Hey, I’m Brenda!

Cars have been a fascination of mine since early childhood when I’d “borrow” my brother’s Hot Wheels dragsters and hot rods. In my teens, I would sneak out to hang with the street racers. The thrill of owning a fast car was all I could think about. In a couple of years, I would be able to get my driver’s permit, but wanted to be able to do simple repairs if I broke down on the side of the road.

This concern stemmed from a breakdown in the middle of an Arizona desert on a family trip at the age of eight. The tow truck from AAA took three hours to arrive, and in the meantime, we were able to walk up to the home of an elderly couple. They say Arizona is a dry heat, so naturally, there was no A/C on this 90 some degree day. The woman of the house was kind enough to bring us some room-temperature lemonade…90 some degree lemonade. (I was grateful for the gesture.)

Fast forward to the repair shop buried deep within a wrecking yard. The man poured a bottle of liquid into our gas tank, and the van fired right up. Three hours and room-temperature lemonade all led up to a tiny bottle of liquid. It seemed so simple.

Eventually, I was able to convince my dad to show me the basics. He had wanted to remove the factory air cleaner for his car in order to install performance parts. He pointed at the part, handed me his tools, and said, “Go ahead”.

I managed to tinker around and find my way through it. My dad had never been more proud of me at that point. For the first time, I felt like I could do something really great. I was hooked.

I spent summers in the driveway working on the car with my dad. Eventually, I got my fast car. A 1984 Chevy Camaro Z28 with T tops and some performance parts (carb, intake and headers). I started out working on my own cars and trucks, and at the age of 17, I began my automotive education at Universal Technical Institute.

In my fifteen year automotive career, I’ve worked in automotive parts, service writing and advising, automotive repair, and many levels of automotive management including store manager leading an eight person team.

My greatest passion is educating others with transparency and compassion in order to empower them to make their own informed decisions when it comes to their automotive needs.