The What Drives Her Podcast

A Girls Guide to Cars
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We've been talking to women who are changing the automotive world for a few years now. We thought it's time we share those conversations, so we started a podcast. We discover what inspires and empowers women to build a career in automotive, to create, to lead, to take on new challenges, to not be afraid. And what they hope others will learn from them. And, there are cars! We'll talk about new cars, technology, car sales and deals and more.

  1. Nikkie Riedel, Product Planning Manager at Subaru: Putting Her Personal Touch on the New Outback

    1H AGO

    Nikkie Riedel, Product Planning Manager at Subaru: Putting Her Personal Touch on the New Outback

    Nikkie Riedel is the Product Planning Manager at Subaru who has put a personal touch on the new Subaru Outback. From cupholder development to cargo space organization, Nikkie infuses what matters most to customers into a functional design. From product innovation to the Subaru Love Promise, watch more to learn about how Nikkie Riedel is influencing Subaru from the inside with a passion for drivers in mind.    Get more What Drives Her here: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/?s=what+drives+her  Join our newsletter: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/join-our-newsletter/  And find more on our socials! facebook.com/agirlsguidetocars instagram.com/agirlsguide2cars twitter.com/agirlsguide2cars tiktok.com/agirlsguide2cars What Drives Her by A Girls Guide to Cars is wholly owned and produced by A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC. Executive producer, Scotty Reiss, Producer Natalie Merola, Editor Stephanie Howard.  Find more stories about women who are changing the auto industry from the inside here.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Catch every What Drives Her Podcast in video on our podcast channel on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    36 min
  2. Torsten Gross, Co-Founder of Just Hands, Takes a Different Approach to Life: Having Courage

    JAN 29

    Torsten Gross, Co-Founder of Just Hands, Takes a Different Approach to Life: Having Courage

    Liv Leigh brings a different approach to each car she reviews as an adaptive driver, and chats with Torsten Gross, co-founder of Just Hands, who is a quadriplegic, rebellious race car driver, and overall adrenaline junkie.  To overcome things in life, Torsten believes in trying and failing is what motivates us to have the courage and confidence to do and avoid overthinking.  Listen and learn about how his injury became a celebration via rebirth, when Torsten got into competitive motorsports, his documentary "Just Hands: For the Love of Racing", and more.  Get more What Drives Her here: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/?s=what+drives+her  Join our newsletter: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/join-our-newsletter/  And find more on our socials!  facebook.com/agirlsguidetocars  instagram.com/agirlsguide2cars  twitter.com/agirlsguide2cars  tiktok.com/agirlsguide2cars What Drives Her by A Girls Guide to Cars is wholly owned and produced by A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC. Executive producer, Scotty Reiss, Producer Natalie Merola, Editor Stephanie Howard.  Find more stories about women who are changing the auto industry from the inside here.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Catch every What Drives Her Podcast in video on our podcast channel on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 29m
  3. Business Development Manager at BMW, Inga Grieger, Creates with Car Innovators to Inspire & Design

    JAN 20

    Business Development Manager at BMW, Inga Grieger, Creates with Car Innovators to Inspire & Design

    Ever wonder how brands create the sustainable fabrics and develop their technology? Business Development Manager at BMW I Ventures, Inga Grieger, works with innovators, inventors, and entrepreneurs to develop a lot of really cool materials, new tech, and features for their cars. Watch to learn more about Inga Grieger and BMW I Ventures.    Get more What Drives Her here: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/?s=what+drives+her  Join our newsletter: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/join-our-newsletter/  And find more on our socials!  facebook.com/agirlsguidetocars  instagram.com/agirlsguide2cars  twitter.com/agirlsguide2cars  tiktok.com/agirlsguide2cars  What Drives Her by A Girls Guide to Cars is wholly owned and produced by A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC. Executive producer, Scotty Reiss, Producer Natalie Merola, Editor Stephanie Howard.  Find more stories about women who are changing the auto industry from the inside here.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Catch every What Drives Her Podcast in video on our podcast channel on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    25 min
  4. GM Engineer Stephanie Ernster Designs Your Cars with an Intentional User Experience in Mind

    JAN 17

    GM Engineer Stephanie Ernster Designs Your Cars with an Intentional User Experience in Mind

    Stephanie Ernster, GM Engineer, brings the user experience and ensures top performance across the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Chevrolet Equinox, and more. Stephanie is thinking ahead with the technology and where to move things around for the best experience for owners.  When looking at the overall experience, Stephanie brings those next safety features, along with excellent ride comfort, or where GM is in placing behind-the-scenes features like where to put the screens, thicker glass, active noise cancellation, and speaker locations to name a few.  Watch to find out how Stephanie immersed into the car world and how math and science helped her break into General Motors.  Get more What Drives Her here: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/?s=what+drives+her  Join our newsletter: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/join-our-newsletter/  And find more on our socials! facebook.com/agirlsguidetocars  instagram.com/agirlsguide2cars  twitter.com/agirlsguide2cars  tiktok.com/agirlsguide2cars  What Drives Her by A Girls Guide to Cars is wholly owned and produced by A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC. Executive producer, Scotty Reiss, Producer Natalie Merola, Editor Stephanie Howard.  Find more stories about women who are changing the auto industry from the inside here.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Catch every What Drives Her Podcast in video on our podcast channel on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    29 min
  5. Comedian Abbas Wahab Shares His Journey from Auto Engineer to the Comedian in Automotive Life

    JAN 10

    Comedian Abbas Wahab Shares His Journey from Auto Engineer to the Comedian in Automotive Life

