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Sisterly Car Advice
Lucille's Car Care: Everything You Need to Know from Under the Hood-by
America's Most Trusted Mechanic, by Lucille Treganowan, with Gina
Catanzarite (Hyperion; New York 1996), is a book for every woman (or
man for that matter) who's opted against auto shop as an elective in high
school. Whether you want to empower yourself by getting your hands greasy
or if you just want to be educated out of the ignorance that marks you a
sucker to opportunistic mechanics, Lucille delivers the goods.
Information about all aspects of car care, from cleaning the interior to
replacing a fan belt, is presented in a clear, concise manner with supporting
illustrations and side-bars. The author takes into account that some readers
will be less diligent than others. As I read the chapter titled, "The Scouting
Trip" that outlined a monthly routine of investigation and maintenance that
would supposedly require one and a half hours, I found myself thinking,
"This would take me all day; I could never give up my weekend for this." As
if in telepathic response, a side-bar popped up titled "If You Perform Only One Task Mentioned in This Book..." The author writes, "...some of you may be fascinated by the idea of car care and enjoying this book immensely, but
despite your best intentions, you don't think you'll ever really get around to
following every last point I present." She continues to advise the importance
of engine oil maintenance as the single most important thing to do for your
car. I felt like I'd been caught red-handed.
Lucille Treganowan first got into auto mechanics in the 1960s as a 29-
year-old divorced mother of two working as a clerk in a repair shop. She often found herself barraged by questions from clients and all she could say was, "I don't know. You'll have to wait. The owner will be back in a minute." Tired of her role as "clueless clerk" Lucille started delving under the hood. "There I was, a woman in 1963, offering my two cents' worth to a garage filled with men," she explains in the intro. "Some of them ignored me, some took my advice, but mostly I felt like they were only humoring me-until I just
happened to diagnose and repair a transmission that everyone else had given
up for dead!"
From there she began teaching "Powder Puff Mechanics" classes for
women at the YMCA. Then she opened a shop of her own called
Transmissions by Lucille. She took a new approach to auto repair-one
based on quality work, clean and neat surroundings, great service, integrity
and professionalism. Lucille now operates two shops in Pittsburgh and hosts
a weekly half-hour TV show, "Lucille's Car Care Clinic," which can be seen
on HGTV nationwide or on WQED-TV in Pittsburgh.-Monique Cole
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