With the Wealth Auto Show slated for Saturday, November 26 and Sunday, November 27, SO shares Girls’ Talk from around the steering wheel. Take note Garth Walker and Leighton Davis we’re a serious force to be reckoned with. You might wish to pass the word around that there’s need for more female representation on the sales floor.

Janet Hanna

After moving to Jamaica 10 years ago from Trinidad, where she ran her parents’ business, Janet Hanna soon settled into life as a housewife, raising two beautiful young children along with her husband. Describing herself as a tomboy who loves the outdoors and ventures regularly to the beach and the hills, her vehicle preference has always been a pickup truck “because of the rugged look, its shape and versatility”. This makes having her lagoon blue 2010 Mazda BT50, with a 2.5 litre direct injection turbo engine, a necessity. Not to mention all the paraphernalia that accompanies her on each trip and the topography she must drive over to get to those beaches and hills!

However, Hanna did not always drive such big vehicles. Her first car was a navy blue (blue being her favourite colour) Honda Civic, which was fast, stable and affordable, with easily accessible parts. This was followed by a Skoda hatchback and then a Mazda 323. Her initiation into four-wheel-drive pickups, which came with the ownership of a grey Toyota Hilux, was an extraordinary revelation for this Trini, who had finally found something that suited her perfectly. Alas, after eight years it became too old to keep any longer. “I felt very sad selling it,” she tells SO, “as it took me to the beach, and I could throw in the boards, and it didn’t get stuck in the sand. With the Civic, once I parked too close to the sand and couldn’t get out,” she recalls, laughing. With the pickups Hanna has owned, “I can go through a ditch, water, mud. You put it into four-wheel drive and you’re gone”.

Nancy Gobin Gunter

Insurance executive Nancy Gunter, mother of two boys, needs a car in which she can “pile plenty children, sports equipment, and bags, then be able to take it all out, clean it up and drive it to corporate events all over the island”, she says. Her family’s business, Key Insurance Company Limited, has Gunter continuously on the road, so it is important that her navy blue 2006 Subaru Forrester, with turbo engine, is reliable and can handle the hills.

“If something hits you, you’ll survive” was her dad’s reasoning for getting her a Cougar when she first started driving in Canada, where she lived for some years. And it’s for this reason Gunter will not buy a car without looking at the safety ratings. Which is why she bought, upon returning home in the mid-nineties, a green Mitsubishi Galant. “Well that, and because it was pretty,” she says, laughing. Gunter became very attached to this car, and held on to it for nine years before handing it over to a co-worker at Key. “That way I’d still see it every day,” she says seriously.

This is when the hunt for a reasonably priced four-wheel-drive vehicle started. One day she drove a friend’s Forrester and loved it. Upon investigating its safety record, she discovered that the car had a lower centre of gravity than SUVs, so was less prone to flipping over in a crash.

Gunter absolutely adores her car. “My car is like my home. I even entertain in it,” she quips. One of her favourite features is the DVD player she has installed for her kids. “There is nothing worse than ‘are we there yet?’, so one movie, I’m in Ochi, two movies I’m in MoBay, and three to Negril. I even have it on when I am by myself! I clearly don’t watch it,” she says emphatically, “but it keeps me company.”

Kerry-Ann Clarke

Arriving in her Range Rover Evoque to the SO photo shoot, the managing director of KERRY manwomanhome boutique Kerry-Ann Clarke was effortlessly chic in jeans, T-shirt and sandals and an oversized scarf draped around her neck. She fits the part perfectly for driving this brand-spanking-new SUV, whose interior has been designed by a group that included none other than present-day style icon Victoria Beckham. Like both women, this vehicle is compact, so “I won’t have to stress about driving on the narrow roads when headed to the country”, Clarke says.

While Kerry-Ann Clarke believes a car should be reliable, practical and cost-efficient, she definitely likes it to depict her own personality and sense of fun and flair. She owned a Gemini Irmscher when she was very young and carefree, and after all, “the speed limit was for breaking”. When she moved to Europe for university, she drove a Mini. “I could fit into any parking space,” she says. She went on to a Honda Prelude back in Jamaica, followed by a string of three Honda CRVs. “What can I say? A good-size SUV that gave zero problems, has an excellent resale value, is very comfortable to load my dogs and other things into… they are just really great cars,” she gushes.

