Motoring madam’s memoirs

The New Zealand founder of Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) has launched a book covering her time as a motoring and motorsport writer.

One Lady Owner, Memoirs of a Motoring Madam, penned by Sandy Myhre, is part biographical, part autobiographical.

It examines just about everything you need to know about a car except how the engine works and how to drive it.  

Subjects under the microscope include why, when women buy a vehicle, they invariably take a man with them and why female representation is so poor across all forms of motorsport. 

Although women are increasingly “infiltrating” these male-dominated arenas, they are still well within a minority. 

Marta García, executive president of WWCOTY, says the book offers an insight into the evolving role of females in a traditionally male-dominated industry, and that it serves as an “inspiration for car enthusiasts and future generations of women in the sector”.

“The book has developed into a story of emancipation for women and cars and women in motorsport and, although it didn’t start out like that, it evolved in that way,” explains Myhre, pictured.

She begins and ends with WWCOTY, her “first love” and of which she is honorary president, and displays her sense of humour by having a man in the passenger seat. She also has summations on vehicle advertising and the case of disappearing women, unleashes the petrosexual and interprets motor-company acronyms.

The book examines car designers, lists women who have made a mark on the industry and the sport, and outlines female mechanics.  

Myhre suggests the best time and way to buy and sell vehicles, she delves into EVs and car parts made naturally, and tackles alternative fuels.

One Lady Owner, Memoirs of a Motoring Madam has been launched worldwide through UK publisher Austin Macauley, of London, Cambridge, New York and Sharjah.