‘She Likes Cars’ Auto Tour drives excitement at Immaculate Conception High School

“Sir, your car is cool!” retorted an elated student at the Immaculate Conception High School (ICHS), after staring in awe at the transformation of the red Mustang that caught her eye. She, along with students at the institution, had a grand time during the ‘She Likes Cars’ Jamaica Schools’ Auto Tour in collaboration with the ICHS Mechanic Club. She Likes Cars (SLC) is an established movement on Jamaica’s car scene that consists of mainly female car enthusiasts. It operates under the slogan ‘Shifting your perspective’, as it aims to positively change many narratives regarding female drivers and their presence on the car scene.

She Likes Cars was founded by Samantha Wilmot, popularly known on the car scene as ‘SamiJoe’ and co-founded by Shaun Thompson. It was officially launched on October 14, 2020, solely as a YouTube channel. Since then, it has matured into a movement, as it tapped into different modes of action to effect positive change on the car scene and Jamaica at large.

According to Wilmot, the group colours are vivid pink, which embodies the high energy and liveliness of the group, and black. The group differentiates itself from a ‘car crew or group’, as members are not necessarily required to own or have a modified vehicle but simply to have a natural and authentic love for cars.

“It is typical for boys to love and know a lot about cars; this initiative is aimed at fostering a love for cars in girls, hence our target for all-girls schools, familiarising them with the Jamaican car scene, and exposing them to new and emerging automotive career paths,” Wilmot said.

“In the future, we will also engage co-ed schools to, in turn, remain inclusive and strengthen the bond and support between men and women on the car scene. We also want to encourage the establishment of more car clubs in the all-girls institutions and to encourage greater participation of girls in these clubs at co-ed schools,” she said.

Wilmot shared that it is extremely important for women to be informed so that they can apply that knowledge to cars.

“Things such as changing our tyres, checking our engine oil level and other fluids, and doing a jumpstart are key things we should all know as women. Even if we are not doing the physical work ourselves, we know how it should be done, thus reducing the risk of women being cheated or misled when it comes to cars. Through this initiative as well, we are focused on tackling the stigma of ‘women are terrible drivers’, and so we have on board partners who will deliver presentations to the students to build their capacity,” she said.

President and founder of the Immaculate Conception High School Mechanics Club, Juidane Thomas, said they were very excited by the opportunity afforded the students by SLC.

“Girls do not often gravitate towards anything to do with cars. We welcome this opportunity for the girls to be around and see how these cars operate. We encourage in our club for our members to know about cars and be familiar with ways in which a car operates,” she said.

Principal at the school, Stacey Reynolds, said after much persuasion she gave the green light for the club to be established and for the event to be held. Overall, she is happy by the decision she made to welcome the club to the institution,“We are happy that the club was established and they have executed this event so well. ICHS is known for academics, and we are trying to introduce them to other areas. We started Electrical Engineering and Technical Drawing, and perhaps soon based on current dialogue we may add Cosmetology. It was good for the girls to come out, relax and enjoy themselves. Our aim is to keep them organised to see the other sides of things, and cater to the modern-day children while maintaining standards.”

According to Wilmot the response has been exceptional from the students, “We will admit that we were curious at the start of this initiative as to the reaction we would get from the girls regarding cars and information about them but we are very satisfied with how it has been going thus far and look forward to further engagements,” she said.

Partners for the initiative include GraceKennedy, Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA), Jamaican-German Automotive School (JAGAS), Bowla’s Garage and Travlr Taxi, among others.

Wilmot said they are currently looking into approaching another all-girls school and a co-ed school. Other schools she said have also reached out to the group in the past for them to visit and they have also acted on that.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com