Jill Lajdziak
General Motors
Saturn General Manager

Tuesday July 11th I attended the Los Angeles Motor Press Guild monthly luncheon with John Rettie, former President. ( Thank you John). The main speaker was Jill Ladjziak one of the highest-ranking women in the automotive industry. Jill was appointed Saturn division general manager in March 1999. In her current position, she is responsible for the brand’s sales, service and marketing operations.

Jill's passion, enthusiasium and vision  came through loud and clear and provided a rare opportunity to "get emotional" about the car business.

Ask Patty interviewed Phyllis Foro this week about her career in the automotive field and her thoughts on the car buying experience for women.

Phyllis Foro is a 20 year veteran of the automotive industry
and consultant to many car dealerships in the Northwest

Ask Patty: Tell me how and/or what made you decide to enter the automotive industry as career choice?

Phyllis: My husband dared me to get a real job after 13 years as a teacher/administrator in California and Oregon.  One of his friends came over for dinner and showed us his new Mercedes (price tag over $40K…..late 80’s) He said it was the worst sales experience he ever had…and he paid cash!  The root cause was the sales consultant did not listen to the wants and needs of the customer….hence the entire transaction was stressful!  Hence, the beginning of the Phyllis story…teaching in another way…..

Teaching accident avoidance keeps kids alive.

By Sarah Lee
Sarah Lee Marks is a certified, licensed vehicle sales professional in Southern Nevada.

When I asked Jeff Payne, Henderson resident and founder of Drivers Edge how it all began, he gave me that “aw shucks maam” look that belied his Indy race car days. “I always wanted to be a race car driver. At 17 I went to the Jim Russell Racing School in Riverside, California. The experience was so rewarding I went to work for the racing school full-time.” At 21, Jeff began his competitive driving career in Europe and Japan. He earned the respect of his peers among racings’ elite inner circle. When he wasn’t competing, he taught his brand of driving techniques to the well-heeled Hollywood crowd; including Tom Cruise, Jon Bon Jovi, Charlie Sheen and JFK Jr.

By
Amy Mattinat
Auto Craftsmen Ltd
Automotive Experts LLC

Hurricane season is upon us again. This is a great reminder to make sure you thoroughly inspect a used car before you purchase it. You don’t want to be one of the estimated 200,000 unlucky consumers that will purchase a flood car this year.

Katrina alone destroyed more than 600,000 vehicles. Once a flood car is cleaned up, they can be hard to spot. Flood vehicles can have significant mechanical problems, and electrical problems that may not be immediately evident, but will cause ongoing problems for the rest of the car's serviceable life. Mold growing in hard to see places can also cause chronic health problems for you and your family.

Most flood vehicles are declared total losses by the insurance companies and are given a salvage title. These titles (depending on the state) are marked with a coded letter or number, or the words "salvage" or "flood." They are usually sold to junkyards and broken down and sold as parts.

But some flood-damaged vehicles will be repaired, cleaned up and make their way back onto the used-car market. There is no one sure way to detect a flood car, but here are some quick checks that you can do yourself.

For Tips to avoiding a flood car continue reading....

Paulette Asks:When I went to jack my car up the jack point bent and pushed up into the car rather than jacking the car up. Is this safe to drive? It is a 1998 Mercury Villager

Robert Farago the founding editor of www.thetruthaboutcars.com interviewed Jody DeVere, President of AskPatty today. He's a freelance automotive journalist whose reviews and rants are published by RIDES and SMOKE magazine and www.jalopnik.com.

Here is a quote from the article:

"I seriously doubt that there’s a female automotive perspective– even when it comes to child safety and minivanning.  So when I saw a press release about a new female-oriented automotive website, I decided to do what it said on the tin: Ask Patty. "

Any comments to Robert would be appreciated.

Click Here listen to the podcast and comment on this post 

Ask Patty

As a devout female NASCAR fan and promoter of women race car drivers in all series.... it seems appropriate for me to vote Disney and Pixars movie CARS as one of the most entertaining movies I have seen in years.

CARS captures NASCAR fans and their over the top 'religious experience' spectacle with almost too real accuracy which only a true NASCAR fan like myself can appreciate. It's been years since I belly laughed so much during any movie! The only missing piece for me would be at least one female driver in competiton for the Piston Cup.

I can't wait for this to be released on DVD to add to my collection.

Listen to my podcast on women in motorsports to learn more on this topic:

Click here for full article and podcast

Jody DeVere
Ask Patty
jdevere@askpatty.com

By J. Kim Tinkham 

Road trip! Recently, my husband and I drove from Texas to California for a family wedding. Yes, I know, most of you would ask … why drive when you can fly? Flying is not anywhere as pleasurable as driving. I love to drive on trips especially when my husband is at the wheel. When I fly I have to look halfway decent and wear makeup and be careful about how much luggage I take. You can’t take your closet full of ‘just in case’ shoes when you fly. When I fly I can’t take my shoes off and sit cross legged in the seat. I can’t paint my toenails or type away at my laptop while listening to audio books. Flying doesn’t necessitate me looking at roadmaps trying to determine how long before we reach the next rest stop or the next Starbucks. Instead of boarding the plane in Dallas and flying the three short hours to place San Francisco I chose to share the 30 hours driving with my husband and our dog, Max. We packed a cooler and filled it with our favorite beverages and things to make sandwiches and even things for our sweet tooth. We purchased long running audio tapes that would not only entertain but educate. It was an absolutely wonderful trip. The destination may have been California but the end result was a huge quantity of quality time whisking by scenery, feeling the heat of the Mojave, stopping at rest areas with signs marked ‘watch for rattlesnakes’ and talking, talking, talking. Many of the rest areas we stopped at even had computer hotspots for wireless laptops so I was even able to check my emails during my trip! Flying may be convenient but nothing can compare to a road trip across America.

Never wash your vehicle in direct sunlight if you can help it.  If your vehicle has been in the direct sunlight give it a few moments to cool off.  The water, soap, and cleaners can react differently on a hot surface rather than cool.  This also goes for hot wheels.  Some cleaners will not stain or streak your wheels if cool but if hot from driving you take the chance they will stain or streak (read your labels).

If you have experienced a vehicle purchase lately I would like to hear from you.  Was it a fun, exciting, joyful experience? Or was it scary, intimidating, and frustrating?

As you may know I am writing a book called 'Well Wheeled: Women Taking Control of Their Car Buying Experience".  In order to get as much anecdotal evidence as possible we would love to have you take our Well Wheeled Survey.  After you have taken the survey please share your experience with the rest of us.  By sharing our experiences and what we did (or wish we had done) we can educate other women.  It's also a great way to vent!

Believe it or not, many people don't think women are treated any differently from men when they go in to buy a vehicle.  What do you think?

Post your comment below!

Kim Tinkham