Archive for Author 'Helen Hutchings', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

Beetle, Volkswagen’s Little Giant: From Old Reliable to New Sensation

by The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide™

The Beetle became a worldwide phenomenon with well over 22 million produced over three quarters of a century. When the retro-themed New Beetle came out in 1998 so did this book.

Men, Steam and The Driven Wheel

by Edward Yeomans

The topic is steam locomotives and the people who master them, so to think that in its day this book—For All Who Work or Play at Railroading—was described as “beautifully written, touched with deep philosophy” seems like a stretch. It’s definitely worth reading

Legends in Motion

Inside Stories and Driving Adventures from the Wonderful World of Cars

by Gary L. Witzenburg

An industry insider and motoring writer uses his 11th book to look back on cars, people, projects, and an assortment of topics he once covered for multiple media outlets across four decades.

Spellbinder, The Life of James J. Nance

by Stuart R. Blond

If the name of James Nance brings to mind “Studebaker Packard,” it’s not usually in a friendly way. He had the misfortune of presiding over the ambitious automaker’s final years—and is often enough blamed for them. There’s never been a book written about his working and personal life until now so be prepared to reevaluate that assessment.

Wheels of Change, Headlines from a Village on the Edge of the Motor Age

by Joe Baldwin with Tom and Bill Overbaugh

Short of opening a space port in your part of town there is really no way a contemporary reader can grasp how exotic a first-ever encounter with an automobile must have been. Contemporary newspapers help.

Massey-Ferguson Tractors

by Michael Williams

This became the most widely sold and recognized brand of agricultural machinery in the world. Many mergers, reorganizations, and licensees later it is now almost 150 years old and still in business.

L-15 Scout, Boeing’s Smallest Airplane

by Mal Holcomb

The “L” stands for Liaison and in theory this was a sensible aircraft. It was developed for a military contract that never materialized, and no civilian market ever emerged either. Only one is still flying, but you’d have to go to Alaska to see it.

New York Fifth Avenue Coach Company, 1885–1960

by Oliver J. Ogden

Fifth Ave is the premier north-south thoroughfare in Manhattan, with landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, not to mention high-value residential buildings. Obviously, buses had to look the part.

Corvette, Legend or Myth & Zora’s Marque of Excellence, Vol IV

A Factual History, The “First Two” Corvettes

by Kenneth W. Kayser

If everything you know of Corvette history comes from books, good for you—but be prepared to unlearn a whole bunch of things in this book by a veteran GM engineer.

Old Farm Tractors

by Philip A. Wright

The tractors in this book were “old” already when it first came out, six decades ago. Now they’re ancient, and increasing in popularity as collector’s items. Unless it’s an ultra classic, which could top a million dollars, they’re even affordable.

Cobra Man: The Automotive Odyssey of DICK COHEN

From Corvettes to the Ken Miles GT40

by Jim Kreuz with Dick Cohen

If you follow car auctions you recognize Cohen’s name. Who knows why the book title puts it in caps but he certainly lived/lives large: professor to junkyard owner to car flipper to vintage racer to university dean. The book covers more than just the cars.