Amy’s Garage

by Amy Mattinat

The Winner’s of Wave 3 Are:

Q7: Tom Wilson & Zach Bowmann in Car #3 with and average consumption of 29.5 mpg traveling 1092 miles at an average speed of 52.4 mph.

Q5: Yves Maroselli and Christophe Boulain in Car #19 with and average consumption of 36.8 mpg traveling 1102 miles at an average speed of 52.8 mph.

A3: Should have been Royal Ford and Lauren Fix. They are both exceptional drivers and were kicking butt on all the numbers of anyone who had driven an A3. (On day 1 they averaged consumption of 44.7 mpg traveling at an average speed of 59 mph.) Unfortunately their car had a mishap and they were not able to finish the race.

A4: Kami Buchholz and Amy Mattinat in Car #10 with and average consumption of 36.7 mpg traveling 1086 miles at an average speed of 49.3 mph.

Just to be sure you got this right, The Vacation Team (with passenger Bob Massa of Michelin Tires in tow):

Kami Buchholz and Amy Mattinat

won the overall A4 Wave 3 Audi Mileage Marathon!

Wa Hooooooo they shout while doing their victory dance up to the stage! With their prize bottles of champagne in hand Audi says thanks for driving the car so well, and we say “Thank You Audi” for letting us be part of this exciting opportunity to prove the exceptional performance, efficiency and downright good time of driving your new diesel technology!

Thank you AskPatty for letting me represent “The Premier Automotive Site for Women!”

by Amy Mattinat

Car #10 Wins Day 2’s mileage marathon in it’s class!

Every day before we head out on the road, all the drivers gather after breakfast for a briefing by Audi of the route we will take, suggestions for safe and fuel efficient driving and the results of the best average mileage for each class of cars for the previous day. Since we did so much site seeing yesterday we were not even considering that we would be in the running. So we were shocked (and so were all the other drivers in the room) that we won 1st place out of 6 Audi A4s.

This was pretty humorous to us. So many of the drivers were sooooo very serious about their various techniques to get the best mileage, and here two women drivers take the lead and their strategy was to enjoy the scenery and collect postcards.

Yes we were conscience of gentle starts and stops and coasting downhills with our foot off the gas, but that was about it. This said a lot about the advanced technology of the Audi A4 TDI to me. It is so well engineered, that you don’t have to hyperplane behind trucks and put the car into neutral downhills (like some of the drivers did) to achieve great gas mileage. The Audi engineers did all the work ahead of time. This proves that in real world driving, even up and down mountains you can achieve an average of 39 mpg with an average speed of 51 mph when you drive an Audi A4 TDI.

Did we go 51 mph all day? No Way! We were cruising on the straight aways and coasting downhills. We pretty much drove just like we would in our day to day lives.

YEA US!

WE ROCK!

WE WON!

by Amy Mattinat

Day 2 of the Audi Mileage Marathon - Wave 3

This morning at breakfast, Kami, Bob and I all decided that since the Grand Canyon was only about an hour off our itinerary we would turn off the navigation system AKA: ‘Bossy’, and take a detour to see “The Big Hole”. Bob is quite the ‘adventure man’ and has climbed to the bottom of the GC numerous times and helped convince us that a detour was necessary. We wouldn’t have any extra time for hiking, but we did have time for some spectacular viewing. Much to our chagrin, at the morning meeting Audi suggested this very thing and we found a number of various Audi TDI clean diesel models driving around the park.

It took about six hours to get to the Grand Canyon. There were a lot of loooooong straight-a-ways that went on forever. We would be zooming along just fine and then come up behind a large camper vehicle. Our little A4 Audi #10 makes it fun to pass. Don’t tell anyone but I had her up to 100 mph a number of times. The turbo is so quiet, sleek and powerful and those Michelin tires just hug the road. I tried to stay somewhat near the speed limit, but it was hard. We had to reminding ourselves that we were on an Indian Reservation and the speeding tickets were very painful.

While cruising through an Indian Reservation we came upon these red rocks on the side of the road. Reminded me of when I was a child at the beach and I would make sand sculptures by dripping wet sand in a pile.

The Grand Canyon kinda took me by surprise. The roads leading up the park are kind of boring. Mountains in the distance and a lot of scrubby fields between them and the roads. It was a very uneventful drive right up to the place we paid to get into the park. But once we parked the car, it was one of those mind boggling experiences. All I could say over and over was “WOW”.

We viewed the hole from as many angles as possible. From various lookout points and from up a tower.

Number 10 seemed to love the GC too!

It was about 5 pm when we left the park. We were happy to see our pit crew at the designated Shell station . Audi has staff there to take down data, fill the tank and check the car over. The fuel door is sealed and the tech signs off that we have not strayed from anything that would compromise the study.

After filling up the tank with diesel we still had about an hour to go. Heading into Sedona you drive down a very steep incline full of switchbacks. By this time it pitch black outside. We were very happy to discover that our Audi A4 was loaded with a headlight feature that would automatically turn on and dim the bright lights as needed. This was a fabulous thing! Kami was busy keeping her eyes on the road and the car made it as easy as possible to see as much as possible. I’m just loving this car more and more each day!

We were all so glad to pull up to our hotel. Audi is taking such great care of all of us. The hotel staff whisked away our luggage to our rooms and we were invited for food and drinks.

What a fabulous day! A BIG THANKS to Jody Devere for sending me on this adventure for AskPatty.com

I received a phone call from the Women’s Car Care Council the other day. They wondered if I would speak with a reporter who wanted to interview some women from the automotive industry.

Emily Flitter from Front Lines wrote, “Women influence 95% of auto purchases overall, yet many still feel uncomfortable buying a car. Thanks to a handful of women working on the inside, the automotive industry is changing. Have we entered the age of “female-friendly” car dealerships and service centers? ”

To read the rest of the story click HERE

I‘d like to introduce you to one of my favorite people! Judy Mirro and I got to know each other in College {Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondack Mountains in New York} and both ended up living in Vermont.
Judy is one of the most energetic, brilliant, hard working and wild woman that I know. She totally works hard and plays hard. I took her skiing back in 1982 and little did I know she would turn into a mogul maniac. She loves speed, and it’s no wonder that she bought her first motorcycle back in 1978.

Her first bike was a Honda 175cc and now she drives a ‘96 Ducati 900 Supersport and has two BMWs. Judy was a self-taught rider. In 1990 she took a “Experienced Rider Course” and was recruited to become an instructor and has been teaching ever since.

The Women’s Riding School, LLC was established for women {novice to expert riders, Harley’s to Honda’s, dirt bikes to big cruisers} to have a safe leaning environment. They focus on fun, safety and education with a low student to instructor ratio {one instructor for every one to three students} to ensure everyone gets the attention they need. The classes are held once a year at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

• Increase your confidence on the road
• Improve your cornering skills
• Master your braking
• Improve your visuals leads
• Learn new ways to enjoy motorcycling

Classes this year are on July 28th. For more info: contact Judy at 802-223-9270 or go online to read articles and there are even videos of the school so you will be able to get a feel for how cool this event is.

Judy is the real thing. Not only is she the president and owner of the Women’s Riding School, but she is also a nationally certified Motorcycle Safety Instructor, has taught cycling safety courses for the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles for over ten years, she started racing and became a licensed RoadRacer at age 38. “It really is never too late,” says Judy. “I enjoy leading by example and encouraging women that they can do it all.” Judy is also a “moto-journalist” with assignments as Roadrace Editor and a Test Rider.

Amy: Your favorite Test Ride?

Judy: A new , Honda RC51 for a 160-180 mph “spin” around the Laguna Seca Raceway. It was the longest and fastest I had ever ridden. “I drive about 130 miles per day commuting from home to work and back on my 2002 BMW R1150RS. I ride through rain or shine from April through November - as long as there is no ice on the road.

Amy: Do you wear anything special for riding?

Judy: Absolutely! I wear a full leather suit or a synthetic riding suit and always were a full face SNELL-approved helmet, which gets replace every five years for safety’s sake. Motorcycle gloves and boots are worn no matter what the weather. [Find out why it is important to change your helmet every 5 years]

Amy: What does the riding school consist of?

Judy: The day consists of a morning track walk, classroom instruction, lots of on-course riding and elective infield exercises. To top this off, there is a Meet-N-Greet dinner party the night before, raffle prizes, goodie bags, a track photographer to get you in action, a healthy lunch and a day of meeting and networking with some fabulous women riders.

Amy: Are there any other women’s motorcycle schools in the USA?

Judy: Unfortunetly no. The WRS is the only school in the US. We have used the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. as our home course for 12 years now. We have had women fly/ride in from CA, FL, VA, MI, etc. My hope is to get some big sponsors and take the school on the road. Then we could make this more accessible for more women who are looking to further their rider education and safety level.

For more information go to www.womensridingschool.com

This is a press release from AskPatty.com

AskPatty.com to Offer Independence Day Incentive to Car Dealers to Meet the Needs of Women Car Buyers.

(PRWEB) June, 16, 2008: Women car shoppers spend $300 billion annually on purchasing new and used cars, trucks, car maintenance, repairs and service. 51% of women over 18 are single and may be in the car buying market now.

