Cars Deaf to Women's Voices

An anecdote from about ten years ago... A woman buys a new Ford Focus (2012) and loves everything about it except its voice-command system which often cannot understand what she says while it has no problem hearing her husband when he talks to it from the passenger side. Driving safely becomes a bigger challenge for women since doing without voice activation means not having your eyes on the road all the time.

In 2005, a woman purchased a Buick Rendezvous and found it impossible to programme the voice-activated phone system. When she called customer service for help, she was told that it was not going to work for her and to get a man to set it up. In the meantime, improvements have been made (via).

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photograph (1972) via

The Times of Hyper-Masculine Car Adverts are Over

An online car sales site combined data gathered from a survey carried out among 2.000 car buyers with a study by a panel of 12 drivers (from all over the UK, age 18 to 64). The panel looked at adverts and reviews of brands such as BMW, Bentley, Ford and Jaguar and came to the conclusion that so-called hyper-masculine marketing is turning off both female and male consumers (via).

Since the start of car advertising, women have consistently been patronised, derided, or seen as merely objects for men to acquire, or an accessory. In the ’50s, Ford made coats and handbags designed to match cars, but only last year, Renault brought out nail polish to match the car – oh, and bonus, you can use it as a touch-up paint too. Us silly women are always scratching our cars while parking! Some of it may be slightly more subtle now, but it’s still there. Men go on epic adventures, winding along cool roads on exciting mountain passes in car adverts… women, they drive the kids to football practice, or go shopping in their pyjamas.
Rachael Hogg 

73% of Brits agree that car advertisements either personify gender stereotypes or only address men; luxury sports car brands are found most guilty (by 82%) of being presented as "too masculine" in ads. Small cars (including Fiat 500), on the other hand, are perceived to have the least masculine advertising. 68% of car buyers (77% of women, 58% of men) find gender stereotypes in car ads off-putting, 83% feel disconnected from car marketing, 76% of female drivers do not believe car brands understand women's car buying needs.

Asked about advertising in general, i.e., in all industries, 52% said they found hyper-masculine advertisements patronising, 45% thought the ideals of men and women portrayed were impossible to live up to, 59% believed that they reinforce gender stereotypes that no longer reflect how men and women see society (via). The times of hyper-masculine car adverts are - or should be - over. 

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photograph by Claude Nori via

Driving Cessation and Health Outcomes in Older Adults

Abstract: Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Driving cessation was reported to be associated with declines in general health and physical, social, and cognitive function and with greater risks of admission to long-term care facilities and mortality. A meta-analysis based on pooled data from five studies examining the association between driving cessation and depression revealed that driving cessation almost doubled the risk of depressive symptoms in older adults (summary odds ratio = 1.91, 95% confidence interval = 1.61-2.27). (Chihuri et al., 2016)

- Chihuri, s., Mielenz, T. J., DiMaggio, C. J., Betz, M. E., DiGuiseppi, C., Jones, V. C. & Li, G. (2016: Driving Cessation and Health Outcomes in Older Adults, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, link
- photograph (North Hollywood, 1970) via

Listening to Music while Driving

Listening to music while driving has an impact on men and women. In a study, female drivers reported "higher levels of perceived driver caution" and to be more aware of the experimental music background. Brodsky (2015), the author, notes that: "However, the most important difference between the genders relates to driving deficiencies. Namely, male drivers were involved in significantly more events at significantly greater severities in every driving condition". Here some details...



... condition no music:
event frequency: female - 8 (M), male - 12 (M)
event severity: female- 113 (M), male - 190 (M)
... condition preferred music:
event frequency: female - 10 (M), male - 13 (M)
event severity: female 150 (M), male - 216 (M)

This paper draws on a visceral approach to explore the role of sound/music for people who drive cars. We examine the ways in which gendered subjectivities emerge from the pleasures associated with listening to sound/music during short car trips. The first part of the paper reviews the recent literature on ‘feelings for cars’. We highlight why gender is often absent from the literature before offering a conceptual lens drawing on geographical feminist thinking to consider sound/music, feelings, gender and mobility. We draw on driving ethnographies to explore the role of sound/music in how gender is assembled with the flow of connections between bodies, spaces and affects/emotions. Considering the contextual pleasures of listening to sound/music on these trips and emergent gender subjectivities we provide a more nuanced interpretation of why people choose to drive cars. To conclude, we point to the implications for applied research for new context-specific transport and climate change policy.
Waitt, Harada & Duffy (2015)