    Abbas Wahab is a comedian with roots in the automotive industry, has an engineering degree in automotive, and made fuel tanks. We got the opportunity to learn more about his comedic style, love for cars, and dad life. Watch and listen to learn more about Abbas' career influences, automotive story and how he enjoys cars while we sit and chat in the back of this Bentley Flying Spur.  Get more What Drives Her here: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/?s=what+drives+her  Join our newsletter: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/join-our-newsletter/  And find more on our socials!  facebook.com/agirlsguidetocars  instagram.com/agirlsguide2cars  twitter.com/agirlsguide2cars  tiktok.com/agirlsguide2cars    What Drives Her by A Girls Guide to Cars is wholly owned and produced by A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC. Executive producer, Scotty Reiss, Producer Natalie Merola, Editor Stephanie Howard.  Find more stories about women who are changing the auto industry from the inside here.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Catch every What Drives Her Podcast in video on our podcast channel on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    17 min
  6. A Connected, Dynamic, and Sensible, Luxury Driving Experience: Meet Melody Lee, Mercedes-Benz CMO

    12/18/2025

    A Connected, Dynamic, and Sensible, Luxury Driving Experience: Meet Melody Lee, Mercedes-Benz CMO

    Melody Lee, Mercedes-Benz CMO, first started her career early on with Cadillac. This smart, dynamic woman has a knack for sensibility and who is the luxury automotive customer in mind. After leaving automotive, her creative marketing work at Shiseido for Laura Mercier, Herman Miller with American modernism furniture you know and love, and a design company working with Ace Hotels and Gucci to name a few.  But what do all of these places have in common? Melody Lee has that branding DNA, where she's focused on enriching the meaning in life beyond the transactional. At Mercedes-Benz, Melody is looking at how this 2nd largest purchase is an emotional decision. It's not just a vehicle-- it's connected to the driver's freedom, lifestyle, and family. Watch and listen to learn more about her career influences and how she arrived at where she is today.  Get more What Drives Her here: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/?s=what+drives+her  Join our newsletter: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/join-our-newsletter/  And find more on our socials!  facebook.com/agirlsguidetocars  instagram.com/agirlsguide2cars  twitter.com/agirlsguide2cars  tiktok.com/agirlsguide2cars  What Drives Her by A Girls Guide to Cars is wholly owned and produced by A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC. Executive producer, Scotty Reiss, Producer Natalie Merola, Editor Stephanie Howard.  Find more stories about women who are changing the auto industry from the inside here.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Catch every What Drives Her Podcast in video on our podcast channel on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    26 min
  7. Safety First, Mom Life, and Engineering with Jennifer Morrison, Mazda, and Jessica Jermakian, IIHS

    12/11/2025

    Safety First, Mom Life, and Engineering with Jennifer Morrison, Mazda, and Jessica Jermakian, IIHS

    From safety first to mom life and engineering, we're chatting about the importance of engineering safety into each car and keeping in mind safety on the highway for the family. We chatted with Jennifer Morrison, Director of Vehicle Safety Strategy at Mazda, and Jessica Jermakian, Senior Vice President of Vehicle Research at IIHS. Watch and listen to learn more about vehicle safety and the women improving safety across the industry.    Get more What Drives Her here: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/?s=what+drives+her  Join our newsletter: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/join-our-newsletter/  And find more on our socials!  facebook.com/agirlsguidetocars  instagram.com/agirlsguide2cars  twitter.com/agirlsguide2cars tiktok.com/agirlsguide2cars What Drives Her by A Girls Guide to Cars is wholly owned and produced by A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC. Executive producer, Scotty Reiss, Producer Natalie Merola, Editor Stephanie Howard.  Find more stories about women who are changing the auto industry from the inside here.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Catch every What Drives Her Podcast in video on our podcast channel on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    28 min
  8. Special Guest + Author Susan Orlean Shares Car Stories and Notes fro Her Memoir, Joyride

    12/04/2025

    Special Guest + Author Susan Orlean Shares Car Stories and Notes fro Her Memoir, Joyride

    Our special co-host Cherise Threewitt, automotive journalist, joined Scotty Reiss to chat with Susan Orlean, author of books including Joyride and The Orchid Thief, and writer at the New Yorker. Cherise met Susan Orlean in Chicago at her recent book tour.  During their Q&A session and book signing, Cherise chatted more with Susan about how cars were always part of her life and her career milestones. Listen to hear more about Susan's memoir, Joyride.  Stay tuned to agirlsguidetocars.com for the full story with Cherise!  Get more What Drives Her here: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/?s=what+drives+her  Join our newsletter: https://agirlsguidetocars.com/join-our-newsletter/  Learn more about Susan Orlean here: https://www.susanorlean.com/author/  And find more on our socials! facebook.com/agirlsguidetocars instagram.com/agirlsguide2cars twitter.com/agirlsguide2cars tiktok.com/agirlsguide2cars  What Drives Her by A Girls Guide to Cars is wholly owned and produced by A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC. Executive producer, Scotty Reiss, Producer Natalie Merola, Editor Stephanie Howard.  Find more stories about women who are changing the auto industry from the inside here.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Catch every What Drives Her Podcast in video on our podcast channel on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 6m
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About

We've been talking to women who are changing the automotive world for a few years now. We thought it's time we share those conversations, so we started a podcast. We discover what inspires and empowers women to build a career in automotive, to create, to lead, to take on new challenges, to not be afraid. And what they hope others will learn from them. And, there are cars! We'll talk about new cars, technology, car sales and deals and more.

Information

  • Creator
    A Girls Guide to Cars
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © A Girls Guide to Cars, LLC
  • Show Website
    The What Drives Her Podcast