Kim Orlando Scotty Reiss
SheBuysCars Places Moms In "The Driver’s Seat”
On The Road And In The Garage
A few weeks ago, I replaced all of the tires on my Ford Explorer. I also replaced all of the tires on my teenager’s Ford Focus and took to checking out the tires on my oldest daughter’s Ford Escape. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I buy American whenever I can and am a dedicated Ford automobile owner. I am also a stickler for safety - particularly that of my children. As such, "replacing" tires before rain, sleet, and snow bombard the Northeast this Fall and Winter is imperative, given that they are needed – an expensive question that kept me up nights until I figured out the answer with the help of a few of my male friends.
Fifteen hundred dollars later, coupled with enormous peace-of-mind, I had both my answer and my new sets of tires. Had I known about the website, SheBuysCars, I might have had both sooner and slept an extra night or two throughout the entire process.
Founded by blogger, Kim Orlando of TravelingMom.com, and Scotty Reiss...these two women understand the perils moms face in being high-usage vehicle owners and low-knowledge drivers. The fact is, mothers drive an average of 20,000 miles a year compared to the expected 12,000 most others drive. "Vehicles," for moms, have become tools of the trade, not-to-mention, extensions of their homes. Mothers live in their cars and SheBuysCars understands this as do all of the automobile manufacturers known today – especially Volkswagon and Toyota, who stand at the top of the pack when it comes to wooing moms into the front seat of new vehicles (mainly SUV’s).
Launched in 2013, SheBuysCars is designed to make mothers happier and smarter automobile owners and consumers. The fact is, moms influence 80% of all automobile purchases in the United States today. They directly purchase 50% of those vehicles sold across the nation, basing most of those purchases on what they learn from active crowdsourcing and research efforts. And yet, most moms lag in the simplest knowledge about their cars, including when their vehicles actually "do" need oil changes, the benefits of different grades of gasoline or how to tell if, like me, their tires need to be changed.
With autonomous automobiles on the way (10-15 years in the future according to Scotty Reiss), resources like SheBuysCars are desperately needed by both consumers and automobile manufacturers to ensure that each understands the other’s needs, reasons, expectations, and requirements better. This website is a way of overcoming the language barrier between both groups while helping to prepare everyone involved for the future of driving and automobile ownership.
Don’t expect to become a chief auto mechanic from the site, but do expect to be better prepared and more confident in maintaining your current vehicle or buying your next. And do use it in order to keep up-to-date with your automobile’s seasonal needs or when gauging whether or not you need to bring your vehicle back to the manufacturer for an extensive (and expensive) repair or AutoZone for a quick and easy fix. The difference in dollars between those two options can be immense. We, mothers, are well aware that money does not grow on trees despite the recent pleasure of paying less at the pump. Saving a dollar "here and there" counts.
With all of my savings, of late, I’m considering upgrading myself to an SUV that has "massaging" front-seats, similar to that which Scotty Reiss described to me during our discussion with regards to a few newer vehicles available. I almost fell to the floor when I heard that news. Needless-to-say, I may be buying a fourth automobile soon given Ford decides that, they, too are going to incorporate such a feature into one of their upcoming models.
Could you imagine sitting comfortably at your son’s football practice – with a Starbuck’s at your side and your back being rubbed for two hours straight? That just made this extension of my home, my favorite room in the house!
Thanks for the insight, SheBuysCars. That’s knowledge worth having and an option worth praying for. Hey, Ford...get crackin'.