- Selection of my Cinquecento Music List:

::: Mando Diao: Dance with Somebody: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Starbuck: Moonlight Feels Right: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Gnarls Barkley: Crazy: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Daft Punk: Lose Yourself to Dance: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Elvis: A Little Less Conversation: LISTEN/WATCH
::: The Buggles: Video Killed the Radio Star: LISTEN/WATCH
::: ABBA: Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Boney M: Ma Baker: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Donna Summer: I Feel Love: LISTEN/WATCH
::: KISS: I Was Made For Lovin' You: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Daft Punk: Around the World: LISTEN/WATCH

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- Brodsky, W. (2015). Driving With Music: Cognitive-Behavioural Implications. Farnham & Burlington: Ashgate.
- photograph by Elliott Erwitt (1955) via

Happy 1398! Celebrating a Resilient Holiday.

"For thousands of years, Iranians and those influenced by Persian culture have celebrated their new year at the first moment of spring." (via). The holiday dates back to at least 1.700 B.C. and ancient Zoroastrian traditions (via), estimations are in the range of 3.000 years (via).
An important aspect of Nowruz is that it survived Islam. After the revolution in 1979, the government tried to curb the popularity of Nowruz and limit its influence since Iran's most important holiday had no Islamic roots (neither did Iranians) (via). Even before the 1970s, there were attempts to suppress or ban Nowruz, e.g. by Arab invaders in the 7th and 8th century. It "faced the ire of the Arabs on numerous occasions". In Afghanistan, the holiday was forbidden by the Taliban as it was pre-Islamic, hence un-Islamic (via). Nowruz proved to be a resilient holiday and was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (via).



"Norouz has been a bold identification code for being Persian, including all ethnicities within the land. (...) Norouz has been a celebration of early spring, and as Shabazin (2009) asserts, 'Norouz survived because it was so profoundly engrained in Iranian traditions, history, and cultural memory that Iranian identity and Norouz mutually buttressed each other ...'"
Payvar (2015)

Tonight, the equinox will happen at 10:58 p.m.
Here is some information how to celebrate Norouz: LINK

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- Payvar, B. (2015). Space, Culture, and the Youth in Iran. Observing Norm Creation Processes at the Artists's House. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- image via

Take the Pledge

Before buying your wife a new cross-flow Cortina, make her repeat after you: I WILL see the housework's done before dashing off to show the girls my new Cortina's chic interior colour scheme. I WILL spend more time behind the wheel of my sewing machine than the padded wheel of my Cortina and running through my smooth automatic transmission. I WILL put up with washday blues before scenic views. I WON'T get parking tickets simply to draw attention to my new Cortina.



image (1969) via

"... we felt you might enjoy a different body styling for a change."

Anglia's lines are so well-known to rally-followers (and rally-driving Anglia-followers) we felt you might enjoy a different body styling for a change.



To go on, however, Anglia's rugged dependability and performance are equally recognized by rally fans.
It's highly economical, handles like a charm and looks every inch the talented, gutsy little bundle of going concern it is.
Actually, you'd be quite safe and happy if you bought it on its reputation alone.
But it's more fun to try it out, so see your Anglia dealer.
He has all the details.

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image (1963/64) via

Excitement for Him, Peace of Mind for the Little Lady

FOR HIM, performance-driving the automatic. No more over-riding gears. No more danger of reverse instead of low, or searching for second and drive detents as with the usual automatic selector. Now select the proper gear at the proper time with safety and confidence. Start in low (no possibility of reverse this time) and push forward and to the right on the "stick" for second. No chance, no feeling for the detent with "safety latch", a positive stop - a positive second. Ready for high, again to the right and forward as hard as you please and "bang", high - not neutral. Every selection quick and safe no matter the degree of excitement.

