Today I get an email from my car dealership. It read in part:

We wanted to update you on some exciting news! We are changing the way cars and trucks are sold! We have recently become an Ask Patty Certified Female Friendly dealership! We understand that car buying can be challenging, especially for woman. Ask Patty, the premier automotive advice site for women, has certified our dealership and service center. We have made the commitment to provide a better buying experience for all consumers. Our partnership with Ask Patty represents an increased commitment to the female car buyer to provide a safe and comfortable buying experience.

I add the bold for emphasis...

We understand that car buying can be challenging, ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN.

Actually I kind of enjoy the whole craziness - scribbled numbers, taking it to the boss, the boss declines, I walk out, they come after me, I demand to see the invoice, I quote everything I learned from Edmunds about the dealer markup, etc. etc. The last time I bought a car, I got multiple quotes online from different dealerships and watched them underbid each other - no hassle to me at all. I, for sure, don't want to buy a car tagged as the poor woman who isn't up to the challenge.

So off I went to the AskPatty website expecting to see Stepford women, and was pleasantly surprised to see a post about Saudi women not being able to drive and how that impacts their lives in terms of working. Further research showed, however, that the founder is male. Although the President, who wrote the blog, is a woman.

But then I went back to my first thought. Why do women need this extra kind of a gentle auto buying process? And wow was I surprised when I researched and found this on the AutoChannel:

The national survey of 1,000 female car buyers finds that an astonishing 77 percent of women plan to bring a man along for their next vehicle purchase - a slight increase from the 75 percent who indicated the same in Capital One's 2004 survey.

While 85 percent of women feel that they were treated fairly during their most recent car purchase, the study findings suggest that women are most likely to bring men to make their purchases as a means to better-manage the financial aspects of the transaction. (Nearly seven out of 10 women feel they are at a greater disadvantage then men when it comes to buying a car.) In fact, 70 percent of women continue to find the financial aspects of the car-buying process the most difficult, indicating that their greatest challenge is obtaining a good deal on price.

"It's troubling to see that women still do not feel empowered to manage the car-buying process on their own. It's important that women realize that confidence and purchasing power requires education - not a male companion. Rather than turning to a man for support, women should instead take advantage of the variety of educational resources available to them," said Diana Don Colby, director of financial education at leading financial services company Capital One.

I couldn't agree more. Go get smart. Visit Edmunds. Get independent. Women are definitely smart enough to figure out how to get the best price and best financing on a car. Why are we doing this? Do we see car buying as the man's territory and we don't want to damage his ego?

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive