In celebration of Goodyear Autocare’s 25th anniversary Tire City empowers women with Car Maintenance 101

MANILA, Philippines - It’s always wonderful to own a car, but with this great gift comes great responsibility. A well-maintained automobile is crucial in preventing breakdowns and further complications, and yet this is a topic that often gets neglected when one first learns how to drive. Hence, a lot of car owners blindly go to service centers for their recommended car checkups; or even worse, only take their cars there when there is a serious problem already. Things start getting ugly when the long list of job orders finally gets to the customer, and he/she finds himself/herself clueless as to what these service requests even mean in the first place. Luckily for women, they can ‘phone a friend.’ And more often than not, that hero is a brother, father, husband or any gearhead male representative of the human species.

Having said that, let us realign our calendars – ladies and gentlemen, it is 2013! Clearly, it is about time that women started stepping up and understanding the basics of their automobiles’ clockwork. And Tire City Pampanga helped us start achieving just that—by holding a ‘Women with Drive’ workshop last August, in celebration of the Goodyear Autocare Center’s 25th Anniversary.

The female-centric workshop was led by TRS (Tuason Racing School) car experts, and was held right inside Tire City’s Goodyear Autocare Center in San Fernando. It was a free community service, and was open to any woman who was interested to learn more about a typical car’s proper maintenance, and a few tips for troubleshooting common problems. The event was well-attended and filled the service area with eager-eyed female drivers who had tons of automotive questions up their sleeves – solid proof that the interest is there, and that perhaps all women really need is just the avenue to learn more about the mechanics of their cars.

“It’s a helpless feeling for anyone being stranded by the side of the road, not knowing how to change a tire or why the car won’t start,” explained Levy Laus, Tire City’s CEO and founder of the Laus Group (a conglomerate of companies predominantly in the automotive business). “The aim of the Goodyear Women with Drive workshops is to affirm Goodyear’s service to help women pre-empt problems with the car by knowing what to keep an eye on, and allowing them to develop confidence, and to feel safer and more secure in the face of any roadside predicaments,” he added.

The Women with Drive workshop began with a simple lecture that covered the mechanical and electrical fundamentals of a car, and a brief explanation of the basic car parts at work. Theoretical driving scenarios were also presented, with tips on what and what not to do. The 2nd part of the workshop was even more exciting, as it involved the practical application of what was just taught – with many of the women exploiting the opportunity to get down and dirty while changing a tire, inspecting a car’s underchassis, or simply tinkering with the equipment you find under the hood. All under the guidance of TRS professionals. And as a matter of fact, the ladies seemed to be having so much fun, you’d wonder if all this time, women have just been secretly repressed from being the greasemonkeys that they really are.

Goodyear Autocare Center Tire City was a perfect venue for the event, as it is equipped with the latest diagnostic equipment and specialized tools to provide automotive services for all types of vehicles; plus comes with complete access to a comprehensive range of Goodyear Tires, all at unrivaled value. Tire City is in fact, guided by a mission to assure a safe journey for the motoring public. And a cool thing to know is that any customer may actually walk in and request for a complimentary 35-point check on his/her vehicle, by a qualified professional.

“We want to support and encourage not just our female customers, but all female drivers in the San Fernando and greater Pampanga area,” expounded Laus. “By offering special programs like the Women with Drive workshop, we are taking our commitment to safety on the road to the next level by giving our consumers more value for their time and money.”

I would love to see the modern woman move out of her comfort zone (of taking refuge under the wing of the man in her life) when it comes to cars, and take full control of the wheel, and all responsibilities that come with it. It is about time that we fully embrace the fact that humankind thrives on being a master of machines – and thus women should not shy away from its inner workings, but instead understand it.