HIS ONLY
This key on his personal key ring prevents use of the competition gate by the curious parking lot attendant, or the automatic minded little lady. No chance of them over-revving the engine waiting for the automatic shift.



FOR HER, the usual peace of mind of the automatic transmission plus an extra bit of admiration for "her man" who really wanted a 4-speed standard stick but thought this extra just for her. The Dual Gate was designed for those who desire both the ease and convenience of an automatic plus the performance of a manually shifted transmission. It will add individualism and pride of ownership to that personal car which the family can borrow. A simple flip of the latch to the normal position, without the need of the key, and the manual shifting (His) gate is closed to all but the key holder. Also, we have put a little fun into driving the automatic.

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image via

Can a photographer be blind? Can a car be art? Volkswagen and the blind photographer.

"I didn’t take photography seriously until I went totally blind. I was trained in sculpture and industrial design. I have always been a visual person and planned to study architecture at Yale, but then I started to lose my sight. A doctor coolly told me I had Retinitis Pigmentosa and left the room without further comment. (...)



One day I was cleaning out a drawer and found my mother in laws’ old camera. She had passed away a few years earlier. I like mechanical things, so Amy found me fooling with it. I asked her to describe the settings to me so I could figure out how to use the 1950’s Kodak. I found the camera fascinating and discovered it had an infrared setting. I thought a blind guy doing photos in a non-visible wavelength would be amusing. (...)

Women talk about a glass ceiling. Blind folks face a glass front door. We can look into the workplace but aren’t allowed to enter. I do something else. I slip photos under the door from the world of the blind to be viewed in the light of the sighted. I view my work during the event of taking the shot in my mind’s eye. I “see“ each shot very clearly, only I use sound, touch, and memory. I am more of a conceptual artist than a photographer. My influences come from my past memory of art and what I now find in the world at large. I now ask to touch sculptures in museums too. That’s another long story. (...)

What I get out of taking photos is the event not the picture. I do the large prints to get sighted people thinking. Talking with people in galleries builds a bridge between my mind’s eye and their vision of my work. Occasionally people refuse to believe I am blind. I am a visual person. I just can’t see."

Pete Eckert



"The design of the new Arteon leaves a lasting impression. But can it also be felt by someone who can’t see it?"

"For his amazing artworks of the new Arteon he started by approaching to the car very sensitive. Slowly, almost reverently, he traced the lines from the exterior to the interior and internalized every square centimetre of the bodywork. Until he has captured the complete Arteon in his mind. Or, as he puts it: 'The Arteon emerges before my mind’s eye.'"

Volkswagen



images via and via

The Aggressive Driver Syndrome, Age, Gender and Type of Car

Aggressive driving (tailgating, rude gestures, passing on the shoulder, pulling into a parking space someone else was waiting for, etc.) is a cultural norm, a socially acquired practice with age and gender differences.
The results of a telephone survey of 1.000 adult drivers conducted in 2000 show that young drivers are more aggressive than older drivers, that men are more aggressive than women when they drive sports cars and light trucks, and women are more aggressive than men when they drive SUVs and luxury cars. The author, in fact, distinguishes between "tough driving cars" (sports, light trucks, SUVs), "soft driving cars" (economy, family), and "special driving cars" (vans, luxury) stating that each of these "psychological categories" has its own aggressive driving syndrome. These are correlations, no causality is discussed.



The author also conducted an online survey in which 72% of female van drivers confessed to swearing and cussing on a regular basis vs. 46% of male drivers of economy cars.
Generally, men described themselves higher on aggressiveness than women (either because they really are or because it is culturally more accepted, or a mix of these reasons). The difference was significant, little in numbers (6 vs. 5.5), and high in effect. When considering the lifetime of one generation of drivers, the author comes to the conclusion that women's lesser aggressiveness would theoretically lead to 120.000 lives saved and 500.000 injuries less. The type of aggressiveness is also related to age and gender. Women, for instance, swear more than men do. So do young drivers compared to older ones. Men, in contrast, speed more than women (so do younger drivers compared to older ones).

