Christina Roki on Building Cars, Making Mistakes, and Inspiring Women in STEM

Jim talks with automotive content creator and mechanical engineer Christina Roki, a Detroit native and first-generation American. Roki shares how buying a Nissan 350Z project car during the pandemic and sharing her experience with her trial-and-error repairs helped her normalize mistakes and grow a large online audience. She discusses learning to fix cars affordably for her single mother, her creative approach to customizing cars with bold colors, and how the car community feels like a second family. 

00:00 Teaching Cars Online

02:03 Her Origin Story

03:06 First Project Car 350Z

04:35 Family Support And Trust

06:31 Bold Colors And Style

07:29 Community And Influence

10:18 Women In Cars And STEM

13:03 From Programs To TikTok

14:01 Embracing Mistakes Publicly

18:52 Couples Challenges And Fights

23:17 Advice For Ford Leadership

DRIVE with Jim Farley is produced by Jesse Baker and Eric Nuzum of Magnificent Noise. Our production staff includes Sabrina Farhi and Kristen Mueller with help from Lori Arpin, Angela Brewer, Max Owen-Dunow, Anne Roberts, Samantha Singhal, Darnell Macon, Brandon Kennedy, and Mark Truby. 

Follow Jim: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jim.Farley

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimfarley98/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jimfarley98

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-farley/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jimfarley.bsky.social

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jimfarley98

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices