[Saw sounds]
BOB EREKSON: She breaks the mold of what we think of as what girls are interested in versus
what guys are interested in.
She's an individual.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: Welding, grinding, cutting, sanding.
I'd much rather wear grease than makeup.
BOB EREKSON: Her mind works like an engineer.
She wants to know why.
JERRY DiMARIA: The project kind of took on a life of its own.
Now there's literally thousands of people watching to see what she succeeds at next.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: My name's Kathryn DiMaria.
I'm 14-years-old, and I'm rebuilding a Pontiac Fiero.
[Music]
JERRY DiMARIA: Alright, what are you working on today?
KATHRYN DiMARIA: We're gonna do welding first.
JERRY DiMARIA: Welding first.
Okay!
KATHRYN DiMARIA: My car that I'm building is a Fiero '86 GT.
It's gonna be all black and yellow interior, and then the body's gonna be gloss black with
yellow racing stripes.
My car's gonna be fast and sporty and just cool.
[Music]
JERRY DiMARIA: Michigan has a great car culture.
Home of the Motor City.
It's a great place to be to work on a car.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: I'm gonna be welding in the back of my frame rail right now.
I'm gonna do one inch stitches, so I'll have like an inch, no weld, and then an inch here.
I got the idea to build my car the summer before I turned 12.
I'd been to one or two car shows with my dad before, and so that's where the idea sparked,
Hey, maybe I could rebuild a car.
[Sparking noise]
CLAIRE DiMARIA: She said, "I want to redo a car so that it's done for my 16th birthday."
And it's like, "Okay…"
KATHRYN DiMARIA: I just knew that it wouldn't work unless I had good reasons.
So I'm like, "Well, if I build a car than I get experience.
I'd be able to possibly look into future careers…"
JERRY DiMARIA: She's like, "I'm gonna pay for it myself.
It'll be a car that only has two seats so I won't have a lot of friends to get in trouble
with."
So we decided, okay, we'll let her try it.
[Saw sounds]
[Music]
COMMERCIAL: Fiero.
A brilliant example of Pontiac innovation in action.
[Music]
COMMERCIAL: Fiero.
Only from Pontiac.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: I picked the Pontiac Fiero cause it's pretty much all curves.
There's like no straight edges on it whatsoever.
And it's little, so I figure it will be easier to build than like, rebuilding a huge semi
truck or something.
[Music]
KATHRYN DiMARIA: The amount that I personally spend on my car has probably been over $2,000
from babysitting and selling my welding art online.
JERRY DiMARIA: She's put in probably close to 1,000 hours of work, or maybe even more
than that at this point.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: All my friends are like, "You should be putting on makeup.
You should be prancing around with us all."
And I'm like, "I can't, gotta work on my car."
They're like, "Your car can wait."
And I'm like, "No, you can wait."
KATHRYN DiMARIA: It's like in Twilight, Bella has this really old truck.
And everybody teases her about it, but she loves it.
Same principle.
[Music]
BOB EREKSON: One of the reasons why she's been able to, uh, keep her interest in this
project is the fact that she continues to learn, um, and to learn new skills.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: What I'm holding in my hands right now is my cam-shaft.
It moves the lifters which moves the push rod which moves the rockers, which pushes
down on the springs, which moves the valves.
So far the skills I've learned so far is welding, grinding, cutting, sanding.
I learned how to upholster things.
How to change tires, how to change my fluids, how to take apart an engine.
I looked at different textbooks and things and then I ask my dad and my uncle, "What
do you know about this?"
My goal for finishing the car is to have it done on my 16th birthday cuz it's kinda like,
you're 16, now you're free.
Right now I am about halfway through in both time and in progress, so I think it can happen.
JERRY DiMARIA: Anything you gotta fill, you gotta sand more?
KATHRYN DiMARIA: What?
JERRY DiMARIA: Sanding is the thing she hates far and away.
Everything else she gets excited to do.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: Someone at some point took a rattle can and pretty much spray painted
it black, so I have to sand all the way through all those layers and then repaint it.
BOB EREKSON: The big trick is to keep that thing moving.
Don't let it sit in one place ever.
JERRY DiMARIA: Especially with black.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: Yeah.
It's kind of like having to do laundry every day.
It's just repetitive and there's not much of a point to it except that it has to get
done.
JERRY DiMARIA: I think that's taught her intuitiveness and commitment and then finally you see the
end result.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: The motivation for me is being able to visualize what you need in the
end because otherwise you just see details.
You need to be able to see the big picture.
I think the bolt's turning with it, dad.
JERRY DiMARIA: Yup, it is.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: It's a lot of fun working with my dad because we know how to joke but
still get work done.
JERRY DiMARIA: We've created a repoire that we can talk about anything.
I mean there's things that she shares with me that I think there's no way I would have
ever told my parents that.
We've talked about money, we've talked about how to plan to college, we've talked about
boys and sex.
And it's just a safe space for her and I to grow and learn and build together.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: That's an awesome weld.
You should come see it.
JERRY DiMARIA: Yeah, that looks nice kid.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: I like that weld.
JERRY DiMARIA: Good.
[Music]
JERRY DiMARIA: One of the things that's probably surprised me the most is how many people have
taken an interest in her story and how quickly it spread throughout the Internet.
And it really kinda probably started off of her forum.
People started responding back.
Y'know, I've got a spare "this" can I send it to her?
And then pretty soon we had a pile of things that had been shipped to her for her project
and they came from Canada, from all over the U.S., from Australia, from there the project
kinda took on a life of its own.
AutoBild, they're the largest automotive magazine on the planet named Kathryn AutoBild's 2012
Woman of the Year.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: All the support has been really encouraging because it just shows that
I am making a difference and I can do this and so when I'm stuck on something, then I'm
like I'm not alone.
I've got people out there to help.
JERRY DiMARIA: She knows that there's literally thousands of people waiting to see what she
succeeds at next so I think there's some of that in the back of her mind that I can't
let these people down.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: I think people have been so enthusiastic because it's not necessarily
something you see every day because my age sets me apart from most people who work on
them and also the fact that I'm a girl working in what would be considered a guy's field
as much as that kinda annoys me really.
It's annoying that people ask me so what's it like being a girl doing this?
It doesn't really matter that I'm a girl doing this, I mean I'm able to do it just as well
as any other person.
JERRY DiMARIA: Got it?
KATHRYN DiMARIA: Yeah.
I don't think there are enough women working in the engineering field.
They think, oh, it's a guy's world, but I hear these stories about women who are in
it and they've brought so much to it.
MICHELLE PICKERING: Hi Kathryn.
Michelle Pickering.
It's great to meet you.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: You too.
MICHELLE PICKERING: What do you want to see at the auto show, Kathryn?
You can see the rest of Chevrolet, you can see the Camero.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: Let's do the Camero.
[Music]
KATHRYN DiMARIA: I want to talk to them about their role mostly.
I want to see how much women can actually bring to the automotive world.
JEANNE POLAN: You see that neat duct feature that we put into the bumper?
JERRY DiMARIA: Did you guys put that in?
JEANNE POLAN: We put that in!
JERRY DiMARIA: You need to go over there and then we'll get a picture of the two of you
by the bumper.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: Oh there's a handle.
Look at that.
There's a handle!
MICHELLE PICKERING: At 14, I never would have accomplished half as much.
- How old are you?
KATHRYN DiMARIA: 14.
- Wow.
JEANNE POLAN: Kathryn is just so impressive in terms of her knowledge and her way she
handles herself.
MICHELLE PICKERING: Her mind works like an engineer.
She wants to know why.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: I'm trying to figure out this timing change thing.
What's going on here.
I want to see how challenging it is or how different it is for women.
JEANNE POLAN: When I first came in, many times I was viewed as being a secretary.
Today that's different.
There are many opportunities for women, although we still don't have an equal amount of women
in the engineering fields as we do males.
MICHELLE PICKERING: My concern is that as a society, we may not be encouraging women
to go into science technology, engineering, or math even.
Kathryn seems to have figured it out all by herself.
JEANNE POLAN: We want to keep in contact with you and make sure that you've progressed the
way you are.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: I look forward to it.
Thank you.
JEANNE POLAN: Okay, good luck!
[Music]
JERRY DiMARIA: Clearly it's going to be an exciting day when she gets to drive the car
out of the garage, but I think that she's going to be looking for what's next because
I think for her, and for me, it's been that whole learning process that's been most important.
KATHRYN DiMARIA: This car project has definitely changed my outlook on what I want to do.
I've really become interested in being an mechanical engineer.
After high school, I'd really like to go to a big engineering school.
There's been a few places that have contacted me and it's been kind of cool to see them
reaching out already.
It's important for me to be a role model with this project because I want to be there to
say, "Hey, look girls really can do this.
You shouldn't put them down.
They want to try.
Just give them the chance."
I think that people should have the chance to chase after their dreams and help them
come true.
KATHRYN: La da da di da da.
I don't know what else to say so I'm just gonna hum and make random noises.
Good with you?
Okay, good with me.
- Fiero!
Only from Pontiac!
We build excitement!
Pontiac!