Blacktop Magazine Featured Person
Genevieve Chappell “The Queen of Cars”
I was rolling over to the Pep Boys Speed Shop LA Grand Opening when the Eagles’ Deperado was ringing in my ears: “…Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds, boy She’ll beat you if she’s able. You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet.”
I don’t know about Henley and the boys but I’ll bet on “The Queen of Cars” Genevieve Chappell anytime. She’s not just a pretty face in front of a camera, but a savvy businesswoman too. But wait, there’s more. She knows her way around a garage as well.
I first heard of Genevieve Chappell about a year ago from her work with the short-lived Velocity TV – an online version of Velocity Magazine featuring the Orange County, CA car-culture. You can view the videos on Vimeo here: www.vimeo.com/velocitymag.
I had an opportunity to meet with Genevieve and found her as genuine as she is on the videos. I asked her about how she found her passion in cars and what is her earliest memory of cars:
“I truly believe, that people learn about, talk about and surround themselves with things they are interested in and love. I have always loved classic cars (first memory of this was age 4) as well as watching something old and rusty be transformed into something beautiful. I have always been extremely attracted to everything automotive (both exterior, interior and under the hood), it’s in my blood – so talking about anything and everything automotive related comes naturally to me and it makes me happy.”
She continues: “I don’t attribute my passion for automotive to anyone except myself. From a young age I was drawn to and inspired by design (fashion, interior, automotive) art and colors combinations, etc. Because of where I lived in Whittier Ca (from age 10-16 yrs) and observing my neighbors and guys I went to school with customizing their cars, I got to experience first hand the art and culture of automotive. From the mechanics to the engineering to the sound systems all the way to the custom design – it was absolutely amazing to me! It still is amazing to me!”
As she tells this story I can picture her hanging out with the guys doing a bit of wrenching, but most importantly enjoying the rides around the Southern California landscape. 1987, Before text messaging, when the summer days had a blue-green hue contrasting the bright sunsets. Her blonde hair flowing in the barren freeway breeze and cooling off with a cruise up Whittier Blvd., or up to Van Nuys.
I can understand how she found her passion in all things automotive, and I wonder how difficult it is for her in this male-dominated industry.
Difficult or not, she has made quite a mark.
For the past 10 years she has worked, operated and progressed to “expert status” in a man’s world – extremely difficult to attain to that status in this business/automotive industry.
She is considered and highlighted as a “Social Media Personality” in both the automotive world and techy world.
Her dedicated fans follow her almost exclusively via new media. That’s unique for this very old-school industry. She currently has 6000 readers a month on her website that read her daily blog updates. Make that 6001, I just signed up at: http://www.thequeenofcars.com
Enjoy the pics and keep a lookout for this bombshell exploding in the Car Scene of Southern California and Beyond.
To view photo gallery and Blacktop Magazine’s home page, click here
T-Bone
