Autumn is the picture-perfect time of year when many drivers take to the road to view the colors. The leaves are beautiful to see, but when wet or in piles, they present driving hazards unique to the season. The Car Care Council reminds drivers to [...]
Alternate-fueled and hybrid vehicles are gaining market share but still account for a relatively small percentage of vehicles on the road. Someday all of us may be driving pollution-free, hydrogen-powered cars. But what’s a concerned consumer to do in the meantime?
Motorists who want [...]
With gas prices continually in flux, interest in domestically produced bio-fuels like ethanol (E85) is on the rise. These flex fuels have been gaining popularity not only for their lower cost, but also their lessened impact on the environment. Flex Fuel vehicles that can run [...]
It seems that everyone we talk to is on a tighter budget these days, and most of them tell us watching their pennies has become more than just a hobby. It doesn't matter whether it's groceries, clothing, or gas, we're all looking for the best [...]
Don't forget to set the clocks back in your car on November 1! Daylight savings ends when we "Fall back" on the first Sunday in November and begins again when we "Spring forward" on the second Sunday of March. Benjamin [...]
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month and to celebrate its 15 years of support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R), the world headquarters of Ford's Blue Oval in Dearborn will shine pink on Monday and Tuesday night, with the "[...]
Ford Warriors in Pink, now in its 15th year of support for breast cancer health, recently joined forces with Martha Stewart to focus on breast cancer treatments and awareness with a special Warriors in Pink episode of her television show.
For many years, Ford has [...]
We love to have the chance to share about great opportunities for women in the automotive industry, and were so delighted when we heard this excellent story about Ashley Waller. This young woman put a business degree [...]
Take one glimpse at teen driving statistics and it's clear: the real culprit facing today's teens behind the wheel is distracted driving. Regardless of whether it's a cell phone, iPod, or BlackBerry, in the last 10 years teens have become more connected - yet also [...]
Bendix Brakes is giving away eight $2,500 automotive education scholarships as part of their new "The Passion That Drives You" contest.
Here at AskPatty.com, we're always trying to encourage more women to turn their automotive interests into a career,' [...]
There's so much happening in the automotive world, whether it's exciting reports about automotive safety, green car news, or information about our Certified Female Friendly dealers and retailers, we've got something here for everyone. Have you got female friendly news or interesting automotive tidbits to share? Email Ask Patty at [...]
A total of $119,000 in scholarships is being distributed to 74 students through the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund (SMSF), a program administered by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) to foster leadership opportunities in the specialty equipment marketplace and to support educational goals for students. [...]
There's so much happening in the automotive world, whether it's exciting reports about automotive safety, fun car news, or information about our Certified Female Friendly dealers and retailers, we've got something here for everyone. Have you got female friendly news or interesting automotive tidbits to share? Email Ask Patty at [...]
We've all been there—pulled off on the side of the road, staring at the back bumper with the huge, fresh dent, wondering who's at fault (them, of course) and if the car insurance company will honor your claim. Filing a car insurance claim doesn't have to be intimidating, and [...]
I said goodbye to my dear old Honda Accord recently, after visiting it at the impound lot for the last time and removing the last bits of my belongings from within its interior. This junkyard, with thousands of other scrapped cars just like it, has [...]
Cleaning a car is a piece of cake, right? Certainly, if you follow the procedures suggested by the Car Care Council.
While it's the most basic procedure in car care, it does deserve some thought. The first step in cleaning the car is to wash [...]
There's so much happening in the automotive world, whether it's exciting reports about automotive safety, fun car news, or information about our Certified Female Friendly dealers and retailers, we've got something here for everyone. Have you got female friendly news or interesting automotive tidbits to share? Email Ask Patty [...]
Pamela Nicholson, president of Enterprise Rent-A-Car has once again been named to Forbes' 2009 list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World.

Are your headlights aimed correctly?
According to the National Safety Council, the number of traffic deaths is three times greater at night than during the day. Since ninety percent of a driver's reaction depends on visibility, it is extremely important that your headlights are aimed correctly, are [...]
My corgi loves being outside. She “helps” me water my potted plants by sticking her face into the hose water and snarling at the spray coming from the nozzle. To her, this is bliss. It’s also a great way to have fun with her while keeping [...]
For the 10th year in a row, Michelin North America Inc. and its Uniroyal tire dealers continue to support soccer communities across the country. Beginning September 4, 2009, sponsored players will receive a certificate that can be redeemed for a free soccer ball at their [...]
What are the odds of a pair of twin sisters buying exactly the same car at the same time for the same reasons? Well, that is exactly what happened, kind of freaky, huh? Behavior geneticists compare how alike one twin is with the other twin on whatever [...]
The government’s Cash for Clunkers program is back on track and many Americans are heading to car dealers to swap their older cars for new ones. What many people may not realize is that to trade-in an older car, it has to have had car insurance [...]
According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of all near-crashes involved a distracted driver who looked away from the forward roadway, such as retrieving a cell phone from the gap between the driver [...]
The Ford Taurus is all-new for 2010, promising an expressive design, impeccable driving dynamics, class-leading technologies, and unsurpassed value.
If you're interested in taking a test drive of the new Taurus without the pressure of a salesman looking over your [...]
Did you know Americans drive about 3 trillion miles in the average year? How cool would it be if we could improve our driving skills just by playing a simple memory game on your computer? The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a not-for-profit research and [...]
There's so much happening in the automotive world, whether it's exciting reports about automotive safety, fun car news, or information about our Certified Female Friendly dealers and retailers, we've got something here for everyone. Have you got female friendly news or interesting automotive tidbits to share? Email Ask Patty at [...]
