Pink Cars and Pocketbooks

In the short time I spent at a Detroit automotive advertising agency, I became acutely aware of how men’s ideas of women’s automotive interest overruled any consideration of what women actually desired in a car. The women who worked in automotive advertising, as well as the women who were the target of automotive advertisers, were routinely considered lacking in automotive knowledge, unfamiliar with the driving experience, and subject to the influence of male automotive “experts.” It was assumed that the female consumer would buy the vehicles the male-dominated auto industry deemed suitable for the woman driver, and it was believed that the woman in the creative process would rely on male-directed research rather than her own car experience. George Green, a retired advertising executive who worked on the General Motors account, admits that automakers routinely “denigrated the female market,” and made little effort to learn about the woman car buyer (qtd. in Gerl & Davis 210).

Admittedly, the notion that the auto industry was complicit in the intentional disregard of women’s automotive interest was based on my own agency experience rather than any established research. While automobile advertising has been analyzed as a text – i.e. what it symbolizes, what it means, what it says about the woman driver – how that advertising came to be had never, to my knowledge, been addressed in scholarship. Until now.

In Pink Cars and Pocketbooks, historian Jessica Brockmole uncovers the multiple market studies focused on the female consumer that were overlooked and under-appreciated by the automotive industry for nearly half a century. Through her investigation into decades of advertising archives, trade journals, women’s magazines, and newspapers, Brockmole chronicles how women, dissatisfied and discouraged with how they had been repeatedly misrepresented by automotive marketers and decision makers, took it upon themselves to become more informed, experienced, and knowledgeable about cars. She relates how through the formation of women-centered car clubs, driving handbooks, and do-it-yourself repair manuals, these women ‘bought their way’ into the masculine car culture and became empowered consumers and drivers. As the author declares, because of the unwavering efforts of a determined group of female consumers, “[women] no longer have to rely on the auto industry to decide what and how much they can know about cars. They no longer have to accept how the auto industry limits their relationship with cars or defines who and what a ‘woman driver’ is” (205).

Pink Cars and Pocketbooks offers an unusual, resourceful, and never-before-told history of women’s relationship with cars. In this painstakingly researched and engagingly written work of historical scholarship, Brockmole uncovers how savvy female consumers, through the sharing of automotive knowledge, challenged gender prescriptions and took control of their own automotive futures.

If you’ve ever wondered how automakers so utterly misread women with the introduction of the Dodge La Femme, I heartily encourage you to read this book!

Brockmole, Jessica A. Pink Cars and Pocketbooks: How American Women Bought Their Way into the Driver’s Seat. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025.

Gerl, Ellen J. and Craig L. Davis. “Selling Detroit on Women: ‘Woman’s Day’ and Auto Advertising, 1964-82.” Journalism History 38.4 (2013): 209-220.

WIMNA Comes to Detroit

WIMNA co-founder Cindy Sisson cuts the ribbon to launch WIMNA Detroit

This past week I attended the launch of the Detroit WIMNA chapter at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan. Women in Motorsports North America was founded in 2021 to advance opportunities for women in all areas of motorsports. Founded by Cindy Sisson, Lyn St James, and Beth Paretta, WIMNA is a community of professional women and men with a shared goal of connecting individuals and organizations that actively support women in motorsports through initiatives that include internships, mentorships, and recognition opportunities. WIMNA recognizes that the key to its growth is through the development of chapters in areas with an active racing culture, or in the case of Detroit, a community with strong automotive connections. As noted by Detroit chapter president Rena Shanaman, the future of WIMNA is dependent on corporate involvement. The Detroit launch had over 70 in attendance, many of whom represented automotive companies and corporations within Southeastern Michigan. The crowd was young and enthusiastic, and represented many segments of motorsports business and interest. 

Detroit chapter president Rena Shanaman speaks to the crowd

It was a fun-filled evening, which began with pep talks by Shanaman as well as WIMNA co-founder Cindy Sisson. WIMNA understands the importance of events that connect people; the two-hour celebration included prize drawings, a nice selection of refreshments, as well as participation in WIMNA ‘Bingo’, an ice breaker activity that encouraged engagement with others in attendance. Although I was not the intended audience for this event –  I have no corporate sponsorship to offer – I was interested in better understanding more about this organization, particularly how it differs from those that have come before. As I am currently developing a project that focuses on the the history of women’s motorsport organizations, this event allowed me to gain some insight into the purposes and practices of groups such as WIMNA. 

WIMNA Bingo. How many squares can you fill?

From my perspective, WIMNA appeared to be well-organized; it is run by professionals in the field with exceptional motorsport knowledge and marketing skills. Its annual Women with Drive Summit is well-attended [over 600 at last year’s Indianapolis event]; in the four years of its existence, WIMNA has assembled a growing motorsports community that includes corporate and team owners, drivers, education and driving schools, engineering and mechanics, media, officials and volunteers, PR, marketing, and communications, racetracks , series and sanctioning bodies, suppliers, and allies. 

Throughout its history, motorsports has not been welcoming to women. Consequently, it has been necessary for women to create strategies to gain entry into motorsport’s masculine domain. Women’s motorsports organizations, past and present, have endeavored to ease women’s way onto the race track not only through personal and financial support, but by providing connections and community to those interested in the sport. If the Detroit Launch event was any indication, WIMNA seems well on its way to success in this noble endeavor.

Shanaman and Sisson greet guests