April 03rd, 2011

Malaysian MP’s Sexist Remaks About Female Drivers Causes Outrage

Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin an MP in Malaysia recently made sexist remarks about female drivers. Specifically he said during a meeting in parliament, “Some women drivers drive slowly and seem oblivious to traffic.” When a female colleague accused him of discrimination, according to the Malaysian Star Bung “replied that she was politicising road safety issues and told her to sit.” His comments have caused outrage across the globe.

This is also not the first time the MP has made sexist statements. In 2008, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) had listed Bung as one of the many sexist MPs. People have denounced his statements and there are calls for him to resign.

There has been an issue with road accidents in Malaysia which sparked Bung’s speech. While his comments are simply sexist they are also grossly factually inaccurate. In 2009, men were involved in more than 2.4 more crashes than women (244,336-men/103,153-women).

March 31st, 2011

More Women Than Ever Buying Cars in US

More woman than ever are buying cars in the United States according to Polk.com. In 2010 38.5% of vehicles were bought by women, which is an increase of 2.5% from 2006. What is particularly interesting is that there is an even greater increase among Asian, African-American and Hispanic women, which rose 4.7% in the same time period.

So what are women buying? Mostly sensible Asian and American cars. The top 5 cars bought by women are: Toyota 15.7% (15.7 of every 100 sales to women is a Toyota), Honda 14.0%, Ford 10.0%, Chevrolet 8.9%, Nissan 8.8%. Another car that women love is the Mini. Nearly half of the mini’s purchased (47.9%) are bought by women.

March 24th, 2011

Tracey Matura Named New GM at Smart USA

Tracey Matura has been named the new General Manager of Smart USA.  Mercedes, which recently took over Smart distribution from Penske Automotive Group, says Matura will take over effective July 1. Matura had previously been working with Mercedes as general manager of strategic retail development. Her role will be to manage distribution, sales and marketing activities for Smart USA.

Matura had been chosen as one of the 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry by Automotive News in 2010. She’s certainly one to watch.

March 10th, 2011

New Ruling Says Equality for Women in Car Insurance

Recently the European Court of Justice ruled that insurance companies cannot base insurance premiums on gender. They ruled that setting insurance premiums on the sex of the applicant is against EU equality laws. While equality is often supposed to be the goal this means higher rates for women, who traditionally enjoyed lower premiums.

The reason why women received lower insurance premiums is because they were deemed safer drivers. Seems to make sense to us. Sajjad Karim, a conservative member of the European Parliament called the ruling “a setback for common sense” and “utter madness”.

In recent years female-only insurance companies, such as Sheila’s Wheels, have become prevalent. Known for their lower insurance rates for women, and often creative advertising, it will be interesting to see how they deal with the recent ruling.

March 02nd, 2011

Canada’s First Female Stock Car Racer at 86

Kaija Kalevala, 86, was Canada’s first female stock car driver. She grew up in Finland and had a passion for cars since a young age. According to a story in the Edmonton Journal, her father did not want her to get her driver’s license but at 17 she did it anyway. She had never driven a car but imagined it in her head and miraculously she passed. She joined the Finnish army reserve and began chauffeuring officers. On one day the only vehicle left for her to drive was a three-ton truck, but it was no problem for her. “I always asked the men how they drove trucks and learned how to double clutch and downshift on hills without ever driving a truck,” she recalls. “I had no trouble when I actually got behind the wheel of that truck.”

She eventually moved to driving trucks and cars for a film company. She took one of the cars and began racing it in local road and ice rallies and soon she began consistently placing in the top five. She also raced in “powder-puff” races with other women but won so much that reportedly women wouldn’t race against her anymore.

She moved to Canada in 1951 and began driving a taxi. She then worked for a dealership and was even performing full engine rebuilds. But what she wanted to do is race. She found a sponsor and in 1952 began competing at Digney Speedway as the only female driver. She went to the 1956 midget car racing at Indianapolis 500 race but officials wouldn’t let her into the pits because they said it was bad luck. That same year she competed in the B.C. Truck Rodeo and led in points for two days. She ultimately finished second, not bad for the only woman competing in the competition. At that time she was driving a truck to support herself and when she had asked for a month off to compete in races her boss said no and thus her racing career was over.

Kalevala was recently inducted into the Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneers Society. She is an inspiration to us all!

February 25th, 2011

Actress Amber Heard on her relationship with her Mustang, stolen cars and Top Gear.

Amber Heard stars in the new film Drive Angry 3D with Nicolas Cage. She might be an actress staring in a car movie, but she didn’t have to dig too deep to prepare for the role—she is already a huge car lover. She owns a 1968 Mustang. Her all-time favorite car is a 1969 Shelby. And she even appeared on Top Gear!

Check out some excerpts from her interview on Vulture:

I know you’ve got an awesome vintage Ford Mustang. When did you become a car person?
I grew up in Texas, and people love their American-made muscle cars there. I grew up around people who loved cars and took care of cars and my dad’s a big car nut, so I learned a little bit about cars — how to love them, most importantly. I think that from the time I could remember, I’ve always envisioned myself in a vintage muscle car.

Is it hard to take care of?
Yeah, but that’s part of the love. I can’t explain the relationship I have with my Mustang, but—

I’m assuming it’s high-maintenance.
It is. But it’s the kind of thing where if it were easy, it wouldn’t be as fun. My car gets stolen a lot, and every time I get her back, I have to repair her and do this or that. It’s like we’ve grown together.

Your car’s been stolen multiple times and you’ve always gotten it back?
Every time. Thank you, LAPD!

Are there any other cars you have your eye on?
If I could, I would be a collector, for sure. I’ve dabbled in a European vintage car or two, but it hasn’t really stuck. I think that the Chevelle is nice, but what I really want is a ‘69 Shelby.

Color?
I’m not particular about the color.

That seems like a major component.
You would think, right? But I’m not attached to the color so much because my Mustang was beautiful and pristine-looking and red like a Coke bottle, and it kept getting stolen when it was red. So I painted it a different color — a much more demure lady color — and it doesn’t get stolen anymore. So I’ve grown less attached to color since then.

You raced on Top Gear in the U.K. to promote the film, and Cameron Diaz beat you in a dry lap.
Damn her. Damn her.

I mean, it’s okay if you’re not a speed demon, but I thought you’d want to defend your performance.
But actually, I am a speed demon! I get tickets all the time and can’t stay under the speed limit. I’m bad at that. I certainly don’t drive angry, but I drive fast. Apparently, though, I don’t drive that fast on Top Gear. Also, I did it in a dress, so give me some credit.

February 20th, 2011

Daimler Gets First Female Board Member

Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt is the first ever female member on the Daimler board. Hohmann-Dennhardt, a former supreme court judge, will serve as a Board of Management member for Integrity and Legal Affairs.

Daimler admitted it made hundreds of “improper payments” to foreign government officials. The US investigated the company and in April 2010 they paid a $185 million settlement.

In addition, Germany is in the process of trying to “feminize” corporate boards. According to Die Welt, there are only a few women were board directors of companies listed on the DAX bourse whereas there are 182 men and there is no female CEO at any of the top 100 German companies.