The Garage Girl's Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Your Car

by Courtney Hansen, Jerry Hansen (Foreword)

The Garage Girl's Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Your Car' provides tips for proper car care, a guide to preventive maintenance to keep your auto in top form.

284 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

"Courtney Hansen just began her 7th season as vibrant and loveable host of Spike TV’s two-hour “Powerblock," where she is seen every Sat and Sun in a block of programming comprised of four automotive shows, during which she knowledgeably talks cars with celebrity guests and shows off million dollar rides, rare classics, tricked vehicles, and cars belonging to Jay Leno and other famous collectors. In addition to becoming the spokesperson for Auto Week, Courtney recently hosted ABC’s pilot “Crash Course," the Spike TV special “Great Builds” and Versus Network’s series of outdoor adventure specials “The Total Outdoorsman Challenge." Hansen can be seen in re-runs as host of the travel adventure series “Destination Wild,” on Fox Sports Net, which received a Silver Telly Award. Courtney takes viewers on exciting vacation adventures across the United States, showing off towns and fearlessly tackling adventure sports from Class 5 white water rafting and motorcycle rallies to rodeo events and Olympic bob sledding.
Courtney first attained popularity and a devoted worldwide following as the gorgeous, spunky co-host of TLC’autos hit car makeover show “Overhaulin’,” where she worked with automotive design legend, Chip Foose, transforming a viewer’s scrappy ride into an ultimate show car in one week. The show continues to air across the world on TLC and Discovery. Soon after she co-hosted two other TLC specials, “Rides: Biggest Spenders” and “Million Dollar Motors”. In 2006 Hansen was a key player in Spike TV’s live award show “Auto Rox.”
Hansen got her start in the business as host of the Jack Nicklaus comedic pilot “Killer Golf” and on a documentary for the Travel Channel titled, “Miami: Feeling the Heat." Formerly the author of the “Garage Girl” column for FHM Magazine, Courtney recently authored her first published book, The Garage Girls Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Your Car. The book is targeted towards women and first time car owners. She also writes a bi-weekly syndicated newspaper column found throughout the US and Canada titled “Courtney Hansen: Full Throttle,” where she discusses various automotive topics and allows readers a glimpse into her personality and life experiences. Hansen, who now has endorsement deals with 3M, Matco Tools and Auto Week, was honored in 2005 as the Los Angeles recipient of Ford’s “Life in Drive” Award. This prestigious award recognizes women who combine talent with that little something extra that allows them to break free from convention to live life with style and attitude.
Courtney has graced numerous magazine covers and was named one of FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World.” Hansen is tenacious and has a strong mid-western work ethic. She left her family behind and moved to LA alone, a city she had never before visited, making a pact with herself to do at least one thing for her career each day and to never lose sight of her moral compass. She waited tables in several restaurants simultaneously to earn money, attained roles in short and independent films, worked as a corporate narrator and became a spokesperson for the Rolls-Royce Motor Car. It wasn’t long before she was working as a full-time TV host.
Courtney modeled and acted as a child. As a young teen she attended an international talent competition, took home several awards and was offered a contract in NYC with one of the largest theatrical agencies. During high school she became a spokeswoman for Dodge Motors in Florida, doing 22 of their TV commercials. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing at Florida State University and then went on to work for a short time as a marketing specialist before leaving the corporate world to pursue a career in entertainment. After the completion of the pilot, “Killer Golf" at Universal Studios, Courtney decided to commit to a full time career in entertainment.
Hansen’s automotive r

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative. It's a bit dated but not the book's fault. And it took me so long because I don't normally read stuff like this.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a person who avoids maintenance shops because I know nothing about cars and refuse to be swindled thus creating various scenarios for myself such as: driving around on a donut for three months, needing to use super human strength to turn my wheel after the power steering goes out and feeling proud of myself for dumping copious amounts of oil into my car just because I know where it goes. I am of the school of thought:if I don't do anything about it, it doesn't exist. This being said, I now have a new car and I need it to last virtually forever. I found this book immensely helpful toward that goal. It is easy enough for me to read and know what she is talking about and all the tips have already encouraged me to do many things I never would have. I even found a screw in my tire that may have languished until that very important date or job interview and then flattened my tire. It has encouraged a couple of calls to my dealer and I feel much better about going to a mechanic. Could you find this info on the Internet? Yes, but can you take the Internet into the bathtub to read about cars? No.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being filled with ridiculous pictures of Courtney Hansen and with plenty of trite, valley-girl style writing, this actually isn't a bad little guide for someone purchasing their first car (or who just doesn't know anything about purchasing a car) and wanting to know about basic upkeep. Don't read this if you're looking for a little more, like I was, but for a beginner it's definitely decent. One of the nice things is that it's easy to understand, so you don't need to worry if you're someone who doesn't know auto lingo. On the whole I'd say Ms. Hansen should stick to TV, but honestly not bad.

[FSU Alumni]

Courtney Hansen (B.S. '97)

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like learning about new things and cars have always been on my list of things to understand.