Archive for the ‘women’ Category

Commiserations to Toyota and their drivers

Friday, February 5th, 2010

I am sorry to hear of Toyota’s problems at present – we know they are an organisation committed to quality and that they are not the only car manufacturers with cars to recall and serious safety issues to address.

I was taken aback to read that the adult family who died in the Lexus with the accelerator stuck on had the time to call the US equivalent of 999 but did not necessarily know to brake, declutch or switch the engine off… until it was too late.  Perhaps the driver was too scared or perhaps these remedial actions didn’t work?

I heard Toyota UK’s MD on R4’s Today programme this morning and he coped well with some awful questions like ‘Can you give us a cast iron guarantee that Toyota cars are 100% reliable…’ How can anyone be expected to answer such a question in these circumstances?

Let’s hope the recall process is speedy for all concerned and that this message reaches any secondhand Toyota car owners who might be affected but not on the manufacturer or dealership mailing lists.

Of course Toyota will do all it can to sort this out as soon as possible and of course other drivers will be fearful until their car is checked.

And whilst Toyota is taking the public flak, Honda is recalling cars and so is PSA but without the media spotlight on them.

But perhaps there are some lessons to be learned from being the recently largest global car manufacturer in a beleaguered industry and needing to keep an eye on the share price.  During the latter part of 2008 I read in a trade publication that Toyota was planning to introduce ten new models into the UK market in 2009 – not good timing with the benefit of hindsight.

I don’t think they all did come to market but it was clear to me then that the strategy was for new product development not the status quo.  And whilst quality and reliability have been Toyota’s strengths for many years I understand that the accelerator problem is caused due to changes made to their ABS system so one has to wonder whether the new systems were well enough tested pre new model release. Or if a degree of complacency might have crept in somewhere…

If you were to ask me which manufacturer would be most likely to have safety and reliability at the top of the agenda then I’d refer to the Reliability Index where Toyota appears in fourth position behind Suzuki, Honda and Mazda and well ahead of the likes of Ford, Vauxhall and BMW.

Too soon to measure the cost (£ billions are estimated) but the customer awareness and reassurance campaign that will undoubtedly follow will be every bit as important as the vehicle checks and remedial work to rebuild the customer trust that was part of the Toyota brand.

Sponsorship plea for two young female racing drivers

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

Now that we have two British Formula One racing champions how much longer till we see a woman driver taking podium places at a big racing event that gets serious recognition.

Not long I predict if the two young female racing drivers I know have their way… Zoe Wenham and Carol Brown.

Zoë Wenham became the youngest female circuit racing driver in 2008 when she passed her ARDS test and started racing in Saxmax, a championship in Citroen Saxos for 14 to 17 year olds. She has been the only female driver in the championship for most of 2008 and all of 2009.

Next year Zoë is 16 when she’ll be able to race with full sized adults in the Volkswagen Racing Cup, running alongside Formula 3, British GTs and National Formula Ford Championships and here are the dates and venues when she will be racing.

17th/18th July – Rockingham, Northamptonshire
14th/15th August – Silverstone, Northamptonshire
18th/19th September – Brands Hatch, Kent
16th/17th October – Donington Park, Derbyshire

Carol Brown is older at 21 and has fitted in an action packed motorsport CV to date. She was voted Scottish Lady Driver of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and recognised as the person most likely to progress in motorsport by the award of the Sheila White Trophy.

Carol began her motorsport career in karting at the tender age of six claiming Scottish titles when 8 years old including third in the British championship – all competing against boys.

By the age of 18 Carol was ready to step up a level – opting to try her hand at Legends racing. In her first full season she claimed Rookie of the Year and fourth place in the Scottish championships. In 2008 Carol dominated the championship from start to finish and claimed the SMRC Legends Cars Championship title.

Carol’s ultimate aim is to become a winning driver in the highly-competitive British Touring Car Championship and her racing plans for 2010 will appear on her website when finalised.

