There is almost nothing better for me than a great chick flick with a theme around a road trip, a classic car and the friendships, complexity and challenges of middle-aged women. I happened on to an outstanding movie  on my pay per view cable channel recently and I will be purchasing on DVD for myself and as gifts for some of my middle-aged girl friends.

Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen hit the road in '66 Pontiac BONNEVILLE, a story about three friends who “come of age” for a second time on a trip across the great American West. Faced with the decision of a lifetime, Arvilla Holden (Lange) loads up her '66 Bonneville convertible and, with her friends (Bates, Allen) in tow, sets out from Pocatello, Idaho en route to Santa Barbara.

When given the assignment to talk about how hard it is for a woman to be taken seriously in sports – I immediately felt lucky.

The worst offense I have ever suffered had nothing to do with my job, but more my inability to know what was going on in my car. You see, an underhanded mechanic told me I needed a new transmission, and – well – as you can imagine, it’s a very long, tragic story that cost me $1500 and ultimately forced me to take responsibility for knowing what was what on my Volkswagen.

Now, I do have a thick skin. Anywhere you work, where there is a large group of men who travel weekly, well, there’s going to be some shenanigans. Sure, there was the occasional “nice rack” in the NASCAR garage, but did I find it offensive?

Welcome to the AskPatty Blog Carnival, where we provide a refreshing assortment of female friendly news and interesting automotive tidbits from around the blogosphere. Whether it's informative stories about the hottest cars, information about women in the automotive industry, or details on your honking habits, we've got something here for everyone. Have you got something to share? Email Ask Patty at info@askpatty.com or use the form at the end to include your own blog bits in next week's carnival!


AskPatty's President and CEO Jody DeVere recently sent me a link to an article she had found at Newsweek magazine. Titled "More Than A Tune-Up," the 1997 article described occurrences of sexual harassment at a Mitsubishi plant which helped launch detailed training programs and management reforms that ultimately made this company's policies on sexual harassment far more stringent than those of most Fortune 500 companies. AskPatty.com will be presenting a different writer's perspective article on this topic each day this week,  and we hope our readers will come back to read each day's installment. Tuesday, Jody DeVere shares her thoughts on the changing attitudes of women working in the auto biz; Wednesday, Brandy Schaffels discusses what it's been like as a cargirl in the automotive publishing world; Thursday, Linda Przygodski discusses what it has been like as a woman working in sports; and on Friday, Becky Scott will share her own challenges choosing between career and motherhood. Please stop in and read them all. 

AskPatty had a chance to take a drive in the new Mazda6 recently, but Gary Witzenburg beat us to the punch with his detailed review of Mazda's new sedan at autoMedia.com, saying the "new Mazda6 has moved from the bottom to the top of its segment in roominess, while retaining its soul-satisfying Mazda zoominess and class-competitive fuel economy. It is definitely a viable alternative to better-known class leaders." How did you do in the pinewood derby, Gary?

USA Network has teamed up this year with Saab USA as a key partner on "Burn Notice." A Saab 9-3 convertible was integrated into the season premiere as Fiona's (Gabrielle Anwar) car. Additionally, USA -- with the help of executive producer and creator Matt Nix, and in conjunction with Omelet -- has created an online alternate reality experience called "Covert Ops," which launched within the second episode and will continue online for nine weeks. Housed at www.BurnNoticeOps.com, Covert Ops invites players to become an operative and to help Fiona, Michael Westen's ex-girlfriend, and a new client solve their case. The Saab 9-3 convertible will be integrated into the game through branding experiences tied to nine missions.

Progressive bloggers and activists are most concerned about solving basic economic problems and our country's energy crisis as well as ending the war in Iraq, according to a straw poll of participants at this year's Netroots Nation conference conducted by the Campaign for America's Future   and Democracy Corps.  Those polled also believe that ending the war in Iraq and solving our energy and health care crises should be top priorities for the next president. Complete straw poll results are available at www.ourfuture.org  and www.democracycorps.org.

