ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 1997 TAG: 9704160028
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: MARKETPLACE
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
If you, like me, don't know your drive shaft from your wiper blades, you probably also hate taking your car to the garage. Take heart - and mark your calendar.
Race car driver Pat Lazzaro, a trained mechanic and the first woman to race in the Shelby Can-Am Pro Series, will be in Roanoke Monday to present a free car-care clinic especially for women.
The three-hour event, sponsored by tire maker Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., won't turn you into a certified mechanic, but it will give you a good idea of what the guys at the service station are doing under your hood. Lazzaro even will offer tips on how to spot less-than-honest mechanics.
Participants also will get a copy of "Car Care Tips," a pamphlet that includes a review of basic maintenance procedures, plus trouble-shooting tips and questions you should be prepared to answer when you take your car in for service.
"Cars are built and designed by men," Lazzaro said. "They can't be that complicated."
Lazzaro, who raced for nine years, also has been a racing mechanic and marketing consultant. She now travels for Firestone and manages her own sports marketing firm.
Firestone started the clinics several years ago as a way to teach women about buying tires. But the company soon realized that women wanted information about total car care. In 1995, more than 40 million people attended Firestone's clinics nationwide.
And men shouldn't be embarrassed to drop in Monday night - more are now attending the clinics.
"Guys used to feel like they couldn't ask about car maintenance because it was something they were supposed to know about," Lazzaro said. "But cars have become so complex over the years that the information we provide is useful to everyone, women and men."
The clinic will be at the Firestone Tire & Service Center at Tanglewood Mall. It starts at 6:30 p.m. Store manager Stan Guardino said he's expecting quite a crowd - 50 to 100 participants - so please register by calling Firestone by Monday at 774-7788.
Construction hasn't started out at Tanglewood yet on the new Barnes & Noble bookstore or the 10-screen Carmike cinema, both of which are supposed to be finished in time for the Christmas season.
But you can see some changes going on inside the mall.
ACS Home Entertainment Gallery, has opened next to the (now closed) B.Dalton store, near Belk on the lower level. And construction has started at the Coffee Factory, a Starbucks-esque java shop on the lower level next to Great American Cookie Co.
Radio Shack, currently on the upper level outside Belk, will be moving soon to the old Chess King space on the lower level next to Waldenbooks.
Late this summer, the mall will start renovating the upper level food court, said property manager Judy Tullius. It may remodel and expand the public restrooms at the rear of the court, she said, and might even install a co-ed family restroom for parents with small children.
Kane Realty Corp., the Raleigh, N.C., firm that manages Tanglewood, is trying to lure both a deli and a hamburger shop into the food court.
No word yet on the former Brendle's discount store space, which has been vacant since July.
Megan Schnabel covers retail, consumer affairs and advertising. You can reach her at (540) 981-3140 or megans@roanoke.com
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by RT: Women and cars. color. KEYWORDS: MGRby CNB