Long gone are the days when the only decision women were expected to make about a new car was which color to choose. Women are now the fastest growing segment of new car buyers and, thanks to sites like AskPatty.com, are more confident, more educated and better prepared to make a decision than ever before.

Women today are looking for cars with improved fuel economy, enhanced safety features and are shopping for a dealership where they will feel comfortable during the entire car buying process.

To honor these millions of independent women car buyers, AskPatty.com is offering a special independence day incentive to new and used car dealerships to become part of the AskPatty.com network of female friendly certified dealerships June 14th - July 4th. Becoming an AskPatty.com female friendly certified dealer helps new and used car dealerships attract, sell, retain and increase loyalty with women car buyers.

Go here to learn more about becoming an AskPatty.com female friendly certified new or used car dealer here: Ask Patty.com Female Friendly Certified Dealer Tour

Properly armed with the right tools and training, new and used car dealerships can increase their share of the largest and fastest growing demographic of new car buyers in the US — Women Consumers. The Ask Patty Certified Dealer program was designed specifically for car dealerships to attract, sell, retain and increase loyalty with women car buyers.

“Women love to shop and dealerships need to understand how women go about their car buying process to earn the rewards from their tremendous purchasing power and influence. Women car buyers want to be treated with respect at the dealership and enjoy their car buying experiences, just like any other retail purchase. AskPatty.com trains new and used car dealerships to provide that kind of experience to women car buyers.” says Jody DeVere, CEO and President of AskPatty.com, Inc.

Car dealers have already noticed the effect that the Internet has had on their interaction with women car shoppers. Women do their research and usually have information printed out from the Internet so they are more confident in negotiating a good deal. With all the information fully disclosed, women feel they can make their own car buying decision, without bringing a man along. The Internet has certainly been an equal opportunities provider in the world of car sales.

What Is An AskPatty.com female friendly certified dealer?

An Ask Patty certified dealer is a dealer that has been trained to communicate more effectively with women car buyers and creates a safe and comfortable environment where women feel welcome and a dealer that makes the experience of purchasing and maintaining her vehicle a pleasant one.

Ask Patty trained and certified dealers are held to a high level of customer satisfaction for women consumers.

The Ask Patty Promise.

1. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers provide women consumers with an automotive retail experience based on relationship building, trust, respect and improved communications.

2. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers aim to surpass women consumer’s expectations with the highest level of customer service to win their lifetime loyalty.

3. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers provide women consumers with an automotive retail experience that is safe and comfortable.

4. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers surpass the highest levels of customer satisfaction for women consumers.

5. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers are committed to providing the highest quality repair and maintenance service while striving to repair the vehicle right the first fime.

About AskPatty.com, Inc.

The ask Patty.com, Inc. website, blog and Second Life venue is a safe place for women to get advice on car purchases, maintenance and other automotive related topics. Women can shop for vehicles at our network of certified female friendly dealerships across the U.S.

AskPatty.com is a member and 2007 corporate sponsor of the Women’s Automotive Association International based in Detroit, MI, Chair of the UnitedSpinal Association Motorsports program, Member of the California SkillsUSA.org board, on the Women’s Board of the Car Care Council, a SEMA member and a member of the SEMA Business Women’s Networking Group.

AskPatty.com is partnered with Girl Scouts of America, AutoTrader.com, NIADA, Arkona, Chrome Systems, Inc., MyCarPage.com, MyAutoLoan, Aware and SheKnows, LLC.

Ask Patty Certified Dealer Program:

Properly armed with the right tools and training your dealerships can increase its share of the largest and fastest growing demographic of new vehicle buyers in the US — Women Consumers. The Ask Patty Certified Dealer program was designed specifically for car dealerships to attract, sell, retain and increase loyalty with women car buyers.

Go here to learn more about becoming an AskPatty.com female friendly certified new or used car dealer here: AskPatty.com female Friendly Dealer Tour

If you want more information on AskPatty.com or their dealership program, please email me at amymattinat@askpatty.com

The Women’s Board had their summer meeting at the brand new hotel ‘InterContinental Boston’ June 4-5. Talk about a classy hotel with really good food, these women know how to work in style.

The meeting started out by having a Speed Networking Session. They had two rows of chairs facing each other and each AutoGirl has 2.5 min. to introduce herself to her partner, exchange business cards, contacts and information. Then one row would move down a seat and the speed networking would start all over. With over 40 women all talking at once you can be sure the energy was high and the volume was loud. It was a fun way to meet new people and catch up with old friends.

We had great speakers and did a lot of work during our committee meetings. But the highlight of this trip for me was “The Duck Tour.” We were driven around Boston in an authentic World War II amphibious landing vehicle, renovated for sightseeing. It’s kind of big and awkward on land. How we didn’t run into curbs, signs and cars on the narrow streets of Boston is a tribute to our driver. When it splashes into the Charles River and turns into a boat, it is still big and awkward but is really fun to putt-putt along in, especially if you get to drive one like I did.

I thought I was something special until I came home and was bragging to the automotive technicians in my shop about my Duckness, and Jim tells me his 9 year old daughter got to drive a Duck during her class trip to Boston. Well a least the AutoGirls were impressed, and it was way fun being at the helm of a DuckBoat.

We always have great speakers at these meetings. My two favorite speakers were Barry Steinberg, President of Direct Tire & Auto Service, and John Passante of Organizational Development Group.

In this girl’s opinion, Barry Steinberg is “The King” of Independent Tire Sales and Automotive Service. He should become a consultant or write a book when he retires from running his four shops, because he has a great deal to teach this industry about what quality service is and how to implement this in the front end, the back end and how to get the staff to buy into being the best they can be. If you live near Watertown, MA., I would invite you to check out their superior automotive service at www.directtire.com.

{Can you read the sign over the door? “We’ll Fix It So It Brakes” They even have a sense of humor when they explain what they do}

They also have a very cool feature on their website called the Learning Center. You should check it out, there are moving diagrams and explanations on Brakes / Tires & Wheels / Alignment Topics / Suspension Systems.

John Passante is what I would call a motivational speaker. What makes him special is his 30+ years of experience in the Automotive Aftermarket. He has worked in manufacturing, distribution, sales, marketing, human resources and administration. This makes him a valuable consultant and executive coach.

He spoke to us about leadership. How the behavior and method of communication at the top sets the tone of any businesses culture. Leadership is about influencing, impacting and mentoring people to excel and letting them help to make changes that will make a more successful company.

What do you think the Automotive Industry needs in terms of good leadership to turn this industry around?

One of my favorite AutoGirl organizations is the Car Care Council Women’s Board. It is comprised of very savy professional women (and some men) from various automotive industries such as: motor sports, service shop owners, writers, associations, company executives and consultants.

The goal of the Council is two-fold: We encourage women to learn how to maintain their vehicles so they are safe and their vehicle is reliable; and to let other women know about all the great career opportunities for them in the automotive parts and service industry.

We have two meetings per year, and our 2008 winter meeting took place in Orlando Florida. The weather was beautiful (my feet were so happy to be out of boots and into flip-flops) and the company was fabulous. It is always so nice to hang out with other AutoGirls from around the country from various automotive industries. It’s always a good time and I come away from these meetings inspired and full of new ideas.

We did a lot of networking, went on the “Disney by Design” tour, ate a lot of yummy food and had some great educational speakers.

Colonel Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot a U.S. space shuttle opened our meeting, and the keynote speaker was Bud Bilanich, “The Common Sense Guy,” who gave us practical tips for success.

Kelly Williams was my favorite speaker of the event. Born and raised in Canada, she has been driving race cars for over fifteen years. This petite spunky lady competed in the CASCAR Super Series, the most prestigious arena for stock car auto racing in Canada. Today she travels around the world with the Champcar Series as a Pace Car Driver. Kelly is also the spokesperson for the Car Care Canada’s Be Car Care Aware campaign. She told me if I ever get to Toronto she would give me a “good-ride” around the track. Now you know where I’m planning one of my summer road-trips! For more information on Kelly, go to her website at www.kellywilliamsracing.com

The Car Care Council has created this fabulous 56-page automotive guide that covers nine major services and twelve various components of and automobile, plus the real service recommendations that you need to have done to your vehicle to keep it safe and reliable. You can download for FREE at www.carcare.org/car_care?guide/consumer.asp

Do you know any AutoGirls that the world should know about?

I did not grow up working on cars. My father did not own an auto repair shop; he was an insurance salesman who preferred spending time at the golf course to doing any work around the house.

I have always loved cars. Secretly driving around the block at age 14 helped me be a seasoned driver by the time driver education rolled around. My high school motor-head boyfriend took me to the races on weekends and let me pretend to be a race car driver sitting behind the wheel of his motor-head car.

But, there were no opportunities for me in the automotive world. So, I went to college for Hotel Restaurant Management and had a catering business for over 14 years.

