“The more insane the build, the harder it is for the industry to ignore us and question our capabilities.” Those are the words of Sarah “Bogi” Lateiner, who at one time planned to be a lawyer fighting for women’s rights. Now she’s the owner of Girl Gang Garage, a business built on a dream of creating opportunities for women to explore, learn, and share their knowledge of an industry that has long been dominated by men.
Its first project? A 1957 Chevy Task Force pickup truck that Lateiner and 90 other women collaborated on over a 10-month time span. They replaced the stock engine with a 400-hp BMW S62, painstakingly restored every nut, bolt, and body panel, then painted it tenacious teal, an appropriate color given Lateiner’s tendency to tackle whatever challenge comes her way.
“The point of the build, and all subsequent builds, was to connect women in the industry, create opportunities for them to meet each other, find their community, build confidence, and push their skillset,” Lateiner said. “If given the chance, we can excel and do amazing things in the trades.”
Sarah “Bogi” Lateiner, AM Community Member, Founder & Owner, Girl Gang Garage
They named their creation the Montage, not only for its eclectic mix of components but also for the diverse group of women who participated in its rebuilding. They then unveiled their all-female accomplishment at the 2017 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show, the first of many events for the cars of Girl Gang Garage. Said Lateiner, “When you do something extraordinary, it catches people’s attention, and as a result, I get to have conversations about opening doors for women and getting more of them involved in the trades.”
Girl Gang Garage’s most recent build “pushed the envelope,” Lateiner said, embracing multiple, disparate elements of automotive customization. It started with a 1961 Volvo PV544 fastback that she “plucked from a farm” outside of Phoenix and—with the support and participation of 160 women this time—outfitted the car with a 2019 Volvo S60 Recharge hybrid powertrain. With that came months of custom bodywork that required a medley of old-school tools like English wheels and planishing hammers, along with the very latest in 3D printing, CAD software, and laser scanning.
The Iron Maven was born. “I normally name my cars after men, but there’s no denying that she’s a very curvy girl,” said Lateiner. “This project shows that men and women, young people and old, gas and electric, and traditional metalworking and new technologies can coexist; we celebrate our past while enthusiastically diving into the future.”
Girl Gang Garage isn’t Lateiner’s first business, nor her first foray into auto repair. An Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certified technician, Lateiner began working at a BMW dealership in 2000, immediately after graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in pre-law. Six years later, she grew frustrated with the internal politics that often come with employment and decided to strike out on her own.
With $200 to her name, she began performing auto repairs from the carport of her Phoenix, Ariz. home. “I called all of my friends and told them I was starting my own company,” Lateiner said. “I had no business being a business owner and no idea what I was doing. It was almost summer, and here I was working outside in 120-degree heat.” She laughed. “I even taught basic car care classes in my living room.”
Audacious, yes, but during the 13 years that she owned 180 Degrees Automotive, Lateiner took it from a one-woman-in-the-driveway affair to an eight-bay shop with dozens of employees and gross sales of around $1.3 million a year. Four years in, the phone rang: it was Motor Trend magazine, asking her to host a TV show on car repair.
“I’d turned down several opportunities before then, but the production company insisted that I hear them out,” said Lateiner. “They explained that ‘All Girls Garage’ would be an education-based show, which is right up my alley. There wouldn’t be any drama or catfights like some had suggested previously, but rather a half-hour DIY series where I could teach and share tips and tricks. So I went out for an audition.”
Twelve years later, her show is still on the air. Lateiner also began a weekly podcast called “With Her Two Hands,” which celebrates women in the trades. She did, however, sell her company several years ago. She notes that the demands of flying to Florida every month for filming, coupled with an opportunity to provide shop management consulting services, “forced me to hire techs and managers and basically replace myself. Somewhere along the way, I found that I’d lost some of my love for the business and wanted a new challenge. That’s when I opened Girl Gang Garage.”
Challenge accepted. The auto mechanic turned business owner turned part-time TV celebrity and full-time feminist rockstar quickly found that building cars from the bottom up is far different than replacing a worn engine component on a BMW. For one thing, none of her previous work experience included body repairs and modifications, leading her to learn how to operate the aforementioned English wheel and other metal-forming techniques.
Nor did it include the creation of entirely new parts from scratch via 3D printing, a task for which she asked Applications Engineer Pamela Waterman at Phoenix Analysis and Design Technologies (PADT) Inc.—a design firm and service bureau in nearby Tempe—for help.
“It was kind of ironic because I knew Bogi from years earlier,” said Waterman. “She used to give these Car 101 talks and hands-on demonstrations of stuff like changing your oil and rotating your tires, and I brought my then 15-year-old daughter to one of her workshops while she was learning to drive. Bogi believes that every woman should feel more comfortable with operating and maintaining a car, but she also has a passion for educating people and raising awareness among women about potential careers in the automotive trades.”
In this case, the tables were turned. Waterman and several of her colleagues at PADT assisted Girl Gang Garage with designing and printing body parts for the Iron Maven. Unfortunately, the car was damaged during transport to the next scheduled event, the Barrett Jackson car auction in Scottsdale. “We’re fixing her back up again, but she had to sit this one out,” said Lateiner. “But I did get to participate in a panel discussion about the Iron Maven at Barrett Jackson for their symposium series, and I emceed the Future Collector Car Show, which is all about engaging younger people and fostering the next generation of car collectors. Both events were very well received.”
Lateiner’s ability to take life’s setbacks in stride should come as no surprise to those who know her. Her efforts to promote women in the trades continue unabated. Aside from what has become a full-time role (and then some) with Girl Gang Garage, she still teaches basic car care classes, just as she has done for the past 25 years. There are also more targeted workshops on specific skills like welding or cutting and forming a patch panel.
Lateiner said the projects they collaborate on are organic and free-form, with participants—many of them professionals from different specialties in the automotive industry—sharing their skills and learning from one another. “The environment is very collaborative and supportive, and we often have conversations about the challenges women face in the industry, which helps us feel more connected and understood.
“We’ve had some women who’ve been interested in pursuing careers in the trades but ran into the same challenges that most newbies do when trying to get into the field,” Lateiner added. “For example, one woman in her mid-40s, a computer engineer, was so taken with metalwork and bodywork that she wanted to change career paths. However, the only jobs she could find were low-paying positions like sweeping floors at a body shop, just to get her foot in the door. This wasn’t practical for her, so she started restoring her Volkswagen bug instead.”
Whatever their reasons, whatever their professions, the women who come to Girl Gang Garage experience validation and confidence-building. Many have returned to their day jobs and asked for (and received) raises, while others have earned promotions or even started their own businesses.
Lateiner is happy to be a part of it, and happy to expand on her own skillsets. “Some days I’m showing a woman who’s never turned a wrench how to tell what size socket she needs, and then other days I’m brainstorming with an industry professional on how the heck are we going to redesign this suspension,” she said. “And more recently, I’ve been spending time figuring out things like CAD and 3D printing, both of which are completely new to me. As with the women I work with, there’s a lot of experimentation and technical learning and ‘let’s see what happens when I do this.’ But then some of the best learning is when we’re sitting around in the break room together, sharing stories about our jobs and personal lives. At times like these, there are the moments of ‘Oh my God, there’s somebody else who understands what it’s like to be me.’ That’s a great feeling.”