"One of the discoveries I made by studying drivers for many years is that they like to underestimate their errors and overestimate their skills. In this sample, people rated themselves as a driver on a 10-point scale, from (1) poor to (10) excellent. Men rate themselves close to 8 while women rate themselves close to 7. This is is significant and substantial, but the interpretation is not entirely clear. It's possible that men are better drivers than women, but not necessarily. It could be that men underestimate their errors, while women are more realistic or honest. What's interesting when you look at the graph, is that this gender difference is replicated across the 10 states for which I had enough respondents to attain reliability."

Interestingly, those who consider themselves near perfect also confess to significantly more aggressiveness.

Although the sample is not representative and one has to be careful when analysing self-assessment, this study has some interesting findings.

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- James, L. (2000). Aggressive Driving Analyzed: National Web Based Survey of 1.200 Drivers. The Effect of Age, Gender, and Type of Car Driven Across the States, online
- Photograph via

We don't make a "woman's car"

"Women only drive automatic transmissions."



Some car manufacturers actually believe women buy cars for different reasons than men do.
So they build "a woman's car." Oversized, hopelessly automatic and dull.
At Honda we designed just one thing. A lean, spunky economy car with so much pizzazz it handles like a sports car.
If you're bored with cars designed only to get you from point A to point B, without responding to you the driver, maybe you ought to take the Honda Civic for a spin.
We've got a stick shift with an astonishing amount of zip. Enough to surprise you. We promise.
Or, if you prefer, Hondamatic. It's a semi-automatic transmission that gives you convenience, but doesn't rob you of involvment.
Neither one is a woman's car.
Honda Civic.
We don't make "a woman's car".

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image (1974) via

Women are soft and gentle, but they hit things.

Sooner or later, your wife will drive home one of the best reasons for owning a Volkswagen.



Women are soft and gentle, but they hit things.
If your wife hits something in a Volkswagen, it doesn't hurt you very much.
VW parts are easy to replace. And cheap. A fender comes of without dismantling half the car. A new one goes on with just ten bol. For $ 24.95*, plus labor.
And a VW dealer always has the kind of fender you need. Because that's the one kind he has.
Most other VW parts are interchangeable too. Inside and out. Which means your wife isn't limited to fender smashing.
She can jab the hood. Graze the door. Or bump off the bumper.
It may make you furious, but it won't make you poor.
So when your wife goes window-shopping in a Volkswagen, don't worry.
You can conveniently replace anything she uses to stop the car.
Even the brakes.

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image (1964) via

Audi's Daughter

"What do I tell my daughter? Do I tell her that her grandpa is worth more than her grandma? That her dad is worth more than her mom? Do I tell her that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than every man she ever meets?..."

"Progress is in every decision we make, every technology we invent, every vehicle we build. It’s our past, our future, our reason to exist. Audi of America is committed to equal pay for equal work. A 2016 report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee found that women were paid 21% less than men on average. 

This is a story of a young girl competing in a downhill cart race in her hometown. As the fearless daughter weaves her way through a field of competitors, her father contemplates whether his daughter’s worth will be measured by her gender through a series of provocative questions. It is a reminder that progress doesn’t belong to any one group. Progress is for everyone." Audi USA

Audi launched its ninth Super Bowl ad stating in a press release that is committed to supporting women's pay equality in the workplace. In addition, 50% of candidates of its graduate internship programme have to be female. The commercial was created by Venables Bell & Partners and will be aired tomorrow in the third quarter of the game (via).

Park like a girl

“The more I was treated as a woman, the more woman I became. If I was assumed to be incompetent at reversing cars, oddly incompetent I found myself becoming.” (via)



The stereotype is that women are bad at parking - a stereotype that women partly seem to have internalised. According to a survey, only 18% of women think that they are better parkers than men and 28% believe they are better parkers than their partners (Wilson, 2014). New studies also show that while men are faster when it comes to parking, women, in fact, are more accurate. And no, it is not because they are more likely to use cars with park assist systems (Kortus-Schultes). In the U.K., researchers observed 2.500 drivers across 700 parking lots and found that a) women were better at finding spaces (because men drove too quickly) and that b) women were in more accurate positions before starting maneuvers, hence c) more likely to reverse into the spaces. "Based on scores for seven components, women averaged 13.4 points out of 20, compared to the men's score of 12.3." (via). The stereotype, however, will surely continue to exist.

