FOXY Lady Blog has been hosted in WordPress since its inception. As tempting as it is to carry on this way, we now have a new Blog area within the Club website.
Look out for a new section there called FOXY Lady Opinion where I’ll publish my thoughts about motoring services and women drivers in future.
You’ll also find Sections covering
+ Everyday ‘How To’ and ‘Tips’ motoring content, with women in mind
+ Commissioned Product Reviews
+ Car Reviews, by and for females
+ ‘Women In the Motor Industry’ career profiles
It’s that time of year when we beg your forgiveness for taking a suitably seasonal but lighthearted look at the many tricks and treats to be found, all year round, somewhere in the motor industry.
So here are some FOXY things to consider this Halloween…
Spooky – how motorists in the know can often pay SO MUCH LESS for new cars than others who trust their car salesman to be fair by them.
Eerie – how we sometimes get sold things we don’t actually need or want, especially when we don’t know the right questions to ask or what homework to do first.
Ghostly – the shortage of women throughout the motor industry (from the Boardroom to the showroom floor) and, in fact, in management roles in business generally in the UK.
Witches – high flyers all of course, we couldn’t possibly criticise our own gender but suspect others might have their own description to suggest here…
Ghouls – those politicians, business owners and companies who don’t appreciate that women are equal BUT DIFFERENT – and need to be treated accordingly.
Things that go bump in the night – the sound of our jaws on the floor when we see our ‘female friendly’ message is gradually getting through in the motor trade!
Whatever you get up to on the night, we hope you enjoy your Halloween.
And please remember, being a FOXY Lady Drivers Club member means you never have to have motoring nightmares again!
To help us create a female friendly support message for this year’s Tyre Safety Month marketing campaign, ‘Bad Air Day’ we are delighted to be partnering with PurePotions to promote their range of natural hair products as part of our #TyreSafetyMonth activities.
As everyone knows, when your hair feels and looks neglected, we feel the same and it affects our personal confidence levels.
Now imagine how your car feels when its tyres have been neglected and they don’t have enough air in them to do their job properly! They don’t perform as well and it’s definitely a ‘Bad Air Day’ in terms of your motoring safety.
Our Competition With PurePotions
Thanks to Brighton business PurePotions, we are running a competition to draw attention to this topic. One lucky winner will receive a hamper of their natural products worth up to £50 including their Natural Shampoo, Natural Conditioner, Scalp Oil with borage and rosemary, Intensive Facial Oil and Seabuckthorn hand cream.
All you have to do is enter the Facebook competition at the FOXY Lady Drivers Club Page, which we posted on 6 October, LIKING and commenting as requested.
Alternatively use our jolly !
A Bad Air Day
We’re anxious to alert women drivers to the fact that safe car tyres need taking care of, especially by checking the AIR pressure in them regularly.
This is because, when your car tyres aren’t properly inflated, they can’t grip or hold the road well enough so you feel this through your car’s bad road handling. When your tyres are over or under-inflated, your car is a harder steer, you’ll wear out expensive tyres and you’ll use more fuel BUT what matters most is the fact that your tyres will not perform well enough when you need them to brake in an emergency. And the wrong air pressure MIGHT cause an accident that could have been avoided if you’d taken better care of your tyres.
About Hair And Air Care…
Award-winning PurePotions was founded by Brighton mum Natalie Balmond in her search for an effective, safe, natural and non-steroidal moisturiser to treat her daughter’s chronic dry skin condition. All Pure Potions products are fragrance-free, paraben-free, not tested on animals and made in their UK workshop so you can be sure that you know exactly what is going on your sensitive skin.
Here’s where to choose a FOXY Lady Approved tyre centre that has signed a promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell you anything you don’t need.’ They will check your tyres for free, advise you about the right tyres if you need new ones AND give you a free gift membership of FOXY Lady Drivers Club in exchange for your feedback about their customer service.
If not for you, perhaps a wife, partner or daughter might be helped here? Here’s where to either join The Club yourself or buy her the gift of improved motoring knowledge.
We’re told that by 2040 there won’t be diesel (or petrol) cars on UK (or French) roads.
But with progress running at the pace it does, perhaps this will happen sooner.
So what’s the problem now, you might ask?
The problem is to do with pollution, when we buy diesel cars with high levels of NOx.
This matters most where pollution levels are high, in cities in particular, because our health and that of pedestrians can be affected.
I am always surprised that so many motorists turn a blind eye to this sort of thing when CO2 emission details are available in the public domain. Maybe it shows the power of a trusted brand. Or a more Clarkson-esque attitude in favour of a car’s driving performance and looks? But were so many of us wise to trust car manufacturers to take care of this for us?
Dieselgate
An added concern is the Dieselgate scandal that is unfolding in the UK as I write this.
Amazingly motorists are still buying cars from manufacturers that have defrauded others here. Were VW a bank or a politician, for example, we’d be spitting abuse at them using social media. And yet we seem to buy VW Group cars with abandon – letting fleet sales shore up stakeholder profits…
As I see it, VW should be held to account for
+ fraudulent behaviour
+ addressing car performance problems after the dieselgate ‘fix’ – UK law firm Harcus Sinclair reports that out of 9,500 VW Group owners, 5,052 have reported problems with their car after their emissions fix.
We’ll have to wait for the Government’s Transport Select Committee to report on this matter to know what our options are in the light of the US lawsuit and partial settlement of $15.3 billion (£12.3 billion) for affected US motorists.
Car Models with Diesel Concerns
So, which are the stated ‘best cars’ with unacceptably high emissions and which are the models involved in the Dieselgate scandal?
I have been reading the Which? Car Guide 2017/18. They’ve clearly struggled with the ethical debate of listing offenders as ‘Best Buys’ (the Audi A3 Saloon is a good example here with emissions so high they wouldn’t pass the ancient Euro 1 standard) so instead they’ve listed their ‘best’ car choices by category and flagged them up with either Emissions Warning (EW) or Dieselgate (DG) so we know what we are buying, in future.
The following manufacturers and models are listed by Which? as a best car in their category despite an ‘Emissions Warning (EW)’ or Dieselgate (DG) flag.
Audi A1 (2010-) DG
Audi A3 (2012-) DG
Audi A3 Cabriolet (2014-) DG
Audi A3 Saloon (2013-) DG & EW
BMW 2 Series convertible (2015-) EW
BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe (2014-) EW
BMW 6 Series Coupe (2011-) EW
BMW X3 (2010-) EW
Citroen Berlingo Multispace (2008-) EW
Ford Focus (2011-) EW
Ford Galaxy (2015-) EW
Ford S-Max (2015-) EW
Honda Civic (2012-2017) EW
Hyundai i10 (2014-) EW
Hyundai i40 (2012-) EW
Hyundai IX35 (2010-2015) EW
Kia Sportage (2016-) EW
Lexus IS (2013-) EW
Mercedes-Benz SL (2012-) EW
Mini (2014-) EW
Nissan Pulsar (2014-) EW
Porsche 911 Carrera (2012-) EW
Porsche Cayenne (2010-) EW
Toyota Aygo (2014) EW
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (2016-) EW
Subaru Outback (2015-) EW
Toyota Yaris (2011-) EW
Volkswagen Polo (2009-) DG
Volkswagen Sharan (2010-) DG
Volkswagen Tiguan (2016-) EW
Volkswagen Up (2012-) EW
What Should You Do?
1) If you have a choice, don’t buy a car with an emissions warning. Not just because you will likely struggle to sell it afterwards but because it is harming the planet and another human being could suffer by your action. If that doesn’t matter to you, you won’t be reading my blog.
2) If you own a car with an emissions warning you might want to sell it/trade it in for a newer car sooner rather than later. It doesn’t solve anything but it becomes someone else’s problem when values drop.