Everything changed when I had my baby. I quickly realized that babies and catering did not mix. I knew that if I was going to stay sane, I was going to have to either hire a nanny to raise my child or become a stay at home mom with a very part-time job. Well I didn’t wait 34 years to have a child to hand her over to someone else to raise, so I hung up my apron! I wrote down all my skills and put a dollar amount of what I could make beside them. The biggest bang for the buck was bookkeeping.

I got a job as the bookkeeper at the Auto Repair shop that I took my car in for service and repairs. It was great fun hanging around the shop. I drove the auto technicians crazy with all my questions, and the trade magazines laying around (Brake & Front End, Under Car Digest, etc.) were so interesting I would take them home and read them from cover to cover. Slowly I learning the how’s, why’s, when’s and where’s of cars.

The owner kept finding me talking to his customers about things like: why it was important to the health of their car to get a cooling system power flush, what a brake job entailed, why they should rotate their tires every other oil change, etc. So much so, that he asked me if I would like a full time job as the Service Advisor. This is the point person for any repair shop or dealership. They answer the telephone, check people in the morning, call to explain what was needed to do the job, order parts and check people out after the job was completed.

What a great job! It was fast paced, full of variety, incredible social, and I was helping people keep their families safe and their cars reliable as they cruised on down the road.

I thought we should be busier and took a bunch of marketing, business and operation classes. We joined the CinRon Automotive Pinnacle Group. This is a Mastermind group of 80 of the Best, Top Notch Independent Repair shops from around the country with two fabulous consultants to teach all the latest and greatest. I was traveling four times a year to learn more and more about running a successful auto repair shop. The business doubled in size and the owner of the business asked me to be his business partner.

Now I was a female auto repair shop owner. How cool is that! This totally motivated me. I now wanted to not only help my customers, but wanted to reach out and help everyone, everywhere.

So I started writing.

I started off writing a monthly auto care newsletter to my client base. Then Vermont Women Magazine asked me if I could write a regular automotive column which we named “Under The Hood”. I was getting such great feedback that I added free reports and helpful checklists to the shops website (www.autocraftsmen.com).

Then I noticed a re-occurring problem. Customers would purchase a used car without taking advantage of our Used Car Inspection Service. They had an amateur mechanic friend or relative look over the car to determine if it was worth the money. Then they would come into our shop and say, “I need an oil change, and would you have a tech check out that weird noise in the front end?” I would send it on back and would cringe when one of the techs would call me into the bays because they wanted to show me something.

Next would come the dirty deed. I had to be the one to tell them, “We are not going to do the oil change on your car, because that funny noise in the front end will cost about $600 to fix and it’s not really worth fixing with everything else we found wrong on it.”

Then it would happen. They would either yell at me or start crying. UH, I hated this!

I wanted to fix this re-occurring problem. I wanted to make a difference. So, I wrote a step-by-step, fill in the blank workbook: How to Buy a GREAT Used Car. I got such great feedback from the hard copy that I created an e-book version so anyone anywhere could download it immediately!

The next logical step was to create a How To Buy A Great Used Car Class. I practiced by going into driver education classes and then branched out to a variety of groups. I was able to get this important information in front of people BEFORE they handed over their hard earned money on an unworthy vehicle.

I still felt I wasn’t reaching enough people. So I put together a class and a turn-key kit for other Auto Repair Shops so they could be the Used Car Experts in their communities. I teach how important it is to educate the public about buying a used car, how to give a thorough used car inspection, and give the information consumers need to buy a Great Used Car! Now there are over 60 other repairs shops around the country helping to spread the word!

My book got the attention of The Women’s Car Care Council (www.women.carcare.org). They asked me to speak at their annual meeting in the summer of 2006, and then asked me to join the education committee of the board of the WCCC. Now I am working with other women in the automotive industry to encourage women to become active vehicle maintainers; and to promote career opportunities for women in the automotive parts and service industry.

This got the attention of Jody DeVere, one of the brilliant minds behind www.AskPatty.com . She asked me to be on her panel of Automotive Expert Women.

I now start my day off by answering questions about buying used cars, automotive repair and maintenance from women around the country. I send her copies of my automotive articles and the one on Fuel Economy got the attention of National Public Radio. I was asked to be a guest expert on Talk of the Nation with Neil Cohan and was able to reach thousands of people and teach them how to get better fuel economy with their automobiles.

Being on national radio made me dream BIG! Wouldn’t it be a great idea & a lot of FUN to have an automotive TV show? Give folks a visual way to learn automotive tips to keep their families safe while driving down the road of life. I could use the help of all my automotive expert connections from around the country and we could give them the information they need to make informed decisions. Thus, Amy’s Garage was born!

If you’re an AutoGirl… how did you get in the business?