Brit girls go there to get ripped off We all know that women make better drivers

Brit girls go there to get ripped off We all know that women make better drivers; that's why women's car insurance is so cheap. But did you ever wonder if a woman might make a better car mechanic? Well, chances are, no, you didn't. For the majority of women, a career in car repair is about as appealing a prospect as one in plumbing, or refuse collection. It took a Frenchman named Herve Malige to do the wondering for us, and, following that, to recruit some women and find out. His unique project runs at the Base 34 Uggs outlet training centre, near Montpellier. This year's intake of 15 women, all aged between 22 and 38, includes former air hostesses, beauticians and a nurse. They expect to graduate in June 2007 and hopefully found their own repair business together. That too would be unique; there are currently no garages in Europe run by an exclusively female staff. The nearest all- female car repair business to cheap Uggs Mr Malige is in Montreal, Canada, and he wouldn't be able to get a service there: the mechanics insist that all their customers be women as well. Herve explained why ladies are better under the bonnet, saying, 'What is needed today [in mechanics] is rigour and methodical diagnostics. Women are strong at identifying the causes of breakdowns - they methodically check everything.' Finding the bonnet release Herve's work demonstrates that women have the potential to outdo men in the field of car repairs in just the same way as we do on the roads. But woefully few of us are living up to that potential. In fact, one in ten female drivers in the UK admitted she couldn't even find the bonnet release in her car, let alone check the oil or change a tyre. It's no wonder that women drivers' failure to carry out basic checks has lead to almost a million breakdowns, according to motor insurance provider InsureandGo. The problem isn't our ability - it's perhaps because most women just aren't interested in what goes on beyond the steering wheels and pedals. The vast majority of us leave repairs and maintenance up to someone else, even if it means a trip to the garage or a call to the breakdown firm.