Both these foxy lady drivers are exceptional racing drivers and beating boys as they go but it is an expensive career to fund. So if you are reading this blog and know of a potential motorsport sponsor please ask them to consider helping girls (not just boys…) reach their podium ambitions.

And if you organise corporate hospitality events, why not contact Zoe’s Dad Paul for details of hospitality packages when Zoe is racing in 2010.

Good luck next season girls – I really do admire your motorsport talent and hope you can attract the funding you need so you can concentrate on the racing in future.

FOXY Steph

Wise motorsport fan Zoe wins Ford Award

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

zoeburtonwisewinner0911Well done engineering student Zoe Burton! Zoe is the seventh winner of the FORD WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering) prize that recognises exceptional women studying engineering and promotes engineering as a career.

Zoe is studying mechanical engineering at the University of Durham and is seen receiving her £1,000 prize from HRH Princess Anne at the WISE awards ceremony in London.

On hearing the good news she said…

“I’ve loved motorsport for as long as I can remember, and to embark on a degree in engineering seemed the logic step to combine my hobby and a potential career. After several years of work experience and a gap year in Formula One, I can’t imagine committing my life to anything else. The academic and research staff at my university have been hugely supportive.”

Other finalists were Elaine Cornell and Katherine Bexfield, both at Loughborough University.

Well done – you are great role models for women and I hope you will all consider a career in the UK motor industry – it doesn’t have to be in motorsport ;-) .

With just 20% of motor industry employees female, yet the majority of decision makers and influencers are women, we need more to join in and make a real difference to service levels in future. Good for you Ford for celebrating female talent ahead of others here.

FOXY Steph

Good garage in Greetland, sounds very friendly…

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Given a choice of addresses, if I wanted one to sound friendly and different I’d probably pick Greetland as a great indicator of a warm and female friendly business.

Last week I spoke to Eileen Jack at Lambert Street garage in Halifax and there it was, a female friendly garage in Greetland which is a district of Halifax.

And whilst carrying out her marketing review with FOXY Choice  I learned that Eileen has been dealing with a business that had bought a domain name for her so she would then pay them to advertise her business with them. They then used her domain name to promote their business not hers and where there was a listing of garages hers appeared in sixth place not first. Remember she had paid for this ‘marketing service’.

How stupid do these people think female business owners are, simply because they are too busy running a successful business to know all there is about internet matters?

Increasingly we find a lot of these advertising sharks around giving the likes of FOXY Choice a bad name even though we are selling a female friendly marketing service, not just advertising.

And really awful to take advantage of a female friendly garage like Lambert Street Garage in Halifax Greetland, run by a foxy lady herself who is busy looking after local women drivers and doing a great job at MOT, car servicing and repair times.

When will the motor industry get its female friendly marketing act together and realise that women are the future entrepreneurs representing the lionshare of female influencers of cars and garage services. We know what we want and I am sure that Eileen will have made that point very clear…

FOXY Steph

Celebrations coincide…

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Just like buses, off we go on our travels then two of them turn up at once. No not buses… keep up in the back.

I am talking about female friendly businesses I know and like who are both celebrating their 15th birthdays in 2009 -  in today’s economy, getting to any business birthday is really something special.

Business number one is female friendly garage car repairer ooops.net in Poole, Dorset. I’ve mentioned them before because they do creative things like invite female motorists and their family to drive-in movies and summer fetes. This time business founder Paul Booker is starting his own ooops blog so I wanted to give him a foxy plug on behalf of the many women drivers in Poole who know they can trust their car to this business.

The second business is actually related to business number one in that they specialise in designing social networking solutions like the ones ooops.net offers their customers – they are creative agency Preview based in Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex and their design work is some of the best I’ve seen  – and I’ve seen a lot, trust me ;-) . This agency was founded by Nick Broom FCIM who I know from my CIM Sussex committee work.

I’d also add that both Paul and Nick recognise that social networking needs to add value and provide advice and information to become regarded and trusted by women in particular, in their different fields.

Here’s to the next 15 years guys… and let’s all look forward to meeting the 25% of our customers we don’t know yet as we travel the next 15 years in business!

FOXY Steph

www.ooops.net/blog

500 honest women replace men on Lima roads

Monday, September 28th, 2009

My goodness, is this a first? I have just read about 500 women beating 500 men to road traffic jobs because they are seen to be more honest and honourable.  So much so that soon the whole traffic police force in Lima, Peru will be female but not all that friendly from what I can make out.

All the same, well done girls for getting the jobs for the right reasons.

However this could soon be a real nightmare for drivers who break traffic laws in Lima and have been used to getting off lightly in the past providing they pay a ’sweetener’ or bribe.

The reason for this decision is that Peruvian surveys say that female road traffic police are stricter, less friendly and – more importantly – less corrupt than their male equivalents.  So much so that women traffic police are to be given complete control of the chaotic streets in Lima where some 8 million people live.

Incredibly, their 500 male colleagues are to be transferred to other departments. I predict a riot based on punctured egos and macho mutterings…

This seems to be the will of General Arturo Davila, the only man left as head of Lima’s traffic police.

And whilst traffic violations have been ’settled’ in the past by male and female motorists bribing the road traffic police this strategy doesn’t seem to work with their female equivalents who are described as tough, ruthless and merciless; women are much more likely to impose the fines dictated by law.

Needless to say this won’t win women new friends on the roads in Lima but it might look a bit like rough justice to some women after years of putting up with patronising and ’superior’ male behaviour in the past.

Let’s hope that this female power is used fairly, preferably in a friendly manner and doesn’t go to women’s heads.

FOXY Steph

Mazda gets things right in a recession

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

Thank goodness for some good news.  Some new car manufacturers are adopting bullish tactics in this recession! This is such a great opportunity to grab the bull by the horns and beat the competition to the future!

Take Mazda Europe for example who expect to appoint more than 100 new dealers to its European network this year. That’s some motoring!

And when you know that cars like the MX-5 are so popular with women and see the emphasis they are placing on quality and recognising best practice, this is encouraging news for female friendly service levels for women drivers in future.

Take Mazda Romford, for example, where Amarjit Shokar has just won the Motor Trader Dealer Principal of the Year Award and is described as “the inspirational figurehead”.

Amarjit says that his philosophy is that the company “belongs to every individual that works at the business and that everyone benefits from its rewards.”

Jeremy Thomson, MD of Mazda UK used this award to show how [sic] ‘Mazda is now the franchise of choice for entrepreneurial dealers.’

Needless to say there are new models Mazda2 supermini and Mazda3 to tempt dealers too.

These are all signs of female friendly service levels and car dealerships like Mazda Romford deserve to be promoted by FOXY Choice and then introduced to members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club.

Well done Amarjit and Mazda UK.

FOXY Steph

“Find the good, it’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.” Jesse Owens, Gold Medal Olympic Track Athlete.

PS   I’d also like to mention Accountant Julie Oliver who is Group Finance Director at the Mitchell Group, Cheshire Oaks, Chester. This is a multi-franchised dealership selling Lexus, Mazda and Skoda cars. Once again quality will shine and the good new car dealerships deserve to be recognised as female friendly, head and shoulders above the rest in a very competitive market-place. Well done Julie.

Why are there no women drivers in Formula One?

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

Neither England’s men or women are doing well in the Ashes at present. Let’s pray for rain or a batting miracle tomorrow.

Either way I feel sure we’ll read pages and pages in our papers about the men’s game and not the women’s game tomorrow, no matter how well the women performed in the World Cup.

It’s the same with football too.

But now that Wimbledon have decided to do the decent thing for women and to give them equal earnings under the same annual billing as the men, perhaps it’s time for the sporting authorities to do the same thing for women cricketers and footballers and to share the TV coverage more equitably.

Why not start off the women’s football league alongside the men’s and give both the same exposure? And play and announce both the men and women’s cricket events and football results at the same time…

Maybe then the women’s game would get the audience it deserves and whilst the female football game is undoubtedly different from the men, I’m not so sure that women can’t take on the men in tennis and/or cricket in future.

And I have no doubt that women can and will drive as fast as men in future, much as they have done in the past.

I am reading a new book from Veloce Publishing called ‘Fast Ladies – Female racing drivers 1888-1970′ and it is fascinating to read about the daring and brave women who took part in speed trials, rallies and Grand Prix events.

Why not women drivers in Formula One today?

FOXY Steph

Should women earn the same as men at Wimbledon?

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

As you know, I run a motoring club for women drivers and we get a fair bit of flak from men who are fed up about women bleating (that’s how they see it) about wanting better services than them. They think we are all feminists, wanting it all, that sort of criticism.

When I then explain that there are lots of support clubs for women, that the motor industry is considered by many women drivers to be un-female friendly (root and branches, garages, dealers and new car dealerships) and finally tell them that they can enjoy our services if their ‘foxy lady’ joins up, they usually go away smiling and understanding why we feel the need to address our gender differences with our membership services.

But when it comes to positive discrimination such as actively recruiting female MPs or the likes of Sarah Palin perhaps, I do have to draw the line. The best must always be chosen, regardless of gender, race, sexual persuasion or colour. We only have to see the female fall out in the current ‘expenses scandal’ to see what happens when you cherry pick by criteria other than ability and scruples.

When it comes to Wimbledon however, I feel differently in a way.

If female tennis players are to earn the same as male tennis players then they need to feel the same pain during the qualifiers and they must expect to play FIVE  sets in a match, not just the best of THREE.

Women are not wimps and we should not be mollycoddled as a weaker sex in this area. We must always compete on a like-for-like basis and equal pay where this happens.

I am not saying that ‘like-for-like’ means that women should play the men however because of the subtleties in the different game styles BUT we should be expected to give the same effort for the same reward.

I’d take it further and say that there should be more women working in the UK motor industry (20% as is) but I am fearful of token-ism here, recruiting eye candy to keep men happy ;-) so until the industry is [seen as] genuinely more female friendly and actively recruits the best jobs from a female as well as a male audience, I’ll not be banging on about this for a while…

Good luck Andy (and let’s hope it’s a Scottish Andy in the Finals in 2010).

FOXY Steph

“You’ve got to take the initiative and play your  game… confidence makes the difference.”

Chris Evert

Good luck to Kate and Yasmina

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

I am a fan of The Apprentice, ‘Lord Sugar’ and Margaret Mountford.

I think that this time around there is more attention being paid to the fact that the finalists are female but wasn’t that the case when the Badger went head to head with Michelle who won but isn’t with Sir Alan now; having gone her own way after her apprenticeship.

So will corporate Kate impress more than restaurateur Yasmina who has had a taste of working for herself (and may struggle to be told what to do in a Sugar company culture, like Michelle perhaps)?

Just for the record my choice was Ben by a long chalk and I am sure he will shine in future; he needs a few business knocks and successes under his belt so he doesn’t feel the need to crow about Sandhurst so much. Didn’t he realise that this would get right up Alan Sugar’s nose!!

Modesty is such an endearing characteristic Ben; ask Margaret for a few tips here.

I look forward to the programme tonight and wish Margaret Mountford every success on getting her PhD ahead of a zimmer frame (her words in the Telegraph not mine..).

Looking for a successor to Margaret, Sir Alan? That’d be an ideal opportunity for a foxy lady like me  to follow in her calculated footsteps!

FOXY Steph

“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. A woman must do what he can’t.”
Rhonda Hansome