Her newest purchase has Clarke very excited. She’s not exactly a car fanatic, “but I do like a nice car. Life is for living, and I am on the road quite a bit, so comfort is important to me”. Let’s hope the rave reviews for the elegant Evoque meet her expectations. It seems they just might!

Heidi Lalor

Equestrian instructor Heidi Lalor likes a stylish vehicle that gives a smooth ride and has a sunroof, “because you can open up the car and get breeze without being blown away… you can let light in, and light is healthy,” she says. “If you can’t afford a convertible, you definitely have to have a sunroof,” she advises. The owner of a lugano teal 2010 Land Rover Discovery 4, Lalor is proud that she has had no major issues. “I always get exceptional, friendly service at the dealership. I feel comfortable going there even with minor issues. Like the time my friend had an accidental glitter explosion on the back seat. I think this third-party relationship is vital between a woman and her car!”

Lalor’s first two cars were both Honda Civic hatchbacks, which are low-maintenance, fuel-efficient, and practical for parking in tight spots in a city. When this Trinidadian moved to Jamaica to be with her now husband, some seven years ago, she purchased a silver 2004 Peugeot 307, which she describes as fun to drive and “zippy” on the roads. “The salesman did an excellent job,” Lalor says with a chuckle, “as he even noted that the glove box was air-conditioned specifically for, what else but lipstick and chocolate. Sold!” Needless to say, this philanthropic party girl has yet to part with this low-profile car!

So why the Discovery 4? With daily rides to and around the horse farm roads at Caymanas, and Jamaica’s worst potholes awaiting tiny tyres, Lalor needs a rugged vehicle (even if it also happens to be snazzy) that can manage her daily terrain. “One of my favourite features is what I call ‘Gully Creeper mode’. This flood mode button allows the vehicle to rise up to 8 inches to navigate flood (waters). I often use it, and there is the added benefit of entertaining and amazing anyone who is watching!”

Jodie Summerbell Gregg

Managing director of Sweet Craft Limited, and ex-car racer of a white Mitsubishi Colt, Jodie Summerbell Gregg laments that selling the car was emotional because “it was a decision that I was now giving up racing”. Although she didn’t have the passion for it anymore, she had achieved so much with the Colt. “I am the only woman in Jamaica who has ever won an event outright, even against men, and not just in my class alone. I even beat my husband Gary Gregg’s time, and he shared the car with me,” she rightly boasts. Many men think women don’t have a clue about cars and don’t know how to drive, but Summerbell Gregg proved them wrong. That being said, she is not looking to return to racing. “Sometimes I miss it, when I watch Gary and Kyle Gregg race. I do get the bug in me to go back, but then I realise that I don’t have a race car, and it would involve another huge investment.”

Summerbell Gregg’s first vehicle was a reliable navy blue Toyota Prado, with good resale value, and she firmly states that having an SUV means one “does not have to worry about it getting flooded on the road”. She then had a BMW X5, which still smelled new when she sold it after four years. “I like to keep my cars very clean,” she tells SO. Her most recent vehicle was a comfortable silver 2006 Range Rover Sport, which Summerbell Gregg just sold. She did in fact want her husband’s current BMX X5, which she is now borrowing, when they bought it, but “he stole it from me”, she jokes. “I honestly prefer the X5, as it drives like a car, whereas the Range Rover drives like a truck. This has to do with the chassis of the Range Rover.” It’s unlikely, however, that the Greggs will be driving matching cars anytime soon!

Claire Stone Grant

Driving up in her gold 2006 Ford F150 to SO’s photo shoot, Canadian-born photographer Claire Stone Grant, who has lived in Jamaica for seven years, does not dither when it comes to safety and travelling on the Jamaican roads. “The bigger the car, the better,” she says repeatedly. “If I was still in Canada I would go for speed and size. One of those crossover vehicles with the speed of a sports car, but close to the size of an SUV. I like the Porsche Cayenne, the Range Rover Evoque and the Mercedes GLK,” she reels off with expertise.

