CNN found that 75% of people surveyed would rather go to the dentist than a car dealership. Most people do however love driving their new car off the dealership lot. Emotions run high when buying a new car. Never be afraid to walk away from a car deal if it doesn't feel right. On the other hand, if your questions have been answered and the deal feels right, take a deep breath, buy your car, and enjoy the drive out.

The bottom line is that it’s important to do your homework and understand the key differences between buying and leasing, so you can apply your knowledge to your personal situation.

 

I love long hair. I’ve had hair almost to my waist several times in my life. And I love to feel it blowing in the wind when I’m in a convertible. Once, on the way home from L.A., I let my hair blow out of the truck window while my husband drove the scenic route on the 101 all the way back to San Diego. It took two hours to comb the snarls out of my hair, but I still enjoyed it.

But some women aren’t that lucky, having lost their hair to chemo treatments. Pantene has teamed up with Oscar winner Hilary Swank to collect ponytails to make free wigs for women with cancer. To date, the Beautiful Lengths campaign has collected over 24,000 ponytails and distributed over 2,000 wigs through the American Cancer Society.

ARCA/ReMax cars tested at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday and Sunday, January 26th and 27th, where ten teams participated. All unofficial speeds recorded were from single-car runs. There was no drafting. Gabi DiCarlo, who in Doug Stringer's Chevy, posted an unofficial speed of 179.390.









Zohreh Vatankhah likes to race her pink Toyota while listening to Christina Aguilera. Not to mention when she races, she does so through the 'bazaar in downtown Tehran, crosses a bridge and passes graffiti instructing passersby to “Destroy Israel” and a poster of a burning American flag'. She's one tough chick.



Katja Poensgen doesn't care if people don't like that sometimes she serves as an "umbrella girl" to make a few extra bucks when she's not racing.

"Last year, just for fun, I was umbrella girl for (500cc champion) Kenny Roberts at Sachsenring," she said.

The Suzuki team had asked her if she knew anyone to do the job. When Poensgen discovered the fee she decided to name herself because she needed the cash.

"I did the umbrella girl and I got a very bad letter from a man who said 'Yeah, you should do what you look good doing and be umbrella girl for real fast racers'." But after eight years in bike racing Poensgen has got used to ignoring such criticism.

She is not the first woman to race in grands prix. A handful of others have tried to break the male monopoly over the years but none has made the podium and none has competed in the 250cc class before.




NASCAR announced today during the NASCAR Media Tour in Charlotte, NC that 20 year old Kristin Bumbera from Houston, TX will join Golden State Racing owned by Frank Jordan of Roseville, CA. Bumbera will drive the #00 for the successful west coast team in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series for a minimum of 18 races. Golden State Racing, the reigning NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Champion also holds the championship trophy for the 2006 SRL Wild West Shootout Series and since it’s formation in 2002 has won the NASCAR Weekly Series Championship, the California State Open Comp Championship and are three time Champions at Shasta Raceway Park’s Win River 150. Bumbera joins GSR teammates Eric Schmidt and John Moore as the season kicks off on April 5, 2008 in Roseville, CA.

Miranda Throckmorton will show off her star quality in 2008 when she runs the entire Midwest All Star Sprint Car Series plus ten to fifteen additional shows on the nationwide All Star Circuit of Champions sprint car series races.

If you can't catch Miranda in any of those races, she'll be pulling off the wing for non-wing sprint car races at local Indiana dirt tracks on any weekends she has available.



NHRA driver Peggy Lewellyn will appear on ESPN's Breaking Barriers, check your local tv listings. Show starts airing on Febraury 8th.

Congratulations to Deborah Renshaw and husband Shawn Parker who are expecting their first child. Parker has one child from a previous marriage, this is Renshaw's first child.

by Linda Przygodski
Contributing Editor
AskPatty.com

Welcome to the AskPatty Blog Carnival, where we provide a midweek fix of female friendly news and interesting automotive tidbits from around the blogosphere. Have you got something to share? Use the form at the end to send us your own blog bits to be included in next week's carnival! We have fewer items this week but they're plenty of fun, so we'll be a little wordier than in other episodes.


