings a natural and engaged conversation
58:03
about cars to you, pairing it with empowering information, tactics,
58:07
and strategies to ensure you make a smart and comfortable decision.
58:10
They also empower the auto industry to develop a closer, more meaningful
58:14
relationship with their female customers.
58:16
To learn more about A Girl's Guide to Cars, be sure to log on to www.
58:24
agirlsguidetocars.
58:24
com and that's girls with an S or follow them on social at A Girl's Guide
58:29
to Cars on Facebook and Pinterest.
58:31
At a girl's guide to the number two cars on Instagram at girls guide to cars on
58:38
Twitter and their YouTube channel, Scotty.
58:40
She buys cars, so we can't thank you enough, Sarah, for coming
58:44
on the show, sharing with our audience, the story behind a girl's
58:48
guide to cars and helping us.
58:50
Get the message out there to this ever growing audience, males and females alike.
58:55
And we really do appreciate everything you're doing to
58:57
bring a whole new perspective, a whole different set of eyes.
59:01
Again, giving that unique perspective from behind your steering wheel.
59:04
Thank you so much for having me.
59:05
I've loved every minute of it and I hope to be back soon.
59:08
Definitely.
59:09
We can't wait to have you on another episode.
59:12
Thank you.
59:13
It was a pleasure to meet you both too.
59:15
And I hope you have a great rest of your night.
59:17
This was such a blast.
59:18
Thank you.
59:19
You too.
59:20
Bye.
59:26
If you like what you've heard and want to learn more about GTM, be sure to
59:29
check us out on www.gt motorsports.org.
59:33
You can also find us on Instagram at Grand Tour Motorsports.
59:37
Also, if you want to get involved or have suggestions for future shows, you can call
59:41
or text us at (202) 630-1770 or send us an email at Crew chief@gtmotorsports.org.
59:49
We'd love to hear from you.
59:51
Hey everybody, Crew Chief Eric here.
59:53
We really hope you enjoyed this episode of Break Fix, and we wanted
59:57
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