The Songs of Love Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that creates uplifting, personalized songs for children and teens struggling with a life-threatening illness or lifetime disability -- free of charge. Each CD is professionally produced with lyrics containing the child's name and references to [...]
Starting today and continuing through September 8, General Motors is implementing a test program in California that will allow buyers to shop for vehicles online using eBay. In a partnership first announced in early July when GM emerged from its [...]
It is one of those 90-plus-degree days, hot, hazy and humid. Isn't it great to be able to get in your vehicle and enjoy the comfort your air conditioning system provides for you and your passengers?
The [...]
When it comes to driving safely, it's easy to take your vehicle's ability to stop for granted - until you really need it.
According to brake expert Akebono, your brakes often reveal possible serious situations when they make noise, pull, judder - another term for vibrate [...]
Each year on the third Saturday in August, more than a million people and as many as 40,000 muscle cars, street rods, custom, collector, and special interest vehicles idle their way along a 16-mile stretch of Woodward Avenue in a tribute to [...]
Watching NASCAR pit crews change tires is one of the activities that most race fans take for granted. After all, they change their own tires after 25,000 miles or so, not after 25 laps, right?
Well, the attention to detail that pit crews pay to the [...]
When the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program was finally officially enacted last week, car shoppers swarmed automotive dealerships to take advantage of the $3500 or $4500 rebates offered when trading in their [...]
Your car's air conditioning system uses a chemical refrigerant under pressure to make the interior cool. MACS Worldwide wants you to know about the environmental damage chemical refrigerants can create when the system is not serviced properly. Proper handling of these [...]
Just because the economy is in a slump doesn’t mean we should cut the things we need. Take car insurance, for example: car crashes and accidents don’t stop just because the economy is down. There are easy ways to find a cheap car insurance policy, but still keep your car [...]
AskPatty attended the BlogHer09 conference last week and we're so excited to share our experience. Even though we have worked together for more than two years, this was my first chance to spend some real quality time with my editor Brandy Schaffels. [...]
How could I resist? The government is going to buy my poor old van and I can get a new vehicle at a drastic savings. So the process begins. Because I have experience in the car business I thought this would be a snap. I [...]
Graduating from college brings on many new challenges. One thing young women don't take into consideration when moving away from home is car maintenance and driving conditions. Many of the women I know, including myself, relied on dads, brothers, boyfriends, or roommates to handle the maintenance of their cars or [...]
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports, there were 1,095,769 vehicles stolen in the U.S. in 2007, equating to one motor vehicle stolen every 28.8 seconds. So here's a new reason to love OnStar: In addition to its already great assortment of [...]
With economic concerns on most people’s minds, the old-fashioned auto vacation is poised for a comeback, as families looking for convenience and ready mobility over the expense of air travel to exotic destinations.
But with summer weather, comes special automotive maintenance challenges; extreme heat, humidity, [...]
If you've ever wished on, wondered about, or dreamed of any of those "Secrets You Wish Your Mom Told You," now you can get powerful but simple secrets from eight experts--they're all professionals and they're all real women just like you. We can't wait to [...]
"I feel like such a fool," Sandra complained. "All I did was take my car in for an oil change and wound up paying for oil, an oil filter and an air filter. Plus, because he called to tell me my fan belt was shot, [...]
I love road trips and last month I took one with my daughter, her husband, and two of my grandchildren to Mt. Whitney to camp, hike, enjoy some clean air, sit by the fire, make s'mores, and enjoy some much needed time [...]
In this article, Diane MacEachern (author of "Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World") explains that when it comes to buying a "green" car, most consumers focus on fuel efficiency: The more [...]
Cobalt Group employs over 900 people and 40% of the workforce are women, many who hold high ranking positions of leadership. 135 women employees who contribute to the success of Cobalt in a wide variety of roles attended their first annual Women's Summit & Luncheon and [...]
Emerging from bankruptcy just 40 days after filing, the new General Motors Company began operations on Friday touting a new corporate structure, a stronger balance sheet, and a renewed commitment to make the customer the center of everything the [...]
Driving on the freeway in gridlock traffic in southern California is no fun at all. Throw in a few disgruntled workers, teenagers and road ragers and the freeway could be a very dangerous place. Every day on the road I see people getting cut off, [...]
It seems as if everybody is familiar with the Elephant Car Wash chain. They've got ten locations on the west coast, and Elephant Car Wash's iconic neon elephant sign has been a Seattle landmark since 1951.
Of course, for the attendees at [...]
There's so much happening in the automotive world, whether it's exciting reports about amazing women in the industry, fun car news, or news about our Certified Female Friendly dealers and retailers, we've got something here for everyone. Have you got female friendly news or interesting automotive tidbits to share? Email [...]
Michael Jackson, the King of Pop took his last ride through Los Angeles today, starting early this morning with a funeral caravan from his family's home in Encino, California, escorted by police guards across the 101 freeway to a private service held at Forest Lawn [...]
As we said in Part 1 of this report, many of today's high-powered engine designs and advanced technologies have high-performance lubrication needs that make using a fully synthetic motor oil a far better option than relying [...]
With the warm Arizona wind pelting his forehead and his entire body vibrating from the mighty roar of the engine, Roger Keeney took a brand-new 2010 Ford Mustang convertible on an amazing ride, doing donuts on the pavement and amassing speeds of up to 90 mph.
This [...]
The Century Council sent me an innovative eCard for the July 4th holiday that reminds viewers to stay safe this Independence Day and not drive drunk. Click below to start the video, or you can also view the eCard here at [...]
AskPatty - Automotive Advice for Women, Brandy S