Female – petrol heads ???

S Line

I was just wondering about females who are into cars. Occasionally you read in magazines about girls owning feature cars and those articles usually have ‘girl power’ ‘fair play to you’ slant but from reading between the lines you get the impression there was a boyfriend/husband/ father in the frame somewhere.

My question is there any girl petrol heads out there who are independant of any petrolhead man. Do know or indeed are you girl that likes her motors but whose boyfriend/husband/father wouldn’t have a clue about cars and is into say GAA or surfing ??

I’m not part of any club or scene but to me it seems at car shows the majority of girls there are usually sitting in the passenger seat looking bored reading the paper/ok magazine

Anan1

I know lots of guys who aren't into cars, but I don't know any girls who are. It's hardly an exhaustive survey, but there you go. Remember, though, that the enthusiast figure even for guys is very low - i'd guess a fraction of a per cent.

Compton

same as above.

ottostreet

No, I don't know of any enthusiast girls in my own circles at all. Barely any lads either tbh, it's mostly only Boards friends!

Alanstrainor

Outside of people I've met through boards I know maybe 1 enthusiast and that's it.

eth0

Like nudism and linux, most girls are only into it because their boyfriends are

jenizzle

I'm a girl! Dunno if you'd call me a petrolhead as I wouldn't know much about the inner workings of an engine as such, but I love driving and I know how to check the oil in my car :P

I am also independent of any petrolhead man. Most of the lads I know outside of this forum don't have an interest in cars either.

AmberAmber

yea i like my cars , been into motor sports for over ten yrs . i like to think i keep my car well. nothing fancy done to it just like to keep it well. I am involved with a rally championship so get plenty car time !!!
I would be at motorsport events at least 20 weekends a year and a good few thursdays and fridays too setting up and doing jobs .

There are loads of girls like my self in
rallying tarmac & forestrey ,
autocross,
autotesting ,
auto solo,
4x4 trials ,
sprints,
hillclimbs,
rally cross,
night nav's
and karting who help out in the office , time keeping , marshling , organising and compeat in events driving and co-driving .
I could name out over 100 off the top of my head , but would be unfair to the rest i may not mention .
we are there working away happy in our sport and clubs always welcome new members.

Big Nasty

Jenizzle above, Jemmy & Fiona for starters!

biko

The ones I know are all from rally families.
Except one that used to work for Harley Davidson and got herself a hog. None of her friends are into motors at all but she loves it.

djimi

My sister has a pretty savage Integra and is generally into her cars. Her boyfriend is also a big car enthusiast, but she had the car and was into cars long before she met him!

Fiona

My father worked in the car trade all his life but has never spent a penny on a car. He can't quiet get his head around my obsession with bmw's and the amount of money I have put into them.

My brother is not interested in cars either. My ex husband despised them ...... so I traded him in for a younger sportier model :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

I knew nothing about cars when I started driving. I can do the basics and I have the aa and that does me.

I have however found a wealth of information from other car sites, going to club meets and shows and listening to the likes of Marlow talk, the man is a automotive encyclopedia :eek::eek: and always an absolute pleasure to talk to.

I find that if you are a girl in the car world and you show a willingness to educate yourself then people will always take the time to explain things to you in a language that you will understand, there is no such thing as a stupid question!

I would much prefer the detailing side of things to the mechanical workings of a car, still though having it start every morning is always a bonus

The only male friends I have are the ones I have made in the last 3 years from being in the bmw club, it's a great scene to be in your defo never short of shows to go to in the summer thats for sure :cool::cool:

There ain't no better feeling than driving in convoy with your mates to a show in a Sunday when the sun is shining

Jemmy

Girl enthusiast here!

I've always had an interest in driving & the mechanics although a quiet one for yrs and it wasn't until the last year that I've been in a position to get a decent car which made me feel more comfortable stepping into the motor circles a little more & ask questions, and a few track days a year later & I’m on the lookout for a project car.

To be honest I think it’s hard to be taken seriously as a female enthusiast until guys give you the time to see you have a genuine interest & aren’t in it just for the attention it brings, maybe the girls here will disagree with me I dunno.

