Yvonne Cubbage freely admits she is a woman in a man's world, but has never let it hold her back.

Yvonne Cubbage, general manager of Ford Hartwell

After 21 years working with Hartwell in Oxfordshire, she has risen to become general manager of the Ford dealerships in Abingdon, Kidlington and Banbury, after starting as a 16-year-old clerk in the service department.

Over that time she has experienced every side of the business, from being a personal assistant to selling on the showroom floor, and is now one of only two female general managers across 47 dealerships nationwide.

But Ms Cubbage, 36, is not motivated by such statistics -- talk to her and it rapidly becomes clear that she possesses a steely determination and is driven from within.

The former pupil of Bartholomew School, Eynsham said: "I work hard and I don't expect to be treated any differently because I am female.

"If a car has to be pushed out of a showroom, then I am quite happy to do it.

"I have always been competitive in my life. If there was a 100 metre race at school I would have to come first. Money doesn't motivate me, it is about succeeding. I always strive to be the best -- I don't like being beaten in anything."

Ms Cubbage attributes this attitude to her early life. Her father left the family home in Eynsham when she was just two and mother Rose eventually re-married when she was nine. "My mother struggled to bring us up and it made me independent at an early age. I could easily have gone off the rails but it taught me to always see the positive side of a problem."

Working for Hartwell was accidental -- she joined on the recommendation of a friend's father after spending two unhappy weeks at college.

After several years, she had to persuade management to move her into sales which she saw as a more glamorous side to the business. It took ten days to sell her first car but after that she never looked back and three years later was voted the company's Sales Manager of the Year. She has been general manager of the three dealerships for the last two years.

These days her energy and enthusiasm are also driven by the fact she is mother to girls Madelaine, four and two-year-old Millie and they share the family home in Charlbury with husband Peter, a sales director with a Witney electronics company.

Ms Cubbage admits she has changed since having the children.

"I am much more laid back but the work/life balance can be very testing at times. Luckily, my mum looks after the children and helps me out with home duties."

While she keeps work and home separate, sometimes the lines can be blurred -- for example all her family drive Fords and her own car, a Galaxy people carrier, is put to good use.

She admits the motor trade is "addictive" and she wouldn't have it any other way.