I agree with Bearkiller wholeheartedly. I have a great woman who stands beside me and can occasionally drive my pickup. She does concede that my worn out factory captain's chairs are much more comfortable (SHE doesnt complain about the seats all the way to Indiana, just the bouncy ride, due to lack of shocks ) than her 04 Dakota. She also comments on it's loudness, and the stench of the exhaust (which I will agree with her on that), but most of it is just teasing. She knows I can still blow her doors off.
Stand up for yourself, but also pick your battles. Who is going to cook what for supper is one to let pass. Buying a $40K POS instead of fixing a few blemishes on your PAID FOR 1stGen is. I guess treat them more like one of the guys, let her know when her idea is hairbrained or out there, but also let her know you can see why she might think that way, considering her background (or whatever). A buddy of mine is always amazed at how he cant get anywhere with his girlfriend (not necessarily in THAT way, either), but he is always kissing her behind- doing nice things, always asking her what she wants to do, etc, so it's kind of a no-brainer. I've told him to take the lead now and then and stick with the plan. He has yet to do it. I guess riding rough stock for several years helps in the self confidence/ devil-may-care dept.
Daniel