June 23rd, 2010

17-Year-Old Girl Runs Across US to Raise Awareness for Truckers Fund

Jasmine Jordan, 17, has run across America to raise awareness for St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund. She began in Los Angeles in September of 2009 and is close to arriving in New York. She is the youngest person ever to run across America.

Jordan had been training for the 2012 olympics when she decided to put her dream on hold and embark on her run across America. Her family owns a trucking company and she was inspired by one of their drivers, Sheila Grothe, who had cancer and eventually died. When Grothe passed away Jordan decided she would run to raise awareness.

Jordan writes on her website, “On that day I made a decision, that I will do something to change the system so people who don’t have medical coverage that will pay for treatments like Sheila needed will have options.”

When she passed through Washington D.C. recently several Department of Transportation employees ran with her. Ray LaHood, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, called her “A true American Hero.”

The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund (SCF) is a not-for-profit organization that provides financial assistance to professional truck drivers who have medical problems and can not otherwise afford healthcare. SCF also conducts health research to benefit professional drivers and the trucking industry.

June 22nd, 2010

16-Year-Old Savannah Rickli to Race Pikes Peak

Savannah Rickli, a 16-year-old high school senior, will race at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Rickli, who started karting when she was 11, will be the youngest female driver ever to race here.

The 88th annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb takes place on June 27 in Colorado Springs.

June 21st, 2010

What Cars Do Women Love the Most?

According to a study done by Truecar.com the brand of car that women buy the most is Kia (45.8% of owners are women). This is followed by Suzuki (44.2%) and Mini (43.9%).

Seems as if women are not buying exotics. Of the sports cars 18.4% of Porsche owners are women, but after that the numbers drop significantly. Lotus (10%), Aston Martin (9.9%), Tesla (9.8%), Lamborghini (6.5%), Ferrari (5.6%). No women are registered owners of Bugattis.

Truecar.com looked at over 13 million registrations in the United States over the last 2 years. In the US, more men (64%) register cars than women (36%) even though women make up 51% of the population.

Here are the top 9 specific models women are buying and the percentage of female registrations:

1. VW Beetle 56.1%
2. Nissan Rogue 53.5%
3. Hyundai Tucson 53.0%
4. VW Eos 53.0%
5. Volvo S40 51.9%
6. Honda CR-V 51.3%
7. Kia Sportage 50.5%
8. Toyota RAV4 50.4%
9. Nissan Sentra 50.1%

June 18th, 2010

Are Old Mercedes-Benz SL’s the Vintage Car of Choice for Women?

Jonathan Walsh posed the question in the Wall Street Journal, Old Mercedes Roadsters: Collectors Car of Choice for Women?

The Mercedes-Benz SL Roadsters are indeed cute, fun, sporty cars. The SL’s were produced from 1971-1989. Walsh points out that while the cars aren’t very expensive they can be somewhat expensive to fix.

While we’re not sure this is the ultimate vintage chick car, not to mention there are plenty of them so they aren’t exactly collector cars, we do think they are fun vehicles to cruise around in.

June 17th, 2010

Cameron Diaz Does Her Own Stunt Driving on Knight and Day

We are newly impressed with Cameron Diaz and her driving ability. “The drifting is unbelievable,” says the actress on the set of her movie Knight and Day. Watch her pull the hand brake and spin her BMW in Seville, Spain. Cameron drives and Tom Cruise opens the door. Love it!

June 16th, 2010

Professional Female Drivers in India on the Rise

More and more women are become professional drivers in India. According to an article in the Guardian UK, some of the women are being trained by NGOs to become taxi drivers or professional chauffeurs. One such NGO, the Azad Foundation, has already trained 32 women as professional drivers. It takes one year to get a commercial license so some women have taken to becoming a chauffeur for wealthy families.

One women, Mamta, 26, who has gone through the program was even encouraged by an unlikely person—her mother-in-law. Another woman, Ekta Yadav, who one of the first drivers trained by the Azad Foundation, was married at 15 and illiterate said the program made her feel “empowered.”

The women are trained through Indian car company Maruti Suzuki, which also teaches them self-defense. In addition, Azad teaches the women English and provides classes in gender and legal rights.

Meenu Vadera, executive director of Azad had this to say about the training program: “The transformation during the course is so significant. You can see it in their body language, in their speech, their ability to negotiate. I think it’s partly stepping into a very different world. Learning to drive is like learning to swim or ride a bicycle: once you have got over the initial hesitation, it makes you feel powerful.”

June 14th, 2010

Simona de Silvestro Named Indy 500 Rookie of the Year

Simona de Silvestro, 21, was named 2010 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. De Silvestro started the race in 22nd place and made her way up to finish in 14th place in one of the toughest races of the season.

Former winners of this award include racing greats such as: Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Jacques Villeneuve, and Nigel Mansell.

Simona De Silvestro had this to say about the award “This is such an honor to be selected for this award. I’m humbled and so grateful to those who saw it fit for me to earn this. This whole Indy 500 experience has been so much fun and so rewarding. I can’t thank enough my team, as well as my manager Imran Safiulla, HVM Racing’s Keith Wiggins, my sponsors, and my parents for all helping me get where I am today. I will work my hardest this year to show that I am deserving of this award.”