3) If you own a Dieselgate (DG) car that’s either been fixed or awaiting its fix – be sure to document the outcome*. You will likely have to have this ‘fix’ done because VW is threatening to de-register any car that isn’t fixed within a given period. Please see Honest John’s comment in the above image – we read of many cars suffering this ‘limp mode’ experience which could be scary on the likes of motorways, for example.
*Despite VW’s efforts to be (seen as) squeaky clean here, there may come a time when motorists are required to prove any detriment to claim fair compensation.
4) Finally if you are considering buying a car with either warning, I suggest you think again. There are other cars in your category that are as good and that don’t come with a health or fraud warning. Unless of course you’re considering buying a car that isn’t in the latest Which? Car Guide? In which case PLEASE do your homework thoroughly to find out why it isn’t a best buy and whether you’d do better buying one that is.
I have nothing but praise for first movers who spot an opportunity, take advantage of it quickly and follow through afterwards. The First Movers I’d particularly like to recognise here are Car Dealer Magazine, Autocar and the UK Automotive 30% Club.
The opportunity I’m talking about is the shortage of recognised female talent across the car, automotive and general motoring-related industries.
This opportunity is of equal interest to female friendly businesses that are already going that extra mile for women customers and those that recognise that being (seen as) a female friendly employer will likely improve staff retention and recruitment appeal.
When it comes to taking full advantage of either opportunity, that depends on the business strategy employed to follow this through.
The problem arises when first movers test the water here then get cold feet. This often happens to do with gender because some businesses think equality means treating men and women the same – which would be fair enough if men and women were the same. Which we aren’t of course as female perceptions of the motor industry (as customers and potential staff) confirm.
So, to address these areas, businesses need to decide their strategic recruitment plan and some are clearly doing this better than and ahead of others.
Car Dealer Magazine
Initially Car Dealer Magazine planned to get women in the industry together and see what’d happen – by organising an event at Car Dealer Expo 2015 that introduced different women and different careers to female attendees. Their first speakers included a rally driver, garage owner, Dealer Principal and finance specialist.
After these individual presentations a Q and A session revealed some dissatisfaction in female ranks. Why were scantily clad promotional girls on display at such events? Why were women a sideshow industry issue (the room was very small and away from the main stage) and why wasn’t this sort of presentation aimed at women outside the industry, not in it?
So I was interested to see if the Car Dealer Expo 2016 addressed these issues and by and large it did. Yes, the room was bigger, yes the MC was an impressive Miriam Gonzales Durantez (aka Mrs Nick Clegg) and yes Gaia Innovation MD Julia Muir brought local schoolgirls along to find out about automotive careers and yes there were many excellent issues raised again.
This raises the interesting question of impartiality and independence in this area. Most of us run businesses not charities so we have to tread carefully and be seen to payback when accepting event sponsors that just might put the organiser at odds with key members of their audience.
Sadly I wasn’t able to attend the 2017 event due to an early diary clash so I missed the speed networking sessions with 100 local female students, sponsored by VW. But if you were there, by all means bring me up to date with your memories and thoughts about the day.
Autocar’s Great British Women in the Car Industry
Autocar’s Top 100 Great British Women Awards took a different tack, setting out to attract female engineers into car manufacturing roles by promoting a wide range of female careers and recognising high achievers in the car industry.
Their first event in 2016 was held at the SMMT offices where Linda Jackson (still the only UK/European female CEO of a car manufacturer) headed a fabulous band of female talent covering a wide range of job areas and functions.
Their Year Two event was considerably more impressive, held in plush conference facilities at Twickenham Stadium and free of charge to invitees, including lunch. Well attended, as you’d expect, local MP Sir Vince Cable delivered the opening address and Paul Geddes, CEO of Direct Line Insurance, delivered the Keynote speech.
There were two main panel debates tackling similar issues. The morning group was more attuned to the status quo I felt, but the afternoon panel was keen to see change or were already doing things differently and sharing best practice in many areas.
There was a definite focus on car manufacturers and franchised dealer groups at this event and little of interest for the independent sector.
Throughout the day I became more and more convinced that
1. Nobody knows the precise gender metrics in the automotive industry. For example how many employees are female in boardroom/senior management/middle management/car sales/aftersales/parts/engineering/design & IT roles in car manufacturers, top dealership groups, retail and other aftermarket roles. This means it’s going to be difficult to measure change until we do, or to calculate areas where the commercial need is greatest eg do we need more female engineers or more female car sales staff and so on…
2. There’s a weary school of female activists like me who want to shake up the male driven automotive industry by demanding a serious commitment (and action plan) towards diversity – one that takes effect NOW, not in 10+ years time.
3. By and large, long term female employees in the motor industry seem to think more like their male peers than other women drivers who don’t work in the motor industry.
4. Female returners to the industry, especially ones in HR functions, better understand what ‘typical mums and daughters’ think about the automotive industry and are more attuned to bridging this perception gap to recruit/retail the right female talent.
5. Some businesses are clearly working harder than others to be (seen as) female friendly from the point of view of their female customers, staff and future recruits. And this seems to be working.
6. Regardless of gender, most automotive staff seem to love cars and engines.
7. Where a potential female recruit is clearly more in tune with people and customer service than cars or has exceptional professional credentials but little love for engines or technology should she feel out of place? Perhaps she sees the industry as more about cars than people?
The UK Automotive 30% Club
So could the new UK Automotive 30% Club be an industry catalyst for change here? As mentioned at the Autocar 2016 event this started out with leading dealership groups stating an aim to have 30% of senior roles in their businesses held by women by 2030.
This is supported by the likes of the IMI, big dealer groups Vertu Motors, Lookers, Group 1 Automotive, TrustFord, Vantage Motor Group and manufacturers Toyota, Mazda, Kia and Bentley.
But is a 30% target in 13 years ambitious enough I wonder, when an aspirational target should surely be closer to 50:50? Perhaps this bar is too low to impress.
The Future
Now that such a good start has been made on so many different fronts, I wonder who will take this gender baton further to include all industry sectors I wonder?
Certainly it’d be good to see Car Dealer Magazine adding to this by taking an active part identifying and promoting women in the motor industry within their Magazine. Maybe there’s an earning opportunity here for them to promote management job vacancies to women, within genuinely female friendly businesses?
Perhaps Autocar can make business sense of continuing a high profile Great British Women In The Car Industry annual awards ceremony funded by a wider range of sponsors and ticket sales? They might also develop this by looking at new ways to sell cars to influential women or identify car dealers which are the more female friendly ones, to drive more females to their publication.
And if The UK Automotive 30% Club would aim for a higher and more immediate target (than 30% of senior roles going to women by 2030) I feel sure that the first movers within their ranks could be encouraged to show the rest how to pick up their skirts and run to catch them up.
Sadly none of these organisations are the impartial and independent UK industry voice that’s surely needed to lead the gender equality business agenda forward for all. To do this would take a body tasked to
+ determine precisely where we are in terms of female staff numbers across the industry, by function and level
+ establish 50% as the equality target in boardrooms and senior management across the industry
+ obtain strategic buy in at boardroom level
+ manage a joined up strategic plan to move things forward
+ obtain annual statistics to measure/monitor gender levels
+ publish anonymised best practice benchmark statistics during early stages, to encourage progress.
Clearly an associated start has been made by the Government whereby UK companies with 250 or more employees, to include the big car dealer groups, are required to publish a gender pay gap report before April 2018. This should put the spotlight on associated gender employment areas.
Finally I don’t think we can get away with just considering female recruitment options for much longer. It’s time for action. The diversity job needs tackling now and the female business case is compelling for women as customers, existing employees and future recruits.
I’d welcome any constructive thoughts about who can afford to do this via my email info@foxyladydrivers.com or via my @FOXYSteph Twitter account.
Steph Savill
#QueenOf Motoring For Women, The Royal Connection, 2017