Ask Patty's Female Friendly Blog Carnival: September 10, 2008

Welcome to the AskPatty Blog Carnival, where we celebrate the back to school season with a refreshing assortment of female friendly news and interesting automotive tidbits from around the blogosphere. Whether it's informative stories about eco-friendly people and cars, adventures, roadtrips, or safety, exciting reports about women in the automotive industry, or female friendly car reviews, we've got something here for everyone. Have you got something to share? Email Ask Patty at info@askpatty.com or use the form at the end to include your own blog bits in next week's carnival!


Mary Schmidt made an interesting observation this week: "Women's voting rights aren't even as old as the vacuum cleaner and the neon light? As the airplane, the zipper and the bra? Strange but true, boys and girls. Anyone paying attention to the Democratic National Convention this week has heard the date it happened: Aug. 26, 1920. That's the day--72 years after suffragettes officially announced the fight--that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution became law and women got the franchise." (photo courtesy wikipedia commons.)

Tom Vanderbilt, author of the much-touted book "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)"  says driving is "the most dangerous thing most of us will ever do." And yet he says, "statistically, driving in the U.S. gets safer every year," Vanderbilt says. That's mostly because of the modifications inside a car that cushion the impact of crashes, like seat belts and air bags. Read more in this review at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Now in its 24th year, The Palo Alto Moonlight Walk benefits several charities in Palo Alto, California, area. The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday fund is also collecting "gently worn athletic shoes" and sending them to war zones and orphanages, with the initial shipment will be sent to India. Our Female Friendly Dealer in the area, Larry's Auto Works, prides itself on its Be Green/Earth Friendly Program, and is supporting this extremely special event for the fourth year in a row. If you live in the Palo Alto Area, be sure to support this important event on Friday, September 12. Call (650) 463-4920, (650) 326-8210 for more information.

Women Customize Cars, Too! "Girls do pretty much what the guys do -- custom wheels, performance seating, exhausts, turbochargers and cold-air induction," SEMA's Jim Spoonhower notes. Customizing cars with aftermarket parts is a growing hobby, he says. "It's all about lookin' good, soundin' good and turnin' heads," says Susie Siefert, 39, assistant head judge of the Modified Class for the Mustang Club of America. Way to go, girls!

It's hard to believe that Auto Show season is almost upon us again, as the Los Angeles Auto Show looms on the horizon at the end of November. The first big news about this year's show will be the announcement of the 2009 Green Car of the Year winner.   Last year's recipient was the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid - who will it be this year? 

Join the DuPage Professional Women's Network at a Ladies After Hours Event for a night of fun, pampering, and networking! For women, hosted by women... building relationships we can trust! The event will be held on Thursday, September 25, from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm at the Continental Acura of Naperville, 2275 Aurora Ave, Naperville. Pampering will include skin care and makeovers, Rocky Mountain Chocolates, chair and hand massages, wine tasting, and raffle prizes. And if that's not enough for you, attendees will even have opportunities to test drive the all-new 2009 Acura models on the Naperville Test Track, including the Acura TSX, Acura TL and Audi A4!


Chances are most of us have locked our keys in the car at one time or another and if we haven't well, there's a good chance we will - at least once in our lifetime.  Nobody does it on purpose, it's just one of those things that happen; and while it can be frustrating, embarrassing or downright maddening, there are some things that we can do to remedy the situation. I keep spare keys to my car and apartment in my purse, and have handed them out like candy to friends who know they might be called at midnight in desperation. Well, Cars for Girls has posted this helpful blog with seven solutions to help you out of this familiar jam.

The best deal on fuel in the country right now might be in Utah, where people are waiting in lines to pay the equivalent of 87 cents a gallon. Demand is so strong at rush hour that sometimes fuel runs low, and some days people can pump only half a tank. Ironically, it's not gasoline they are buying for their cars, but natural gas. Interestingly, Utah has become the first state to experience broad consumer interest in running cars on clean natural gas! Residents of the state are hunting the Internet and traveling the country to pick up used natural gas cars at auctions. They are spending thousands of dollars to transform their trucks and sport utility vehicles to run on compressed gas. Some fueling stations that sell it to the public are so busy they frequently run low on pressure, forcing drivers to return before dawn when demand is down. Read more about it at the New York Times.

And that's it for this week's AskPatty Cars Around the World Blog Carnival! Make sure to submit your article for next week's "Automotive Advice for Women Blog Carnival" using the online form or by emailing Ask Patty at info@askpatty.com.

By Brandy Schaffels
AskPatty.com Editor