I'm totally amazed by the fact that Pat's offers a free car-care class for women. I showed up for the 3-hour session one gray morning after hearing about it being voted "Best Mechanic" in the Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay 2006 poll. Over the spread of hummus and fruit and crackers and juice, I overheard Pat telling another participant (who appeared to be a regular customer) that he'd skipped his yoga class that morning to do the workshop. The other mechanics strolled in and, in a very laid-back, approachable, informative way, took our small group of women around the innards and underbelly of a car to show us everything from how an engine works to where exactly to pour in more windshield-wiper fluid. Some useful practice on changing a tire and explanations of what all those crazy dashboard lights mean, too--like, if "!" pops up, that doesn't necessarily mean your car's about to die on you pronto, at midnight, in the middle of some deserted street as old newspapers blow by or something. Could very well just be that your gas cap's loose, but if the light's still on even after you've tightened it, the car's computer has to cycle through a couple times to register that the thing's been tightened and, in the meantime, the "!" will stay on, freaking you out. Anyway, interesting info, and handouts galore to take home, plus a tire-pressure gauge and a logo t-shirt (though I'm not sure they do that every time).Pat, Liz, Augie, and John were all down-to-earth and I have to give 'em props for taking the time to offer a class like this. I hope they build it into a series and can eventually offer more in-depth workshops, even if it's at a charge.