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- Wilson, F. M. (2014) Organizational Behaviour & Work. A Critical Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- photograph taken in San Francisco by Fred Lyon via

Post No 500: A big thank you to all subscribers and a little tribute to my beloved 500

Posting number 500, a wonderful opportunity to thank you all for your interest in diversity and its intersection with arts, business, music, urban planning, Star Trek, ... Thank you so much for commenting, for subscribing, for passing by. I do hope that you will find the next 500 postings as interesting as the past ones. Grazie tante!



And here the original Fiat 500 advertisement (via):



Special thanks to my 500 for the inspiration and to Paperwalker for the "slight modification" of the vintage Cinquecento advertisement.

How to convince your wife that a Volkswagen Station Wagon is the perfect vehicle

Do you have the right kind of wife for it?
Why won't your wife let you buy this wagon?
If you can sell her on this, you can sell her on anything.



DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF WIFE FOR IT?

Can your wife bake her own bread?
Can she get a kid's leg stitched and not phone you at the office until it's all over?
Find something to talk about when the TV set goes on the blink?
Does she worry about the Bomb?
Make your neighbor's children whish that she were their mother?
Will she say "Yes" to a camping trip after 50 straight weeks of cooking?
Let your daughter keep a pet snake in the back yard?
Invite 13 people to dinner even though she only has service for 12?
Name a cat "Rover"?
Live another year without furniture and take a trip to Europe instead?
Let you give up your job with a smile?
And mean it?
Congratulations.



WHY WON'T YOUR WIFE LET YOU BUY THIS WAGON?

"It looks like a bus." "I wouldn't be caught dead in it."
Do these sound familiar? Your wife is not alone. It is hard to convince some women what sense the VW Sation Wagon makes.
Its chunky shape, for instance, allows it to hold more than the biggest conventional wagon. (Yet it is a good four feet shorter, and a lot less exasperating to park.)
She might like the easy way it loads. The side doors give her almost 16 sq. ft. for big supermarket bags, a baby carriage, etc.
The Volkswagen Station Wagon does not have to take anything lying down. She can cart home an antique chest, standing up. Or delicate trees from the nursery. (Wide things, too. It will hold an open playpen.)
She can comfortably pack in eight or more Scouts, with all their cook-out gear.
She can give the family some extra sun on the way to the beach. (Why no other station wagon has a sun-roof is a mystery.)
Even if the traffic is bumper to bumper on hot days, she will not have to worry about the radiator boiling over. There is no radiator, no water. (The Volkswagen engine is air cooled.)
She may get a kick out of beeping to the other women who drive VW Station Wagons. (They have a kind of private club.)
Or maybe she likes to see where she is going. (The VW wagon has incredible visibility on hills and curves.)
If these facts don't convince her, why not give up gracefully. (For this year, anyway.)



IF YOU CAN SELL HER ON THIS, YOU CAN SELL HER ON ANYTHING.

"Me? In that?"
When you take your wife to see the Volkswagen Station Wagon don't be surprised if you have to drag her.
"But it looks silly."
That's your first problem: you have to explain the flat face and square shape.
The front is flat because the engine is in the back. This eliminates a long hood and makes our wagon almost as easy to park as our sedan.
(There's only 9 inches difference.)
And the square shape holds almost twice as much as an everyday wagon. 170 cubic feet.
Once you coax her behind the wheel, be ready for something like this:
"But it's like sitting in a fishbowl."
She's right, it is. there are 21 windows. If she handles the family checkbook, you might show her a few numbers:
24 mpg on regular. 35.000 miles on tires. 4 pints of oil, not 4 quarts.
If you can sell your wife on the VW Station Wagon, consider yourself a star salesman.
We certainly will.

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images via and (1965) via and via

Fiat in 1966: The second best shape in Italy, no German thrift to spoil the picture

How would you like to get away from it all with the Second Best Shape in Italy? A Little? A Whole Lot? The Most! (Check one. Don't cheat)
If you checked "The Most,", Congratulations! You're a natural born Fiat man. A man who knows a beautiful thing when he sees it - and what to do with it. A man loaded with red blood cells that glow brighter when adventure's in the wind. The Fiat 1500 Spider with five forward speed transmission is adventure on wheels, bumper-to-bumper excitement that makes everything fun. You checked only "A Little?" Cheer up. Spin the Spider around the block and check with us again. Always have at least one Fiat!



