MotorWeek’s Your Drive host Audra Fordin doesn’t just play a mechanic on TV, she’s spent a lifetime spinning wrenches and giving the kind of down to earth car care advice that every car owner needs. But along with overseeing the repair work at her family’s garage, she regularly hosts workshops to inspire women to seriously consider auto mechanics as a career. Our Stephanie Hart has more.

STEPHANIE HART: I’m in Flushing, New York, at the Great Bear Auto Repair shop. This business has been in existence for more than 90 years, and for the last 30 years a woman, Audra Fordin, has been at the helm, fixing vehicles and empowering people, especially women, with important auto knowledge.

AUDRA FORDIN: What I love most about the business is connecting with people, and helping them to be empowered and understand what they need with their cars so they can be safer on the road. They can save time, they can save money and they feel that they can actually take care of their investment that they drive around in.

STEPHANIE HART: Audra is proud to share her automotive expertise with her customers and employees. For the last 30 years, she has also been inspiring and training the next generation of female auto mechanics at her garage.

Statistics show there are less than 4% of women auto mechanics out there. Audra has a team of nine female employees, including Carrie Horton, who all agree just watching Audra in action is inspiring

CARRIE HORTON: Like you said, there’s not a lot of women in the industry but it’s empowering to be able to teach people about vehicles, especially when they think you’re the underdog and they don’t think you know what you know

STEPHANIE HART: Knowledge is power. That’s why in 2009 Audra founded a membership driven company, called Women Auto Know, which is primarily focused on hosting workshops to educate women about the automobile.

People, especially women, can feel intimidated when going into a repair shop to get their car fixed and Audra you help people overcome these challenges?

AUDRA FORDIN: I hear a lot of stories about someone who felt they got ripped off or they were taken advantage of and they didn’t get a fair deal in an auto repair shop, and not every auto repair shop is taking advantage of you. I do believe that, with a lack of information, then you really don’t know if you’re being taken advantage of or not.

STEPHANIE HART: That’s why Audra’s Auto Know workshops, like this one, are a valuable resource for communities.

YAMARIS PEREZ: The big takeaway for today is to make sure to maintain your vehicle early so this way you can avoid any emergencies, especially when you’re on the road, so having that maintenance check first is key.

STEPHANIE HART: These Women Auto Know workshops have been so successful, Audra is now expanding her passion nationwide to reach more people. Now called Drivers Auto Know, its core mission remains the same: provide automotive education and resources to empower people of all ages to be safe, confident and knowledgeable drivers, passengers and automotive consumers.

STEPHANIE HART: So, what was your favorite part about today?

DANIEL FUENTES: I liked checking the oil, actually. It was fun, it was engaging, it was something, I think, you would need to know when you need to deal with cars.

AUDRA FORDIN: There’s 278,000 auto repair shops and 110 million drivers. They need to have information and the workshops provide that. Drivers Auto Know is a review site to find an auto shop in your area that has adopted our philosophy, so that you can now vet out your auto shop and find a trusted place to go to.

STEPHANIE HART: Whether Audra’s mentoring a female employee, teaching a workshop or under the hood, she makes a difference daily, giving back to the automotive community that inspired her in the first place.

AUDRA FORDIN: I feel like reward and it’s more about something inside gets fulfilled by sharing this information. It’s priceless.

STEPHANIE HART: That’s great, that’s great.

AUDRA FORDIN: Thank you. I’m so happy to do it.

STEPHANIE HART: You are doing a great job. You really are.

AUDRA FORDIN: We’re just getting started. Here comes the train now.