All Men Love Cars And Other Crocks Of S**t

If you typed in the following Google searches - "Why men love cars" and then "Why women love cars" - the results are almost polar opposite, but have one glaring and annoying similarity. The masculine search brings back all kinds of results and theories about why men love cars, how men are naturally driven to dominate technology, why they find comfort in the garage, and how it can be psychologically good for men to work on vehicles (even though there are times when a good number of us have no idea what the hell we're doing in regards to repairs or even what's wrong. I'm a guy - I can say this). The feminine search returns all kinds of links to articles on which cars women are attracted to, that women are more attracted to men who own expensive cars, and how to pickup more women with your hot car. In other words, BOTH searches were geared towards guys. Why is that?

The fact of the matter is, regardless of how current the content is on these websites, one fact remains perfectly clear: women dig cars. I just got back from the 15th annual Cruisin' To Graduation car show in Waldoboro, which is considered by many to be one of the first substantial car shows of the season here in Maine - this year with almost 600 cars, trucks, and motorcycles in attendance. While it was a cloudy day, the rain held off, the crowd was great, and I was able to take hundreds of pictures of all types of vehicles and are you ready for this? Numerous ones were owned by women. Here's another news flash - they wrench on them, restored them, and drive the hell out of them. Another good sign were the number of young people (under age 30) who were not only there in attendance, but also brought Detroit iron to the show. One young gentleman I've known for years was there with his 1962 Chevy truck while his wife and three week old daughter were in her '75 Trans Am. That means despite information to the contrary, young people do indeed care about cars... and vintage ones at that.

I was writing another article this week and I was doing some research on Queen Elizabeth II. Back during the closing months of World War II, when the Queen was an 18-year old princess, she wanted to volunteer to do her part with the war effort. In a nutshell, after almost a year of pestering her father, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in February of 1945. Apparently, she became a rather skilled mechanic, to the point where she could rebuild engines and transmissions, as well as drive military trucks. Rumor also had it she liked getting her hands all dirty and greasy - then show them off to her posh friends who would be mortified. After the war, she was asked by Life Magazine about her service. One main reason she gave was "I truly enjoyed working on vehicles."

We've highlighted several historical female race drivers in this blog before as well as their accomplishments. But all of them shared one particular aspect - they all loved driving as well as working on cars and racing machines. While it's true they broke down social barriers and paved the way for future female drivers, that wasn't their goal from the onset. I remember reading an article about Shirley Muldowney on how she got started in racing at the young age of sixteen. "There was no mystery from the start - I loved street racing. Period. I loved tinkering with cars, making them go faster, and honing my skills as a driver." 

Legendary 1960's super stock driver Shirley Shahan's career came by being at the right place at the right time. She married early, at age 17, but she and husband H.L. Shahan initially had a couple of cars, a ’55 Chevy and then a new ‘56 Chevy with a 265, that she drove to work and raced every weekend at the drags after H.L. became the flag starter at the local races in Visalia California.“We found I could drive as well as he if not better, and it received much more attention,” she said modestly. Again, the bottom line was, she loved to drive - especially a 4-speed!

Now - am I saying that guys don't love cars? Of course they do. All I'm saying is, there are women who dig cars just as much as guys. And just like there are women who could care less about automobiles, I feel there is an equal number of men in the same boat.. so to speak. It doesn't matter where we come from or our background. We can all learn from each other and unify as a group. I've said this before - brand bashing is pointless. Gender bashing in regards to high performance, racing, and vintage automobiles is downright stupid. Embrace the diversity and evolve.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave