The women and engines are two universes much closer than imagined. Prejudices and stereotypes present us to women as clumsy behind the wheel and strangers to the world of motors. On the contrary, the female contribution has been decisive since the origins of the history of the car. Women have shaped the car giving it the shape we know today, even if many still don't know it.
WOMEN AND THE BIRTH OF ENGINES
The presence of women in the history of the car has been constant since its origins. The engine is invented by a man, Carl Benz, but it is his wife who tests it and proves that the car can travel long distances. It is in fact 1888 when Bertha Benz, the first supporter of her husband's invention, decides to travel 106 km from Mannheim to Pforzheim aboard the Benz Patent Motorwagen number 3. The woman thus demonstrates that the vehicle is suitable for traveling great distances.
WOMEN AND ENGINES: CAR ACCESSORIES
There are many car accessories invented by women: heaters, mirrors, wipers. It was 1983 when Margaret Wilcox patented heating in cars: it is thanks to her that today we can travel by car with the comfort of having the temperature we prefer. As for the wipers, we owe them to Mary Anderson who, during a taxi trip, realizes the difficulty of the driver in driving in the rain. Although his invention did not receive much attention at first, today every car is equipped with this precious accessory. Initially considered a feminine habit, the rearview mirror is a proposal by Dorothy Levitt, who is a short treatise in 1906 that advised women to use a mirror to check what is happening behind the car? After ten years, the invention takes hold and today cars cannot drive without it.
The road as we know it has also been shaped by the female mind. The lines that delimit the carriageways are in fact proposed for the first time by a woman. It is 1917 when June McCarroll is the victim of an accident caused by a heavy vehicle that throws her off the road. The woman proposes to paint a line to divide the lanes. Initially ignored, he tenaciously promotes his idea and now all the roads are delimited by the white lines that we know well.
FAST
WOMEN AND CARS
Even women and sports cars are
not alien worlds. Women not only affect the history of the engine but also
enter the history of racing as early as the 1920s when they began to
participate in the first car races. The activity until then was predominantly
male, but Elisabeth Junek breaks this tradition by winning the German
Grand Prix. In 1935 another excellent result in speed is that of Kay Petre who
sets her record on the mountain circuits. During the Second World War three women, Betty Haig,
Yvonne Simon and Anne Hall establish themselves as stars in the world of
four-wheel racing by winning important prizes all over Europe.
WOMEN AND THE
AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
In recent years we can mention
some important names even in the most advanced automotive industry. In 2005,
Anne Stevens became the first woman to become Vice President of the Ford Motor
Company. Then, in 2014, Mary Barra became the most powerful woman in
the automobile industry, becoming the executive director of General Motors. In
the same company, it is already since 1943 that women have begun to fill
important roles within it, with Helena Rother in the role of a
designer.
In the field of aerodynamic engineering applied to automobiles, Antonia Terzishe is
a leader. Initially, he worked for Ferrari, then in 2001, he became head of the
Williams aerodynamics team, establishing himself as a world reference in
aerodynamics.
WOMEN AND CARS TODAY
To date, there are still many prejudices when
it comes to cars and women, yet statistical
studies show that women drive
better than men and the history of cars belies the most common stereotypes. Now
women are at the center of the attention of car companies, increasingly
attentive to women's tastes and needs. The cars dedicated to women are elegant,
comfortable to drive but also gritty and full of style. The car follows the
trends of increasingly independent women, with dynamic lifestyles in step with
the times.
Women drivers, constant danger? Not at all!