As for being brought up around it, my dad is very handy with mechanics through army training courses but was never a job/hobby of his so I was rarely around it except when one of our own needed something done. I'd be in his way asking questions when he was fixing them & I'd get stuck in helping where I could but he thought I was just being a pest with nothing better to do but get in his way, but it was because of my own interest & wanting to learn so he's realised in the last 2 yrs! (Even pulled him up on wrongly diagnosing a problem with the Punto & correcting him, was quite happy with myself that day! )
Only recently I’ve heard 3 different people ask my dad where I got it from & he’s just laughed saying not off me anyway! He loves my project/track car idea now though, after some persuading to help me with the mechanics & offering a few laps!!

I've lurked around on car sites and took the step to go to meets etc (off to the UK for one in Sept) but I wouldn’t say it was influenced by a BF or family. In recent yrs I have had BFs who have had different levels of interest but met them through sites & meets.

Learnt an awful lot in the last month through new motor friends made & it’s great, but all motor friends I have were made through going to meets & posting on site. No mates I grew up with ever had an interest.

Fiona

Jemmy wrote: »

To be honest I think it’s hard to be taken seriously as a female enthusiast until guys give you the time to see you have a genuine interest & aren’t in it just for the attention it brings, maybe the girls here will disagree with me I dunno.

100% you do need to prove yourself and show your not just an air head who just likes to look at a nice shiny car.

Bmw-Driver.net Member of the Year 2010 ahem.....

I only got cos I might have organised a christmas party that involved a strip club........:D

ants09

Fiona wrote: »

100% you do need to prove yourself and show your not just an air head who just likes to look at a nice shiny car.

Bmw-Driver.net Member of the Year 2010 ahem.....

I only got cos I might have organised a christmas party that involved a strip club........:D

Add E30owners.com member of the year 2012 if you do the same :p:p:p:p

Fiona

ants09 wrote: »

Add E30owners.com member of the year 2012 if you do the same :p:p:p:p

I'm not sure Hopper's ticker would be able for it :pac::pac:

ants09

Fiona wrote: »

I'm not sure Hopper's ticker would be able for it :pac::pac:

Does he need to know :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

AmberAmber

Fiona, we may have a chat soon so !
i have an E36 coupe my self , love BMW's and i often to be looing up sites and been looking up and reading stuff for ages . I have a good understanding of what makes a car run.
I did go to a show in Blarney in cork some time last year or more . did not talk to any one realy too shy i guess !! just went to have a look about !

would love to do a drive like the ted's opel drive that happens in august . Do BMW owners do some thing like that ??? would be great to get some super photos of a load of well turned out BMW's lined up on some west cork coastal areas !

Fiona

AmberAmber wrote: »

Fiona, we may have a chat soon so !
i have an E36 coupe my self , love BMW's and i often to be looing up sites and been looking up and reading stuff for ages . I have a good understanding of what makes a car run.
I did go to a show in Blarney in cork some time last year or more . did not talk to any one realy too shy i guess !! just went to have a look about !

would love to do a drive like the ted's opel drive that happens in august . Do BMW owners do some thing like that ??? would be great to get some super photos of a load of well turned out BMW's lined up on some west cork coastal areas !

I was at the Blarney show last year!!!!

To be fair the Leinster bunch would meet up weekly in the summer and we have some spins as well. Not sure how active the Munster gang are with the local meets but I know Blarney is planned again for this year!

Are you on bmw-driver.net? Send me a pm

AmberAmber

thanks Fiona ,
yea i did join the BMW driver .net site , was great for getting help for an ABS unit i needed !!!
yea must get back on there and get chatting and see whats happening , get the munster crew moving so maybe !!!! will pm you later ! time for work now ! thanks once again .

Fiona

AmberAmber wrote: »

yea must get back on there and get chatting and see whats happening , get the munster crew moving so maybe !!!!

We need a woman in each province to keep those brats on their toes!

jenizzle

Jemmy wrote: »

To be honest I think it’s hard to be taken seriously as a female enthusiast until guys give you the time to see you have a genuine interest & aren’t in it just for the attention it brings, maybe the girls here will disagree with me I dunno.

I found that not being afraid of getting yer hands dirty shows that there's a genuine interest there. I never really felt that I had to prove myself as such - I just get a few surprised looks when I kinda sound like I know what I'm talking about for a little while

I've never felt that being female has gone against me, and I guess I feel like I've been treated the same as anyone else wanting to and willing to learn.