Everybody on the American women's blogging network is talking about this Greek BMW ad. And all of them are offended by it. So I ask my readers the same question I ask myself and my children every time I see a new ad for the first time, before the object for sale is immediately obvious: "What ARE they trying to sell here?" What do you think?

Mary Wisniewski spoke to Tom Vanderbilt about his new book "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), in which he uncovers a lot of surprising information about, NOT surprisingly, the way we drive. Here's a tidbit about honking habits: "Men honk more than women, and men and women honk more at women that at men. People in "nice cars" honk faster at less-nice cars. Drivers in convertibles with the tops down are less likely to honk than those with the top up. Drivers honk faster at cars whose drivers are on cell phones. Drivers are more likely to honk at people from another state or country than their own, and they honk less on weekends. Read more at the Chicago Sun-Times.

According to an article at CrainsDetroit.com,  Women hold 13 percent of the executive-level positions at four large automotive companies in metro Detroit, based on a survey of employees at Yazaki North America Inc., American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., Ford Motor Co., and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. The survey findings were the result of a six-month project undertaken by seven female management-level employees from the four companies, part of Wixom-based Paragon Leadership International's Women's Automotive TeamCAL.

Results of the 2008-2009 Specialty Equipment Market Association Board of Directors election are final: congratulations to our friend Luanne Brown, President and CEO of eTool Developers, who was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors for 2008. Other distinguished newly-elected SEMA Board Members include Ron Funfar, BJ Leanse, Chris Thomson, Tim Watts, Ralph Accinno, and Ed Orzetti.

Going green hasn't always been economically friendly.  In fact, the initial cost of developing a more energy-efficient building can be 10 percent higher than using standard equipment.  But the recent rise in energy costs is helping to close that gap. Read more about this green dealership at automotivetraveler.com.

I know what it's like to be one of the few women in an industry that's dominated by men. I've been doing this a long time, more than 20 years just involved in automotive, but actually started in the extremely manly outdoor group at Guns and Ammo Magazine.

I grew up watching my dad and brothers working on their cars and played Hot Wheels with the neighbor boys, so, I've been a girl in a car guy's world for most of my life. In most cases I have always been treated as an equal by colleagues who were always gentlemen, and have never experienced the sort of sexual harassment described in the Newsweek  article about sexual harrassment at Mitsubishi.

I've just been lucky enough that the car guys I've been hanging around didn't really seem to pay much attention to the fact that I'm a gal.  They've always treated me like one of the guys. I've had the very good fortune that MOST OF the men I've worked with have been like brothers and fathers to me, mentors who shared their knowledge openly.

Men and women often have preconceived notions of what is women's work. Women breaking into the automotive industry, a traditionally male-dominated field, may face many challenges. This Newsweek article covers some of the darker aspects of challenges women faced while working in the automotive industry,  "More Than A Tune-Up, Tough Going In A Fight Against Sexual Harassment".

My whole life has been kind of bucking male-dominant culture. My early years were spent working in the high-tech industry and then my career took me into the automotive industry. Love and commitment to my children made me seek out non-traditional career choices and learn to navigate the obstacles and succeed. As a single mother and with three kids in tow and their sole source of financial support, my career choices were always based on taking on opportunities with the highest earning potential possible and those jobs were mostly held by men 25 years ago. Providing for my children was my driving force and #1 priority; this was strong motivation to face my fears and go for it.

Ask Patty once again participated in BlogHer this year -- in more ways than one. We were sponsors for BlogHer in Second Life and I went to the conference in San Francisco as a representative for Ask Patty. I got to talk to a variety of women about female-friendly dealers and learning how to repair your own car (or just know enough to understand your mechanic). And we gave out great car care guides, too!

This was my third year at BlogHer. I met many great women. Learned a lot. Would I do it again? Absolutely. BlogHer is a very family-friendly conference. I took my little guy with me. They had daycare and he was happy to play all day. And the evening parties? Awesome -- a great chance to mingle, meet new people, put faces to the names we see online.

We can't thank Elisa, Lisa, and Jory enough for all of the hard work that they and their employees put in to this conference. It's one of the best conferences you'll find for women -- and the price is super reasonable, too. If you haven’t had a chance to go, and you do any writing online (including personal journals) do seriously think about it.

