Life as a Car Girl

I’d like to think my love for cars started from birth, but that’s not entirely true. I grew up in a family who already had a love affair with cars. They loved the American classics, hot rods, and muscle cars. My family inherited a 1920s Pontiac from my late great-grandfather. To me, it was the “Bonnie and Clyde car” that sat in the garage collecting dust. We also had my grandmother’s first car, a 1957 Chevy Fleetmaster. I loved these cars because they simply don’t make cars like they used to. The huge couch seats, rounded body lines, and Art Deco accents really romanticized cars for me.

Okay, let me take you to where cars really made their mark on my life. When I moved in 8th grade to live with my dad, I remember he would always be in the garage or driveway working on his Mustang (It’s a ‘94 Mustang if you were curious). Sometimes I would go out there because I got bored in the house. I didn’t know what anything was or even what the tools were called that he used, but my dad liked to teach. He would make me help him bleed the brakes and make part runs with him to our local O’Reillys. It was always hot as hell outside and I would end up just going back inside midway through a project. He would drag me back out just to show me he finished whatever he was doing. Sometimes they were simple things like changing spark plugs or flushing fluids. Other times they were big things like doing head gaskets and replacing parts.

My dad had this 1991 Geo Storm. Everyone thought it was ugly... okay, it was. BUT! It was a manual and I wanted to learn how to drive it. One day, my dad took me to an old parking lot and showed me a similar Geo Storm that had been sitting for seven to eight years. It was a 1990 Geo Storm GSI, manual tranny, no power windows, a flat tire, and someone had carved a four-letter “F” word in the passenger side quarter panel. I wanted it but of course we had too many cars to begin with. I talked to my then boyfriend and we went out in search of the owner. Next thing you know, my dad, his coworker Cody, and I are at the lot with a trailer and 600$. It’s history from there! Well, kind of. I’ll tell the story of the little Geo later.

Now, I’m in college and I’ve learned quite a bit about cars. I can drive manual, have done engine swaps, and created a YouTube channel documenting my love for all things with wheels. I love going to car meets and meeting new people. Some of my closest friends, I met at car meets and events. The real struggle for me has been being taken seriously. The car scene and industry is male-dominated and it takes a lot of work to prove how smart you are.

To me, I continue to do what I love because I want to inspire young girls and woman. I want people to know that cars are so much more than a hunk of metal that gets you from point A to point B. Anyone can learn how to work on cars, their history, and so much more. It’s a hobby and pastime everyone can enjoy.