Taking your vehicle in for repairs or maintenance can be an intimidating thing, especially when you might not have much experience in knowing what your car may or may not need done to it. The National Corvette Museum has developed a course to help consumers become more educated when buying parts and services for their vehicle.Women especially can feel overwhelmed when they bring their vehicle in for servicing. “A car is a major, significant expense in the lives of most people and it’s just as important for women to know how to have their car serviced properly as it is for men,” said Roc Linkov, a Senior High Performance Driving Instructor for the Museum. Roc is also an instructor for the new Powder Puff Mechanics course and adds that it teaches women to be knowledgeable about their vehicle and provides them with information to help them keep their cars in running condition.
A shortened version of the course was offered at many of the Museum’s Corvette events, and was so popular it was decided to further expand the content and open it up to the public. The course will be held on Saturday, February 11 from 10am-2pm. The sessions cover topics including “under the hood” (air filters, how to check and fill fluids), controls and warning lights, owner’s manual review, tires (how to change a flat, check tire pressure, add air, read tire codes, identify wear patterns) and much more.
In addition to instructional and hands-on seminars covering care of cars, the course will also give attendees a chance to learn and practice what to do in emergency situations like tire blow out, using the NCM’s two state-of-the-art driving simulators. “Our simulators give people the chance to practice what to do in various scenarios on the road, ones you can’t safely practice in real life,” said NCM Education Coordinator Jackie Utzler. “We have launched the new NCM Drivers’ Safety Academy, offering a number of courses for both teens and older drivers to help make our roads and drivers safer. Powder Puff Mechanics will give people a taste of what the simulators have to offer.”
Registration for the course is only $10 for students (including college) and $12 for adults and includes the seminars, lunch and Museum admission. Participants are asked to pre-register online by Friday, February 10 at www.corvettemuseum.org/simulators. Girl Scouts can earn a patch for attending when they register through the local Girl Scout office at 270-842-6137.
For more information about Powder Puff Mechanics and the NCM Drivers’ Safety Academy, call 270-467-8852 or visit www.corvettemuseum.org/simulators.
