Girls and Cars

When I was growing up, girls who knew how to fix cars were in a class of their own. They transcended the stereotype of the helpless woman at the side of the road with her doors locked waiting for a tow. They could hold their own with the guys. They were rugged, dirty and downright cool.  

Whether Andrea Dello Russo thinks of herself a member of that downright cool set or not, what she does is about as cool as it gets. Dello Russo is the instructor of ACE MV’s Basic Auto Maintenance for Women.

The course description for this class in the catalog reads, “This is a course for women with no prior experience in auto mechanics. We will cover the fundamentals of auto maintenance, and learn how to use basic tools properly and safely. Sponsored by .”

Jessica Roddy who is enrolled in the class this term said she took the class, ”because how cool to learn about cars with girls and I know nothing.” By the second night, Roddy had learned to change the oil in her car.

This is the second year that ACE and Dello Russo have offered the class. “If the interest is there for me to keep teaching, I don't see why I'd stop!  I love that other women are interested in learning this skill. It's a good skill to have. Not to mention the confidence boost when you can talk shop with the boys,” said Dello Russo.

Dello Russo got the idea to start the course after having taken ACE’s Basic Carpentry for Women class the previous winter. “I loved the idea of a comfortable learning environment for a woman to learn basic skills and terms from another woman in a field typically run by men.  Not that I have anything against learning from men.  But I do know that when the comfort is there and the embarrassment factor is down, there is certainly more room for retaining knowledge.  In my case anyways,” she said.

The class covers the basics of auto mechanics. The first night, Dello Russo takes students on a tour of their car.  “We pop the hood and go over names and locations of some typical trouble spots. Then the car goes up on the lift and the students take a tour of the underbelly, identifying trouble spots, and pointing out locations and naming parts and systems, like the exhaust, transmission, oil pan, shocks, etc. 

“My goal is to leave the students with a better knowledge of how their car operates and what will keep it happy and healthy, and to also leave them with at least five maintenance upkeeps they can do on their own including an oil change.”

Dello Russo still considers herself a novice in the field. She credits Bruce McIntosh of McIntosh motors with how far she’s come in such a short time. “I cannot emphasize enough the gratitude I have toward Bruce McIntosh for teaching me with such patience everything I know, and giving me the space and opportunity to actually be successful.” Passing along that information has been a huge source of joy for Dello Russo. “After the first night, I had at least one woman proudly enter and tell me what she'd been able to figure out about her car, or that she went out and bought the correct parts for her car with confidence, and every class thereafter. I was a proud mama for sure!”

Upon the suggestion from some of her first round students Dello Russo is looking into offering an advanced class down the line “for the ladies that want to get a little more grease under their fingernails.”