The students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn have strong opinions to share in this editorial at TheMichiganJournal.com. In their discussion of the North American International Auto show the students say "Autos should be Auto Show focus: While the age-old concept of "sex sells" is being utilized as always, and automobiles somehow have a predominantly male market, we at The Michigan Journal find it to be degrading to the women involved and, most of all, an outdated means of advertisement." Hmmm. I'm not sure I agree here. Dodge debuted their new Ram amid a crew of cowboys. General Motors serenaded their concept cars with a Gospel Choir. I don't recall being offended by anything close to what they described as "young women, most seen at the auto show press events, (dressed) like expensive prostitutes as photographers and bystanders alike order them to bend over the hood of the cars, not unlike an upscale strip club." Watch for an indepth blog on this subject coming soon at AskPatty.com

'Woman Of The Year' Goes To Ford's Europe VP Ford Europe's vice-president, Birgit Behrendt, was proclaimed as Europe's "Woman of the Year". Oh yeah, it's totally girl power! At 48, Birgit Behrendt is in charge for management purchasing for the Ford brand across the European regions. According to the Auto Channel, Behrendt was chosen for this arrangement almost four years ago in February. The 2008 Women of the Year recipient is also accountable for the second major financial credit within Ford purchasing following the Americas. Her team consists of 500 people, of which 35 percent are women. According to Arien Bongard, the editior-in-chief and head of Automotive News Europe judges, "Birgit is the only woman on the Board of Ford of Europe and is actually the only woman on the Board of any automaker in Europe." Way to go, Sister!

Driving has become a whole new adventure, one packed with products that promise to help women customize their wheels. This feature at keyetv.com showcases a broad assortment of products --from chocolate-packed kits to sweet smelling tires -- which Joanne Helperin with Edmunds.com says are "geared" towards women drivers. Helperin says, "Women are starting to take charge of their own automotive purchases. And in turn, they're going with the growing trend of people trying to customize their cars."

The Wheels on the Bus is a collection of videos, DVDs and music CDs, which teach early socialization skills such as helping, sharing, taking turns, and getting along to young children aged 2-4. What might seem like just another kid's DVD at first glance is made all the more interesting with a cast of characters that features the vocal presence of The Who superstar Roger Daltrey as the voice of Argon the Bus Driver, and Laura Hall, of Whose Line is it Anway, as the musical composer. Each DVD contains verses of the world-famous song, The Wheels on the Bus, as well as original music that babies and toddlers love. The third in an award-winning series of DVDs, this 33-minute presentation has plenty of catchy tunes, and has earned tons of awards too plentiful to name.

That "Wheels on the Bus" item reminded me of one of my own favorite children's music CDs - with an automotive twist. The first CD of Cheech Marin's Schoolbus collection "My Name is Cheech the Schoolbus Driver" was released in 1992 and again in 1997 and I played it frequently for my first son (who is soon to be 15). It's now out of print, with copies selling on Amazon for nearly $50! Cheech recently released a book version that illustrates the tale of what happens when the students who ride his school bus enter the Battle of the Bands, and are willing to try almost anything to prove that mariachi can beat rock-and-roll. The book is currently on sale online and at traditional retailers. If you're lucky enough to find a copy of the music CD, be sure to give it a listen.

Not in the mood for children's music? How about a little Rock and Roll to get your heart beating for a midweek pick-me-up? Here's a YouTube video of Queen's drummer Roger Taylor singing "I'm in love with my car." It's got a thumping beat and plenty of video of vintage autos. If "the wheels on the bus" didn't get you tapping your foot, this one should at least have you drumming your desk. Watch closely, as you'll only see Freddie Mercury for about a second, playing piano 10 seconds after the video starts. After that, it's all Roger and cars.

