'Be anything you want to be and look fabulous doing it'

ENGLEWOOD — From Harley-Davidson Barbie to Air Force Pilot Barbie, there's a Barbie for every single girl out there, inspiring the limitless potential in every girl.

Barbie taught Kim Parks that she could be anything and look good doing it, and she's lived by that motto since her first doll in 1972.

"Back then, women were secretaries, but not all women wanted to be a secretary," Parks said. "Barbie was whatever she wanted to be."

Her inspiration to be anything and do anything was heavily influenced by her father's love for cars. He taught her how to work on her own vehicles while fostering a love for Corvettes.

"My brothers had Corvettes, and when I'd be riding with them, I just thought 'this is the cool kids club,'" Parks said. "The Corvette people were kind of the originals — they always wave at each other."

She's loved cars since then, naming the Corvette the "ultimate American-made sports car."

During high school, Parks drove a Chevrolet Camaro in her senior year.

"I had a 1978 Camaro that I drag raced in high school on the streets," Parks said. "I always thought I would do something with racing, but life happened."

Parks had embraced the Barbie lifestyle in high school.

"The fashionista teaches girls that you can do and be anything you want to be and look fabulous doing it," Parks said. "I've been called Barbie since high school, something I take as a compliment, not an insult."

Over the years, she's collected close to 100 Barbies.

"I even call my house the Barbie Bungalow," she said.

It only seems right that Parks combine her equal love for Corvettes and Barbies, solidifying her title as Englewood's Barbie.v

She did when her boyfriend, nicknamed "MK," bought her a 1998 white Corvette for Valentines Day. He purchased it from a previous client of his who had the vehicle for 26 years.

"I call the car Jo Jo in honor of her," she said. "She was from New Jersey, where she bought the car then retired to Venice, Florida, where it was garage-kept and it was her daily driver."

Parks got to work on transforming the Corvette into the ultimate Barbie mobile.

"A simple pink Barbie front license plate was the first step in the transformation of becoming a Barbie Corvette," she said. "Wheels powder coated deep pink was the second step."

Parks said her friends around Englewood helped make her vision come true.

"Artist Frank Salas created the design for the body, which came to life courtesy of Steve and Lou Cook at Signs in One Day," she said. "Shawn at Emery Auto & Diesel installed pink lights inside and underneath the car for an electric look at night."

She decided against painting the entire car body pink, saying it may have been too much.

"I think it looks beautiful with the white body and pink detailing," Parks said. "I really can't thank my friends enough for wanting to help me make my vision come true."

Since the premiere of the "Barbie" movie last year, Parks said that a lot of girls point at the car and want a picture with it.

"That movie was really inspiring for a lot of girls and women," Parks said. "I went with my local Barbies, and we dressed up, of course."

For now, the transformation is complete until Parks finds some other cool Barbie memorabilia to add to the custom C-5, and perhaps some pink seat covers.

"This Barbie says I love the car almost as much as I love MK," she said. "Let's just say, he is 'My Ken.'"