Maybe what makes Lauren Fix so astute at being a car expert is her background in racing.

Fix began racing in 1981 in upstate New York in the SCCA series. After a third place finish in her debut race, Fix began concentrating on road racing, competing in the SVRA, HSR and Canadian GT Challenge Cup series.

From 1986 to 2001, Fix ran the Driving Ambitions Performance Driving School at Watkins-Glen Raceway, but her love and knowledge of cars would eventually throw her into the spotlight.

Fix co-hosts Talk 2 DIY Automotive on DIY, and has been featured on Oprah, Fox News and CNN.

She is the author of "Lauren Fix's Guide to Loving Your Car: Everything You Need to Know to Take Charge of Your Car and Get On with Your Life," her third book.

AskPatty's President and CEO Jody DeVere recently sent me a link to an article she had found at Newsweek magazine. Titled "More Than A Tune-Up,"   the 1997 article described occurrences of sexual harassment at a Mitsubishi plant which helped launch detailed training programs and management reforms that ultimately made this company's policies on sexual harassment far more stringent than those of most Fortune 500 companies.

Background: In 1997, As a result of two harassment lawsuits filed on behalf of women workers, Mitsubishi paid more than $9 million to 27 women. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, between 1988 and 1993 Mitsubishi had tolerated terrifying examples of sexual harassment by hundreds of male employees who allegedly used air guns to shoot painful blasts at women's chests and crotches, grabbed women by their breasts, simulated masturbation, or even exposed themselves. The EEOC said the company had "discouraged complaints and permitted retaliation against women who dared to complain."

One of the popular discussions of the day is "How to be green?" When I say "Green" I'm not talking about eating broccoli and kale, I'm talking about how you can personally help clean up the environment and protect this world's resources for future generations.

It's relativity easy to contribute to the "Green Cause." You could help out by recycling trash and composting garbage. You could use your consumer dollars to save trees by purchasing recycled paper products and help save electricity by using energy-saving light bulbs for your home and office.

Being an AutoGirl, I have my eye on all the various alternative-powered automobiles that are being researched. It's kind of like the race to the moon; manufacturers are scrambling to create the new technological breakthrough that will reduce our oil addiction/consumption and that everyone will want to buy.

This summer keep your pet safe. Here are the top six tips to keeping your pet safe while traveling this summer.

In case you didn’t know this about me, I ride horses. I ride them twice a week and teach classes to kids as well. Every day I go to the stables, there is this same blue pickup truck parked in the parking lot with the back window open and the side windows part-way down. Inside sit an australian shepherd and a little papillon. They sit patiently every day for their owner to come back to the car, even when the outside temperatures reach the 90s and above.

The owner must have a death wish for these dogs. There will come a sad day when these pups just don’t make it, because the temperature will soar above livable levels. According to Partnership for Animal Welfare (PAW), even if it’s only 78 degrees outside, cars parked in the shade can heat up to over 90 degrees, and those in the sun can reach 160 degrees. I’m not sure people realize the dangers of vehicles in the car.

Here are some “beat the heat” tips for you and your pet while you travel this summer:
1. Leave your dog at home on warm days.

2. On trips with your pet, bring plenty of fresh drinking water and bowl.

3. Don't let dogs ride loose in pick-up truck beds. The hot metal can burn a dog's paws, the sun and flying debris can hurt the dog, the dog can accidentally be thrown out of the truck if the brakes are suddenly applied, and the dog can jump out if scared or upon seeing something interesting to chase. Instead, use a crate to create a safer space for the dog if you can't fit the dog inside the truck cab.

4. Take the dog into the shade, an air conditioned area, or to the vet if you see signs of heat exhaustion, which include restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, dark tongue, rapid pulse, fever, vomiting, glazed eyes, dizziness, or lack of coordination. To lower body temperature gradually, give the animal water to drink, place a cold towel or ice pack on the head, neck and chest, and/or immerse the dog in cool (not cold) water. Call your veterinarian.