Ladies, start your engines! Miss Shifters opens doors for female auto enthusiasts

Not so long ago, the idea for an all-girls car club in Spokane might have been met with snickers or ridicule from men. The ladies of Miss Shifters have been burning a steady track into the male-dominated motorsport landscape for more than 15 years and these women with hot wheels are quick to point out … they’ve come a long way baby.

Founded in 2009 by Alicia Wood, the nonprofit Miss Shifters organization was formed to empower local females in the world of classic autos, but it has evolved into much more. “At the inception of Miss Shifters, women weren’t really accepted into most car clubs around here,” said club president Rachelle Foster Stephens. “Over the years, we’ve proved to them that we’re here to stay and we’ve earned our spot.”

Bitten by the auto bug at an early age, Foster Stephens made her own decision to join Miss Shifters with lightning speed.

“I have loved cars since I was a little girl. I can remember my dad doing burnouts in his Monte Carlo,” she said.

After spotting the group at a local car show, she swiftly cruised over to sign up.

“I walked right up to them and I was like, ‘I need to be a part of this,’ ” said Foster Stephens, who owned a 1972 Plymouth Duster at the time. Her flashy rides now include a 1962 Chevy C10 and a 1964 Chevy Impala sports coupe.

Those along for this high-octane road trip say Miss Shifters is more than just a car club, it is also a sisterhood.

“We are a family. We’ve been through divorces and death and marriages and kids being sick and husbands being sick,” said Foster Stephens. “We are really, really lucky. We have something extremely special.

“We would help each other with whatever we need.”

A degree in auto mechanics is not required to join, but shiny wax jobs are mandatory.

The ladies of Miss Shifters recently appeared at the Spokane Speed and Custom Show, where their eye-catching neon pink signs with a skull and crossbones steered throngs of auto hounds to a medley of spiffed-up vehicles. Cars on display included a 1952 Mercury Monterey and a custom-built hearse named Maude … complete with its own handcrafted coffin. The women are now gearing up for their June Broads & Rods event.

To satisfy a need for speed, they also drag race.

Club members put that pedal to the metal at Qlispé Raceway Park in Airway Heights.

“If I had enough money and time I could easily see how I’d get caught up in doing that consistently. The adrenaline rush is addictive,” said Miss Shifters vice president LaLainya Miles, who breezed into the semifinals during her first Powder Puff competition.

Introduced to oil filters and spark plugs by her grandfather, Miles said Miss Shifters has paved an avenue for females who feel intimidated by male car clubs.

“There are a lot of ladies looking for a connection with the community and (they) have a hard time finding an outlet that they feel comfortable with,” she said. “To have a group of ladies that have the knowledge to help them with their cars or to know the resources, where to go to get help where needed, I think that’s really great too.”

As collector vehicles get older, so do their owners.

Attracting younger generations to vintage auto groups is critical to their survival.

“A lot of people in car clubs right now are aging out … people are afraid that the hobby will die,” said Miles, who serves as a board member for the Inland Northwest Car Club Council along with Foster Stephens.

Reaching out to fledgling auto lovers is more satisfying to these ladies than freshly polished chrome.

“I have a pink, ’62 pickup and little girls just flock to it,” said Foster Stephens. She called these tiny fans of muscle cars and spoilers, “mini shifters.” A few years back, the club hosted a winter event with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho that featured auto science projects and a visit from Foster Stephen’s niece who is a BMX racer. Nearly 200 people attended.

Miss Shifters also works with the YWCA Spokane to assist women in transition. The group holds an annual Mardi Bras event which benefits the VOA Crosswalk youth shelter.

“We’ve all fallen on hard times at different points in our lives,” said Foster Stephens. “It’s just us giving back where we can and if we can do it with our cars, all the better.”

In 2022, Miss Shifters received the Washington state Hot Rod Hall of Fame Car Club of the Year Award.

“We get a lot of women that come up to us and they’re like, ‘Thank you for being here. You guys are filling an important role,’ ” said Foster Stephens.