I read in a magazine geared toward women that 75 percent of women dread buying a car. Having recently gone through the process, I understand why. The young guy trying to sell me a car seemed out of his element with two mid-30s, professional women across the desk from him. It got me thinking, why is it that you rarely see women selling cars? Do you think more women will move into car sales or do you predict it will remain a male-dominated field?

The author talks about “bishoping” but indicates that we don’t know where the term comes from. If they are digging indentations into a horse’s teeth, that point would perhaps resemble a bishop’s miter (which is also pointy), and hence where the term might have come from.

I tuned in as the author was discussing the torture horses under went in order to increase their value. I found this horrible and found the author’s humor in describing the horse-seller’s actions repulsive.

A few years ago, I went to look for a new car without my husband and took my then 4 yr old son with me. When I entered the showroom, I was ignored by the salespeople, and when I asked to see a salesperson, I was told to just go to the used car lot and someone would meet me there!!! They just assumed I was a single mother who couldn’t afford to buy a new car without even talking to me. It was just stunning. My husband and I recently bought a new car together, and I still feel that women are treated differently than men. On a separate note, why aren’t cars user friendly to women? There’s still no place to put a pocketbook.

Good morning!

I spent 30 years in the car business, long before it was accepted to be a woman who knew anything about cars. I’ve worked in shops, sold cars and parts, been Service Manager, you name it. Selling cars was a blast–it is performance art at its core. 30 years ago, though, there was real money in it and not a lot of the hoops of today. Consumers have a lot more information but they still forget one thing–if the dealer doesn’t make any money on the deal they can’t survive. Even with holdback and rebates, dealers’ costs have skyrocketed in the last two decades and they are truly “unfunded mandates”. Manufacturers’ profits increased but not so much on the dealer end. Too bad, this economy will clear out lots of businesses that had been in families for years. Love the show, Eileen

Do you ladies think you’re being treated unequally? I am a man. Back in 1984 I bought a brand new Chevrolet at a dealership in Salem, Mass. When the salesman was talking to me, another salesman came up to him with a clipboard asking which customers to deliver to first. My salesman pointed to an entry on the sheet and said, “Don’t worry about this one. It’s a girl.” I thought I just taken a time travel back to the 1950s. This year’s campaign reinforced it again to me. Yes ladies, you most certainly are being treated unequally.

When I was “between jobs” I worked @ a large dealership for a year. I learned a lot about men. I am a woman. We sold 19 different lines. This was back in the mid-’90’s.

I continue to believe that this is the home of “uneducated, racist, bigoted white males”. They ignored black customers, women, and people in blue jeans. They all stood around the side door smoking and talking about what “titty bar” they went to last night.

When I sold more cars than they did, they were “upsetted” (they also had poor verbal skills)they jammed my phone lines, balled me a “bitch” a “cun

sorry, hit a wrong key b’4 I finished!

Once, I had an inter-racial young couple. THE SALES MANAGER, WHO WAS SO BIGOTED, told me to “ask the girl how she likes F*****G a Black guy. Then he said, “Ahh, they couldn’t finance a postage stamp, one of his favorite sayings. I sold a lot of cars because I worked a lot of hours, focused myself, and didn’t judge people by how they dressed.
And the inter-racial couple? Ex-military man. When I finished writing up the deal, the sales manager asked me again if I asked the girl how she liked “F” ing a black guy, and why did I bother, they could never qualify for a loan….what does he do for a living, besides selling dope? When I reviewed the “deal”with him, along with the credit info, he asked again, What does this guy do for a livin’? Why, he’s a STATE TROOPER, “Oh, yeah”? That “nigger” is a STATE TROOPER, DIDN’T KNOW THERE WERE ANY. THEN HE PUT ON HIS BIG FAKE SMILE AND WENT INTO MY OFFICE, WITH “Hi”! My name is Wayne, I’m the sales manager, you got yourself a great car! And, looking @ the Trooper, his wife and their 2 children, he added, “Beautiful family, you’re such a lucky man” Whenever sigle woman came in, they’d always say, show her to the used car lot, honey. If two women came in together, they were always “lesbos” “fur traders” “carpet munchers” or “dykes”. These men were rude, alcoholic a**es. Once I had a single black executive woman come in. One of the 20 year old “salesmen” announced very loudly that “my porch monkey dyke” was back to see me, ha-ha-ha” She heard him across the showroom, she was offended and hurt. Whenever they could, they would tell my customer that “today is her day off”, “can I show you something”? That would just make me more determined, and many times I would just go right on over, with all the paperwork I had completed when I worked the night b/4 with them in my hand. Basically, I would nicely tell the other salesperson to get lost (I never had a day off the entire time I worked there, except Sundays, when we were closed) The customers would just tell me, we asked for you, but he said it was your day off. There was one guy, who always had a six-pack in his breif-case, he got into a fist-fight with a customer!
This is just the tip of the iceberg. The police came looking for one salesman, it seemed that they had him on video tape, hitting the local motel manager over the head with a telephone, and then robbing the till.

There were fist-fights over customers (geez) that one’s mine! No, he’s mine, I sold him his last one! (5 yrs. ago). And many more “criminal activites”.

Of course, today I can laugh @ these a**holes, still selling cars because they’re too lazy to go get a degree, and because they are, as my kids would say, “Big losers, Mommy”!
p.s. My friends always ask me to go with them when they shop for a car. I tell them everything that the salespeople will do, ahead of time. Then, let the fun begin. Ladies, don’t let some creepy loser try to manipulate you. Remember, they’re trained to do that.

Here’s another interesting tidbit.
We need to say GOODBYE to the US auto industry.
That being said, we need to save the Detroit three.
Save the JOBS that is.
We need to TIE the DETROIT bail out to TWO conditions:
1) Pre-packaged (pre-negotiated) bankruptcy.
wont affect sales, as it will be less then a day, and they can arrange insurance for the warranties.
2) The Detroit 3 must be made to understand that the $$$ is being used to transform them from the AUTO industry into the new (green) TRANSPORTATION industry in our country.
Look here:
http://sos-newdeal.blogspot.com/2008/11/next-prediction-save-car-companies.html

We need to change Detroit and ALL the 3-5 million downstream jobs to change from CARS
to (green) mass transit… ie, streetcars, and new transport.

We do NOT need a US auto industry any more.
oh, and they will be allowed to keep perhaps one brand, and maybe 5-7 different cars/trucks in ADDITION to the mass transit stuff!

Dianne Baron,

I had read abt Volvo designing cars for women.. keeping in all the bags, pocketbooks & accessories in mind. I don’t recall the model or whether it was just a concept car.