Ladies get pampered at car maintenance class

Thu, Mar 27, 2008    to del.icio.us

A growing number of women are taking a greater interest in their cars.

Click to enlarge
Despite the fact that many parts are now computerized, there is still a lot of information they can use to get the most out of their car repair projects.

That's the theory Stu Olson had when he started offering Ladies Night Out classes in Grand Rapids 10 years ago — and that's what he has continued since joining a local automotive repair shop in Grand Haven in August.

While in Grand Rapids, Olson said he noticed more and more women were becoming the shop's clients.

"They kept asking me to break it down, make it understandable," he said.

Olson said he seemed to have a knack for explaining repair technicalities to people who didn't work with cars. He was working seven days a week when he came up with the idea of a class, which also got him away from the workplace.

When he came to Grand Haven to work for Rob Hoppe at Automotive Advantage, Olson said it was easy to convince the boss that these classes would be helpful to the community. They offered the first one last September to three people at their facility at the corner of Fulton and Ferry streets.

Each time they offered the class, it doubled in size; and they eventually had to move it out of the shop to a larger meeting room.

In January, the night of a blizzard, 45 women turned out for a class at Spring Lake District Library.

A dozen women showed up Wednesday night at Loutit District Library, many of them returning for their fourth or fifth Ladies Night Out class.

Colette Cooley, who also works at Automotive Advantage, has been to every class.

"I'm like every other woman," she said. "I want to know what the guys are talking about. I don't want to feel like a helpless idiot."

Cooley said she is gaining a sense of empowerment from the classes — where she has learned about things such as brakes, tires, oils and air conditioning.

"The neatest thing I have learned is how to tell the difference between a longitudinal and a transverse engine," she said.

The transverse runs side to side, and works mostly from a computer. The longitudinal runs front to back, and uses batteries and fuses.

Diane Nienhouse has only missed one class. She started to take the sessions after getting stranded without a cell phone.

"You kind of like to have somewhat of an idea if you can handle it yourself, or if you have to take it (the car) somewhere," she said. "Knowledge can never hurt."

Nienhouse said she liked the class on tires.

"We learned about different kinds of tires, different kinds of treads, and how to know when to get new ones," she said.

Wednesday night's session covered air conditioning, wheel alignment and lighting.

Olson, with the help of lead technician Mike Chan, discussed the benefits of cleaning the air conditioning unit and the symptoms that would alert you to a problem with the unit — noise, smell, clicking sounds and lack of cool air.

Chan explained that most alignment problems were caused by vehicles hitting potholes or curbs, or getting in accidents.

The men also discussed the different types of headlight bulbs found on cars and what might be involved in changing them.

Chan, in response to a question, said the new HID lights found on luxury cars cost about $200 a bulb, "but they last a long time." While Chan agreed that the "true light" was irritating in a rear-view mirror — he called the headlights "eyeball melters" — they were still wonderful to drive with, he said.

Throughout the course of the evening, drawings were held for free oil changes, car-cleaning kits and coupons. The first five women in the door were also treated to a reflexology session with Ginger Creasy of Natural Touches by Kelly. Snacks and refreshments were provided by Old Boys Brewhouse.

Click to enlarge
Attending for the first time, both Ann Kammeraad and Phyllis Carpenter said they found the program very educational and would very likely return for another class.

"It gives me more insight on my car," Kammeraad said.

"It's nice to have that knowledge because cars are a lot different than they used to be," Carpenter said.

The sessions are free and are held every other month, now rotating between the two local libraries.

Olson said the next session will be held Wednesday, May 21, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spring Lake District Library. He said topics covered then will be different, and are generally geared for the season.

Click to enlarge
On the Net:

Automotive Advantage: www.cars4keeps.com

More photos can be found on: www.squink.com