Women and Cars

[<MONICA.MONTANO@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

     In response to Robin's post about how women in American society are 
     not encouraged or even taught about cars, I must agree completely. 
     Although I love Alfas, I'm the only female Alfista I know.  Many times 
     I asked my father to teach me about cars or show me how to change the 
     oil and he never took the time (telling me that's what you take the 
     car to the shop for).  When I first dated my husband, he had just 
     bought his Spider.  I didn't know what it was but I knew I wanted to 
     drive it. (This is when he went through the painful process of 
     teaching me to drive a stick shift.) I was hooked.  I started reading 
     the books he had on Alfas (and other Italian cars), and the more I 
     read, the more I wanted one.  Since then we've married and adopted two 
     more Alfas as our "babies".  I can say I'm the only girl I know who 
     can change the oil on her own car.  It's really unfortunate how women 
     are not taught about things like how an engine works and what all 
     those different gears are for.  It really does make manual 
     transmissions intimidating and is part of the reason most women only 
     like cars for their looks.  
     Thankfully there is hope.  I was so excited about my 164 that the 
     excitement passed on to my girlfriends, who also love my car.  I hear 
     them complaining about their cars and find myself answering basic 
     questions about how a car works.  This has made them want to learn 
     more because they're tired of being in the dark.  When women get tired 
     of being ripped off by mechanics they will get educated about cars.  
     That understanding opens the door to a whole new appreciation (love?) 
     for automobiles.  Sorry for the long post, but I thought it would be 
     nice to get a woman's perspective on the issue.
     
     Monica
     '77 Alfetta
     '82 Spider Veloce
     '91 164L

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