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

Novi, The Legendary Indianapolis Race Car, Vols 1 + 2

by George Peters and Henri Greuter

Fan favorites, powerful, and certainly capable of winning, no Novi-engined racer ever won the one event they were designed for, the Indy 500.

The Kalamazoo Automobilist: 1891–1991

by David O. Lyon

You may have heard of a Wolverine, but probably not in an automotive context. Checker is a big name, of course. How about Barley, Blood, Cannon, Cornelian, Dort to name just a few of the makers you’ll encounter in this book. Street names are in many cases all that remains.

America’s Fire Engine, The American-LaFrance 700 Series, 1947–1959  

by Walter M. McCall and Alan M. Craig

Although that famous flat front was not the first example of cab-forward design, ALF’s success with it made it an industry standard and earned the 700 Series the nickname “America’s Fire Engine.”

The Chandler Automobile

A History Including the Cleveland and Chandler-Cleveland Marques

by James H. Lackey

Successful automaker, quality product, various styles, competitive prices. Promising. But an unclear product strategy and resulting overextension pulled out the rug.

Early American Bicycle Works, Exploring the Architecture and Innovation of an Industry  

by Robert L. McCullough

Today’s bicycle works pretty much the same it did after standardization around 1890. But not many of the original makers survive, at least not in their original form or in that industry. This book looks at various aspects of the industry during its early years.

Pink Cars and Pocketbooks, How American Women Bought Their Way into the Driver’s Seat  

by Jessica A. Brockmole

Did automotive advertisers really ignore women from the beginning? Written by a “history nerd” this book came out of her doctoral dissertation and paints a much more complicated picture: automakers had all the right market research intel but their outreach failed.

Driving the Dragon, The Extraordinary Rise of the Chinese Car Industry  

by Mark Andrews

Nobody would be surprised to hear that Japan is no longer the world’s largest exporter of automobiles. But that it is China, a relative latecomer, that bested it is not so obvious and it is due to unique political factors.

Robert and John Pitcairn: Titans of Rail, Oil and Glass  

by William R. Huber

The story of industrialization and transportation in America would be incomplete without the brothers Pitcairn, and their circle of peers and friends. Things they did and ideas they had affect lives still today.

Crankshaft, A Periodical

by Richard Lentinello

Created—by a one-man band and in small numbers—for the serious collector-car enthusiast who appreciates in-depth, well-researched articles on a variety of original-spec automobiles, foreign or domestic, old or new.

Pontiac Performance 1960–1974: The Era of the Super Duty, H.O., & Ram Air Drag & Muscle Cars

by Don Keefe

Pontiac is still a registered trademark in the GM family but you haven’t seen a new car since 2009. Once upon a time they cranked out some of the most iconic performance cars of the day (as well as some real land yachts).

Early Funny Cars, 1964–1975

by Lou Hart

Does your car have 10,000 horses under the hood? Funny Cars are pretty serious machinery in terms of engineering parameters, and also aerodynamics.

Drag Racing’s Rebels, How the AHRA Changed Quarter-Mile Competition

by Doug Boyce

Drag racing in all its many forms is inherently a sport that attracts people who yearn to color outside the lines. Still, a sport needs rules. Rules require agreement, compromise—or ruthless power grabs.