Page 14 March 30, 2017 EL SEGUNDO HERALD Grease Girl from page 2 to understand why a repair is costing you so much,” she said, likening the experience to a visit to the doctor. Trained mechanics and doctors both have specialized training and are skilled at diagnosing a problem. It helps to know what they’re talking about--and specifically with a car repair, what a broken part does and why it needs to be replaced. “Ladies Car Care 101” doesn’t expect them to know about cars, though some can identify the radiator, which holds the engine coolant. The air cleaner and the carburetor at the top of the engine aren’t always a mystery to the ladies. The museum keeps a Cadillac Deville in the garage, which comes in handy for Cline’s class. The women surround the old Cadillac as she opens the hood. Then, they do a pretty typical guy thing. They look at the engine, trying to figure it out. For the next two hours, “Grease Girl” explains the engine parts, the transmission, the brakes and tires. Class time is a slow trip through the working systems of the internal combustion engine. Along the way, students pick up the terminology of the repair shop mechanic: timing belt, master cylinder, engine coolant, wheel alignment. They also hear about car maintenance from Cline and why it’s better to pay a little now rather than a lot later. “We’ll talk about various maintenance things under the hood,” she said. “Checking your fluid levels, checking your oil, checking your tires, using a tire gauge to check the PSI [pounds per square inch] and how to add air to your tire.” Regular oil changes and keeping tires properly inflated are the simplest ways to give their vehicle tender loving care, the women are told. After all, it’s a machine with fastmoving parts that create friction and heat. The coolant in the radiator system prevents the car from overheating, and the oil lubricates and protects engine parts. Warning lights alert drivers about low levels of these critical fluids, and Cline says don’t ignore them. “A lot of people don’t know what the different warning lights mean in their cars,” she said. “Is it an emergency that needs pulling over and stopping or can they keep going to their destination?” Ignoring a warning light that is an emergency light can be a very expensive driver error, so Cline covers the most common warning signs that women and men should heed. If the engine temperature light is showing, that’s a serious one. So is the engine oil light, even if the car is new or just had an oil change. “This could be a tipoff that the drain plug isn’t tight or it fell out, and the oil has all drained out,” Cline said, adding that engine-damaging problems aren’t limited to older cars. “Even if a car is brand new and a light comes on, it could be something serious.” There’s a perception among men and women that cars are too complicated to understand, so they don’t even attempt it. Cline thinks she understands why: Today’s cars have gotten so efficient, they don’t break down as often. Even the guys have stopped learning about their cars and trusted the maintenance to a garage or the dealer, but even choosing a qualified mechanic takes a little know-how about their training and car talk. “Ladies Car Care 101” offers some garage time without the guys, though Cline says she may open a class later for men and women. Her plans include a more in-depth class about changing the oil and a tire too. The women who turn out to these classes at Automobile Driving Museum never tune up their cars or change the brakes themselves, yet a Saturday in the garage with the “Grease Girl” is where horsepower meets consumer power. “I’m not calling for everyone to be a car enthusiast or expert--just have a basic knowledge about car systems, how they work, and about car maintenance,” Cline said. “A little knowledge about your car can go a long way.” Having been the only woman at car shows and in the garage when she started rebuilding her Studebaker, Cline had to get over the feeling of being out of her element. Men feel more comfortable talking about cars and standing around a shop because they were raised that way. The garage can be a strange and intimidating place for a woman, especially a car repair shop. Her message to the class: Don’t be afraid to ask good questions. Cline’s classes for the South Bay are small, drawing between 12 to 27 beginners, and not really hands-on. The women who gathered around the classic Cadillac at last month’s clinic didn’t get their hands dirty or take home dirt under their fingernails. That’ll come later for the ones who, like “Grease Girl,” decide to work on their cars as a hobby. For the majority of the beginners, they were connecting the dots between the spark plugs and the ignition, the oil cap and moving pistons, and the gas pedal and the transmission. And, they discovered there’s personal power in horsepower. Being an informed car owner, they can deal with a mechanic more confidently and be safer out on the road. • Kristin Cline explains the mechanical systems of a car during Saturday class for women at the Automobile Driving Museum. Photo credit: Melissa Kobe Community Briefs from page 3 LA Rams Launch Application for Annual Community Improvement Project Non-profit organizations, schools or other academic institutions within the greater Los Angeles region may now apply for the 2017 Rams Annual Community Improvement Project. Interested organizations may apply online at therams.com/community through Friday, April 7, 2017. Applications received after that date will not be eligible for the project, which is currently scheduled for June 2017. Since 2009, the Rams have offered the Annual Community Improvement Project in an effort to address some of the community’s greatest needs. The Rams will fund and participate in the implementation of the project. Last year, the Rams funded a playground for Woodsworth Elementary School in Inglewood. Rams front office staff and players were on-site to build the playground with the help and supervision of Playcraft Systems and Pacific Play Systems, the designer of the playground. 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