Back in Miami, where she lived for 14 years before moving here with her Jamaican husband, Claire Stone Grant used to produce custom car-show and racing events. In those days she owned a black BMW M3. “I cried when I had to sell it. It was like losing a best friend, and it was the only car I have ever fallen in love with. I’d wash it myself every few days, and had it detailed every month. It was as fast as hell, and I really took care of that car. It was like having an affair, I’d imagine,” she sheepishly says.

Stone Grant has owned many vehicles, including a little blue Renault 5 when she lived in Paris, a fast fire-engine-red 300 ZX Nissan, a white Acura (which was stolen), a green Land Rover, and an off-white Infiniti G35, which was “the most comfortable car I’ve ever driven. And it was fast, luxury-fast as opposed to sports fast”. She even rented a few Yukons in-between!

Now the mother of one toddler, Stone Grant has lost her nerve with regard to speed. “I have responsibilities now. Back then, I would profile a little when I had a nice car. Nothing replaces that feeling, it’s just different. I do, however, like to control a fast car, because you can’t really control man,” she hoots.

Christa Gore

After telling SO that she is a full-time mum who has not worked since having her first child, 10 years ago, we discovered that Christa Gore has a genuine love for horseback riding, so we persuaded her to pose in her incredibly groovy jodhpurs and riding boots. Driving out to Caymanas three mornings a week, for hours of training (she is entering a competition in December), in her cobalt blue 2011 Audi Q7, Gore feels both comfortable – in the S-line sporting seats which totally support one’s legs and back – and secure, as her vehicle hugs the road very nicely. It helps that she is high off the ground, giving her a good field of view, and that the car holds everything – her two kids, their friends, school bags and groceries.

The first few vehicles that Gore owned were used cars, including an affordable 1986 Mercury Topaz while at university. Upon moving to Jamaica in 1996, from Canada, Gore drove her grandfather’s 1986 Honda Civic which had “no air conditioning, no radio, and would stall if I stopped at a street light”, she not so fondly reminisces. So when her dad helped her purchase a second-hand Daihatsu, with AC and cassette player, Gore was thrilled.

Once married, and expecting her first child, she got a black Land Rover Freelander, which she’d been eyeing for a long time. “Although I truly loved the car, it gave too many problems, including breaking down on the way to the airport, after exactly 30 days from the day I got it,” Gore gripes in jest. The car turned out to be a bit of a jinx, costing them far too much money, so after four years she moved on to a Toyota Fortuner, which served her well, until she upgraded to her cool Q7. After years of driving a few lemons, the unassuming Christa Gore has finally been given extremely refreshing ‘lemonade!’

Safi James

Marketing consultant for her own company, green ID, which spearheaded the marketing for SPF weekend this summer, Safi James does everything in her silver 2008 four-door Mazda 2 hatchback, including meetings and lunch. While being cagey about the huge project she is currently working on, to be revealed by Christmas, James is very open about her need for speed and sexiness, when it comes to her car. “I love driving fast, with the windows down, just breezing out,” she says, grinning and showing her dimples.

James admits that she was never a fan of Mazda, until she saw the shape of this one, took it for a test drive, and did some research. Considering safety, gas mileage, resale value, and how light and fast it is, she couldn’t resist this trendy and sassy little ride. Even her first car, a canyon brick red 2001 VW Jetta, had ‘fly’ indigo lights in the dashboard and a great sound system, and her ideal car is the hip yet sophisticated Land Rover Discovery 4. Arriving at the SO photo shoot, days before her impending nuptials, and clad in killer strappy high heels and a modestly sexy skirt and blouse, Safi James is a woman who knows what she wants when it comes to cars. Move over, men, she seems to have found hers!

Racquel’s Ridgeline

Permanent Cosmetics’ leading lady Racquel Jenkins Moss-Solomon makes no bones about her adoration for her 2007 Honda Ridgeline she affectionately dubs “a workhorse”.

“I’m always on the go with make-up, off to see people and attend events so I am constantly on the move and it’s the perfect vehicle because it suits my needs,” the woman who is on speed dial for the stylish cognoscenti, locally and internationally, divulges. “It’s a left-hand drive which is soooo sweet,” Moss-Solomon coos as she hugs the steering wheel. Her checklist of reasons why the Ridgeline is tops in her book include its reliability (“I’ve never had an issue with it”); the vehicle’s ability to traverse wet roads (“in heavy water, it transforms into a little yacht”) and its expert handling of the road (“it hugs the corners”). The affable entrepreneur whose first auto buy was a Honda Civic — she has the new Land Rover LR4 on order — says while she might change her vehicle in January, it will be hard to part ways with her beloved Ridgeline. “I do love the sound of the engine,” a seemingly misty-eyed Moss-Solomon adds.

