Cars X Girl

I honestly don’t always mind fighting for respect. In fact, I seem to get all the more of it when I show that I deserve it. I know most girls aren’t car savvy in the least, so I’m quite alright with having to prove myself a bit. After getting our 240SX, life’s been grand as far as cars go. She’s the first that I can talk about her in terms of engine codes, power and anything else that sounds like word jumbles to other people.

And I love how my Miata is finally garnering some respect of her own. We’re to the point of being taken seriously by those who are smart enough to pick up on what we’ve managed to do thus far. I love how she can get a couple of stares when I have her parked when I’m at work… It’s great. Of course, I added a couple of subtle hints that she belongs to a girl: A girlRacer sticker on the passenger side of the windshield and my purple five-point Corbeau harness. Oh, plus the Coach scarf that I have tied from the rear view mirror, with our Special Award button from the car show at Myrtle Beach. It’s great to see people get kind of confused by her with that mixed in!

So when I happened across this article, “Tuner Chicks Pimp Their Rides,” I was appalled, to say the least.

Who the hell thinks this actually represents “car girls”?!?!??! It’s horrible. And it’s a huge insult to me for them to be called “tuner chicks.” Let me explain.

You say tomato…

When you say “car girl” or “tuner girl” or “racer girl” or anything like that, you must understand that there is a difference. A “car girl” is any girl that’s into cars, whether she knows a lot or a little. I’m definitely a car girl myself, and I don’t mind the title. Then there’s a “racer girl,” also me. It’s a girl who races cars, whether built herself or not, legal or illegal. I pride myself on the fact that the Miata and I race legally, and only legally. We do autocross, and later this year we’ll be on our first track learning the ropes of real racing.

Then there’s a “tuner girl,” my most prided title. A tuner girl is only one who actually knows her stuff. We’re the girls that turn the wrenches, not just pay someone else to do it or hand guys the tools. We can talk about suspension set ups, wheel and tire combos and the way turbo systems work. We can keep up with the car guys in a conversation, and are the actual real female gearheads in the world. We’re also the smallest group, and you won’t find many in existence.

Part of my motivation for writing a car blog is to expose myself as a female tuner. Ask me anything you’d like, I’d be glad to answer. My husband can vouch for me as well, in that everything done to my car is picked out by me, paid for by me, and either installed by me or taken to our very trusted mechanic. And, best of all, she’s raced by me.

All show, no go.

What really irks me about the article is that they’re called “tuner chicks.” Now, I’m not a fan of being called a chick. I am, but it’s a bit slang-y for my tastes. (Why I have my Flickr nickname set to “Foxy Tuner.”) And, to be blunt, they are NOT tuners in any way. While they came up with the visions and fronted the cash, the most work they put into the cars is cleaning and shining and polishing a car that probably barely gets dirty.

Tuning vs. Tricking

When you talk about tuning a car, it’s assumed we’re talking about upgrading the performance. If all you’re doing is building a car for show, you’re “tricking it out.” A tuned car may not be the prettiest on the outside, but they hide the best secrets. Usually, you can pick out a well-built go car… They look rather unassuming, yet there’s something about them that gives them up.

A tricked out car, on the other hand, is a peacock with all of its feathers out. It hides nothing, because everything seen is judged in shows. Why waste money upgrading an engine when you can just polish up the stock one and make it look pretty? Highly modifying the engine is just a waste, when you can dump the money into paint and other pretty things instead.

No big loss, really.

Then again, look at the cars these girls “modded.” Two Toyota Celicas. A Toyota Corolla, sedan at that. A Scion xB. (*Gasp* All Toyotas?!) No loss felt by the community, honestly. But if the one chick had dropped money into that “Honda 2000″ of hers, maybe she’d actually have something there. (My other big problem with the article. The journalist should be shot…. It’s a Honda S2000, get it right!!)

Both Celicas are rather new, so they’re the slowest and girliest of them all. The xB’s in the states are all modded atrociously anyhow, only the Japanese seem to understand the purpose of the bB. And the Corolla is new enough to be a complete waste of life as anything other than middle-class transportation. Sorry. Car shows aren’t my style at all. They’re rarely driven, if ever, and cleanliness and ricer parts are preferred over real performance improvements.

Some say I’m just jealous. All of these girls get the attention, I get maybe an eighth as much. But I’m not, I am so not. They can talk about “Lambo doors” and window tint and paint. I can talk about my camber and my cornering and my race performances. Honestly, I let the guys choose which they prefer. The ones I like better will choose me, anyhow… My cars aren’t that girlie, and guys have already told me they like them a lot. (Mostly they all love my wheels, my beautiful black 15″ Enkei RPF1′s.)

Life goes on.

My Miata is styled in a classic, timeless manner. She’s a race car, and race car’s don’t go in and out of style ever. The pink paint, the purple tint, the shiny bits will all fade and come in and out of style. In my favorite tuning style, JDM, less is more. And it really is.

I can be serious with my car without drawing unwanted attention. I can driver her to the track, race her and drive her home. Her paint isn’t perfect, but she’ll only get scratched and dented more when I take her to work or to school. Keeping her body perfect is too much work for such a minimal return. Besides, cars are built to be driven… And she’s a blast to drive fast through the corners.

I dream of a world…

My dream is for girls like me to get recognized. Whether it’s by five people or five thousand people. My goal is to reach as many car people as I can, to show that us tuner girls exist. We’re out there, doing all the same things the guys do. Maybe better. I want to be recognized as a girl who’s into cars. But, more so, I want the credit I deserve and the respect I ought to have earned… Female or not.

Meg

In 2007, Meg began learning about cars. Two years later, she had a very modified '97 Miata and a '90 240SX project car, as well as the Rookie of the Year autocross title. Life now completely revolves around cars and she wouldn't have it any other way. CarsxGirl is her way to encourage others to get into racing (it's not horribly expensive!), to document & share her car builds, an outlet to share & improve her automotive photography skills and to show that real car girls do exist!

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