At $1237 what could cut a prettier figure than the Second Best Shape in Italy?
Any way you figure it, the beautiful buy is Fiat. Designed and crafted with an eye for the artistic, a hand for precision - and this 600D two-door sedan for economy plus. Because Italians regard their cars almost as highly as their women, they create Fiat with no hint of the economy showing. This means you get the shape, the finish, the performance and all the "extras" at this incredibly small cost. Drive the 600D today and marvel at the way this fabuloso production shapes up. Always have a least one Fiat.



The Second Best Shape in Italy at the coolest little figure in its class - $2585. That's all the money you part with for all this car, the Fiat 1500 Spider. Styled by Pininfarina, the romantic web it spins is captivating America. It's dynamic outside and a dynamo inside - a perfect expression of Italy's fabled creative energy and inspired art. Lean into a curve with Fiat's curves and know what it's like to drive this five forward-speed sportsman's dream. And to help you keep it humming, there are 425 parts-and-service centers in the U.S.A. This new five-speed Spider is waiting for you at your Fiat dealer. So what are you waiting for? Always have at least one Fiat.



The second best shape in Italy at the hottest little price in the USA. You've seen the first, in films. Now see the Fiat, in person. Fiat is the hot one. The Italians did it the way they do most things. With style. With flair. With flourish. And there's no Germanic thrift showing. This Fiat sport comes with all the extras at not a penny extra. Bucket seats, power brakes, leatherette upholstery, heater, defroster, tachometer, dual electric wipers, safety belt anchors, bumper guards, self-cancelling turn signals, help-lights and tool kit. And speaking of figures, you can't even come close  to a shape like this at a price so trim and appealing. At $2639, it's the lowest-priced sports car in its class. Every family should have at least one Fiat.



Introducing a New Car & a quick question: Is the Second Best Shape in Italy quite proper for a Family Man?
Answer: depends on the man - and the family. If you're lucky enough to have a built-in flair for style and a family to match, the new Fiat 1100 R four door sedan is right down your freeway. There's that fabulous Italian shape. The immediate responsiveness. the sweet, even disposition. And no German thrift to spoil the picture. Though it's only $1564, it comes to you with all the "extras" at no extra cost, including front wheel disc brakes, safety steering column and four-on-the-floor shift. If you're extra enough to appreciate it, see the 1100 R at your Fiat dealer's today. And always have at leat one Fiat.



images (mostly from 1966)  via and via and via and via and via

He needs a tiger in the road. She needs to scoot to the supermarket.

HE wanted a Fiat Spider, SHE wanted a Fiat "600"
THEY got them both (...and saved a garageful of money!)



HE wanted a Fiat Spider...
The FIAT 1200 SPIDER is all the car a man could want. A tiger in the road. Stunning Italian styling by Pinin Farina. Careful Italian craftsmanship in every detail. A humming 1221 cc. engine that delivers plenty of zip and about 27 miles a gallon. Roll-up windows, plenty of legroom, tuck-away soft top and optimal hard top too, if you want it. Best of all, a price tag that lets you drive it instead of dream about it - only $2596. (And it's the only car also available with the winging new version of a famous 1.5 liter racing engine! WHOOSH!)

SHE wanted a Fiat 600...
The FIAT 600 is everyone's ideal car, perfect for scooting to the supermarket, dropping the kids off at school, or taking the whole family to grandma's for the weekend. It parks in spaces that don't look big enough for a bike. Delivers about 40 miles a gallon. Includes almost $300 worth of accessories at no extra charge. And costs only $1398 - about $200 less than the leading French and German imports.

SPIDER or 600, a FIAT will keep your family happy. Your budget, too. Try either one tomorrow. Better yet, try both.

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image of Fiat advertisement (1961) via

Born this day: Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt

"Motoring is a pastime for women; young, middle-aged and – if there are any – old. There may be pleasure in being whirled around the country by your friends and relatives, or in a car driven by your chauffeur; but the real, the intense pleasure comes only when you drive you own car."