Emma & Her ‘Sport’ Ride

“It looks like a truck but drives like a car,” SO contributor and culinary doyenne Emma Sharp Dalton Brown raves about her 2007 L-200 Mitsubishi Sportero. The four-wheel, manual-drive vehicle was purchased second-hand (but almost new considering only 3,000 kilometres was on the speedometer) from expatriates leaving The Rock, Dalton Brown reveals as SO awaits the arrival of other motor-loving ladies at the historic Devon House for a photo shoot. Dalton Brown reminisces about her first car — grandma’s 1960s Volkswagen Beetle. “Our parents were never worried about us because that car only went about 40 miles per hour,” she laughingly remembers. Of her present-day ride, our contributor is effusive of the Sportero, cheering its ample leg room and tons of space to stash the miscellaneous travelling items she totes around when the family goes on travel excursions. “It’s the ideal car for what I want…it fits our massive cooler box, which is important; the dogs can go in the back; it holds the pram for our two-year-old son; and the food we will pack as well.” She shares that while it’s a commonly held belief that men usually influence the choice of vehicles women buy, in her case, the decision to buy the Sportero was not hubby’s but hers. “His only advice to me was that a diesel vehicle would be better than a fuel one,” she says.

Annaliesa Loves Audi

It’s an Audi or nothing for attorney-at-law Annaliesa Lindsay. Having tended to work-related matters moments earlier at the Supreme Court before meeting us at Devon House, the bubbly, freckle-faced Lindsay has high praises for her 2003 1.8 Turbo Audi. “I love the German engineering and it’s an absolutely fantastic drive,” the legal eagle raves. With a penchant for frequent out-of-town trips, Lindsay, whose first car was a deportee — a Nissan Sentra which “had endless mechanical issues” , followed by a Mitsubishi Galant, “a newer second-hand car that gave very little problems” — turned her attention to a sturdier car after her good friend was killed, the result of injuries in a car accident. Her Audi allows her to feel safer on the road. “I go to the country a lot for both work and leisure and, trust me, my Audi is an excellent ride for the surface conditions I encounter driving — potholes and all.” A self-admitted die-hard devotee of the Audi brand, Lindsay says she loves “how the car handles the road at all speeds and it corners so well”.

Sara Lawrence

Proud of her Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, which she says was passed down to her by her dad, Steve Lawrence (adding to its appeal), former Miss Jamaica World (who will soon add MD to her credentials), the vivacious Sara Lawrence told SO that she has been driving for 10 years. “I remember my very first car,” she says. “It was a 1994 Toyota Tercel. It was standard and had absolutely no air conditioning, but I loved that car.” Lawrence speaks highly of her Prado, telling SO that her four-wheel drive is perfect for trips to the country; it’s spacious, sand-proof and cooler friendly — “a young girl’s dream,” she says. Still, the 2006 Miss Jamaica World says her favourite thing about the Prado is the fact that when she is driving, most persons are under the impression that it’s a man at the wheel. “Persons see the grill on the Prado and look at how it’s being driven and automatically assume it’s a man. Then they see a very girly girl hopping out clenching her skirt – it makes my day.” Lawrence is a spirited driver who believes that all users of the road should be treated with equal respect and even goes as far as scolding those who obviously don’t share the same belief. “Usually, I am a good driver, but I seem to cuss a lot of red-plate people and others who act as if the road code does not apply to them,” she says. Like many, Lawrence has had her share of mishaps on the road. While she was studying in the US, she met in a horrible accident, the effects of which filled her with anxiety and left her restless. “For the longest while I just would not go anywhere. I refused to,” Lawrence told SO. After being heavily encouraged by friends and family, she acquired the courage to hit the pavement once again.

Lawrence noted that although she loves her Prado, her ideal vehicle is the Audi Q7, which she says is “über-sexy”.