The women and wheels
As a kid, I was always drawn to cars. Maybe it was because my brother always got cool cars while I was handed a cooking set. Don't get me wrong, those little toy cars were amazing – doors that opened, hoods that popped, and wheels that actually turned! I'd peer inside their miniature engines, inspect the exhaust pipes, and imagine myself cruising in them with loud music and wind in my hair. Truth be told, I never really played with them; I just admired their beauty from afar. Now, as an adult, my favorite magazine is "Car and Driver," and my go-to website is "Bring a Trailer." But on those days when I'm feeling down and stressed out, where do I turn? You guessed it – to my trusty car magazines or one of those car websites and start drooling over those gorgeous engines and vehicles. I daydream about racing them, fixing them, or just giving them a good, old-fashioned wash. It's a bit strange, though that whenever we see a picture of a woman with a car, she's usually posing next to it, not racing it or elbow-deep in the engine bay, just admiring it. So why don't we see as many women who share a passion for racing, car performance and specs or repairing them?
I've tried to instill some basic car knowledge in my girls. You know, stuff like understanding horsepower, recognizing a straight six, or changing break pads. But when I drove home with my 'two-seater I8', my girls looked at me and said, "Mom, there are four of us." I replied, "No, there are only two of us – me and my purse. None of you are getting into this car because the hamburger wrappers, soda cans, water bottles, and basketball gym sneakers are not coming inside my I8. My attempts to teach them how to put air in car tires, check the oil, change a tire, or replace brake pads have mostly fallen on deaf ears though.
One day, while reading my beloved "Car and Driver" magazine on the train, I couldn't help but notice the strange looks I was getting from fellow commuters. But I soldiered on and started talking to a guy about the new Porsche 911 S/T 518 HP and the new BMW K1600 straight-six engine for motorcycles – both pretty amazing feats of engineering. It got me thinking about how holding a physical magazine feels like revisiting my childhood, back when I'd cut out car pictures and paste them into my diary, daydreaming about owning and riding one of those beauties.
I wonder why car magazines or websites seem to attract more male readers when they're packed with articles and stories that would thrill any car enthusiast, regardless of gender. Then it hit me – how do we get more women interested in cars and technology? It's a question I've been asking myself for a while, and I've been experimenting with my girls, though without much success. The most I've managed is getting them to wash my cars, but that usually involves a $10 bribe, water, a brush, and a whole lot of promises to clean up afterward.
So, here's a question for all of you, especially those with daughters:
How do we bridge the gap and spark more interest in cars and technology among women?
It's a puzzle I haven't quite solved yet, but for now, I'll continue to sneak away to my car magazine, where I can marvel at engines, daydream about racing, and leave my car-obsessed heart to wonder about what the future might hold.