This week's pink car is a stylish, old-fashioned design with authentic detailing--and unlike other pink cars we've shared in the past -- you can actually obtain this one. It features a durable solid steel frame, functional steering wheel, and rubber tires and chrome hub caps. Turn your daughter into a car gal early with this pink pedal car that will let her imagination (and feet) run wild.

Super Bowl is approaching and I’m disappointed that my Chargers won’t be playing. But that won’t stop me from watching the game. And many other moms will be joining me, too. A new survey indicates that up to 80% of moms will watch the Super Bowl and 60% will watch just for the commercials. I’m one of those. But like 76% of the survey respondents, I don’t think Super Bowl ads are targeting moms.

Moms control a large part of family purchases: food, clothing, and cars. And marketers are getting the picture. They’re contacting the A-list mom bloggers and organizations like BlogHer. But what about the advertisers during the Super Bowl? They’re still looking at the male fans, forgetting that moms not only purchase supplies for the Super Bowl parties, but usually purchase a majority of the products featured in the game’s ads.

Note: GM and Cadillac are NFL Super Bowl XLII sponsors

The Chicago Chapter of the Women's Automotive Association International (WAAI) will award its first Professional Achievement Award to Sandra Gilespie, Mitsubishi Senior VP of Procurement and Supply, a local professional woman in recognition of her Commitment, Professionalism and Success in the automotive industry.

On Tuesday, February 12, 2008, the WAAI Chicago Chapter will host a luncheon entitled Celebrating Women in the Automotive Industry as one of the kickoff events of the 2008 Chicago Auto Show.

The luncheon will be held at McCormick Place from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with local women professionals while enjoying a delicious lunch. Afterwards, there will be the award presentation followed by a panel of expert women leaders from the automotive industry discussing their individual success stories.

With the Chicago Auto Show just around the corner, American Suzuki Motors has let loose a sneak peek of the midsize pickup truck they intend to reveal on Wednesday. (Wanna see the rest of the truck? Be sure you click below to read the complete story.)

We've been looking forward to seeing the production version of this midsize truck ever since we first heard whispers about it during the recent holiday season.

It doesn't yet have an official name or suggested pricing, but Suzuki will display several lightly modified versions of the new pickup that promise to showcase both the company's diverse brand spirit and illustrate the new truck's capability and flexibility when it makes its World Debut next week.

In the latest Auto Pulse survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, Toyota is ranked as the greenest car company (by 49% of respondents). The nationwide telephone survey ran from Dec. 6-10, 2007, polling 2,037 adults. Honda came in second, at 26%, about half the score of Toyota, while Ford came in third, at 16%.

Al Hanna, President of Hanna Motorsports, launched in 2007 the search for a new driver for the very popular BIC Lighter “Queen of Diamonds” 300 MPH Jet Dragster for 2008. Hanna read through thousands of resumes before choosing veteran driver Jill Canuso as his new queen.

“Over the past two months, we were inundated with more then 80 applications from across the nation representing a tremendous cross-section of the terrific young women in the sport of drag racing, all wanting to work with Hanna Motorsports.  All had great credentials, had great family support, much experience, and a goal to succeed in our sport.”  Stated Hanna.  “The fact that so many had a similar background,, and similar credentials, actually made it much more difficult then we had anticipated.”

“Upon the receipt of Jill Canuso’s application, her credentials were quite different than the rest.” Rich Hanna said.  “First, she has raced professionally for many years, and in many categories. That meant she was familiar with the travel, the issues of being a pro on the road, the media, the risks, the financial pressures, and so forth. Also, she is based within our region, which allows us to work closely through training, with our difficult travel schedule, and on sponsorship programs as well. It’s a win-win for all of us.”

Jill’s gained her love of auto racing while watching her father compete at North East drag strips. She started riding motorcycles at five years old, and collecting her own trophies won from many Track, District, State, Regional and National Championships.