Elizabeth Levitt (5 January 1882 - 17 May 1922) was an early speedqueen, "a motorist who delighted in exceeding the speed limit", "a renowned pioneer of female independence, female motoring, motor racing, the most successful female competitor in Great Britain, victorious speedboat driver, holder of the water speed record, and holder of the Ladies World Land speed record." The "Champion Lady Motorist of the World" who taught Queen Alexandra and royal princesses to drive was described as "arguably the best known of the early drivers" at a time male prejudices against women drivers were rather clearly expressed. Dorothy Levitt continued countering clichés about "the ignorant woman": "I am constantly asked by some astonished people 'Do you really understand all the horrid machinery of a motor, and could you mend it if it broke down? ... the details of an engine may sound complicated and look 'horrid', but an engine is easily mastered."



Levitt, the "Fastest Girl on Earth", published her book "The Woman and the Car: A chatty little handbook for all women who motor or who want to motor." in 1909. In her book she wrote that women should "carry a little hand-mirror in a convenient place when driving" and "hold the mirror aloft from time to time in order to see behind while driving in traffic".

"The mirror should be fairly large to be really useful and it is better to have one with a handle. Just before starting take the glass out of the little drawer and put it into the little flap pocket of the car. You will find it useful to have handy, not only for personal use, but to occasionally hold up to see what is behind you."

Dorothy Levitt invented the rear view mirror which was officially introduced by manufacturers in 1914. (via)

"First Englishwoman to take part in public motor-car competition. Did not win. Will do better next time."  Levitt's diary, 1903

"Beat a great many professional drivers ... Drove at rate of 77.75 miles in Daily Mail Cup."  Levitt's diary, 1905

"Broke my own record and created new world's record for women at Blackpool. Ninety horse-power six cylinder Napier. Racing car. Drove at rate of 91 miles an hour. Had near escape as front part of bonnet worked loose and, had I not pulled up in time, might have blown back and beheaded me. Was presented with a cup by the Blackpool Automobile Club and also a cup by S. F. Edge, Limited."  Levitt's diary, 1906

photograph via

Heidi Hetzer makes a journey around the world.

Heidi Hetzer was born in Berlin in 1937. Her father dealt with Opel cars, she became an auto mechanic and later a racing-car driver.



Heidi Hetzer took part in the Rallye Paris with an Opel oldtimer built in 1911, the Panama Alaska Rallye with a 1969 Opel Kadett B, the Rallye Düsseldorf-Shanghai with a 1964 Opel Rekord A Coupe, the Carrera Panamericana, ... and in many more rallyes (via) - all together there were more than 200 rallyes and 150 prizes (Baumann, 2014).



Inspired by Cläronore Stinnes (1901-1990) who travelled around the world by car from 1927 to 1929, this month, on 27 July, 77-year-old Heidi Hetzer will start a journey around the world with her 83-year-old oldtimer Hudson (which she tenderly calls "Hudo"). A 65-years-old gentleman was supposed to accompany her but changed his mind. The "vacant position" was advertised, among the candidates a 24-year-old man who speaks five languages and is currently getting his driver's licence was chosen. His late driver's licence is no problem for Heidi: "I can drive myself."



Heidi Hetzer is planning to travel through 58 countries (including e.g. Russia, Iran, Japan and Australia) in the next two years and never to travel more than 300 km a day since she wants to have enough time to get to know the culture and the people she visits (Baumann, 2014). When her plans were published on the internet, she received comments such as "old bag" with an "old car". At first, she was "completely devastated" but then replied that she wanted to be a model for elder people who she wanted to encourage to be active and leave the couch (via). Her fans will be kept up to date through her weblog (Baumann, 2014) and her family via Skype. Why this journey? "Once in my life I wanted to do something for myself." (via). 95.000 km to go. Bon voyage, Heidi!

 

- Baumann, B. (2014) Heidi hetzt Hudo. Rondo Mobil (Beilage Der Standard), Juli 2014, Nr. 11, S. 20
- photos via and via and via and via