Archive for Items Categorized 'US', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

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.

Dragster Genesis: The Formative Years of Fearsome Acceleration

by Barry John

No place to hide: two cars, side by side. Run a quarter mile. One wins. As a kid the author studied Hot Rod magazine, later he studied art at college. Youth well spent, apparently, because this book combines both interests.

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.

Reflections on Automotive History, Volumes I–III

by Bill Vance

Three volumes present a collection of essays on cars and people and the times in which they operated. Out of print but worth looking for!

Factory Air: Cool Cars in Cooler Comfort, An Illustrated History of Automotive Factory Air- Conditioning, Vol 2, 1953: The Magical Year

by Allen B. Simons

Full of previously unpublished information and imagery this second volume shows that AC was becoming fully established in American cars, and more importantly, fully integrated into the cabin as opposed to trunk- or window-mounted add-ons.

Yosemite, The Forest Domain of the Pierce-Arrow

by John C. Meyer III

A commemorative book of a 1982 car club tour of Yosemite National Park where once upon a time a small fleet of Pierce-Arrows had done duty as passenger transports and also fire engines.

The American Car Since 1775

The Most Complete Survey of the American Automobile ever Published

by The Editors of AQ

Fifty years after its first publication you can still find this book without much effort, at less than the original MSRP, and often in “as new” condition—meaning those owners never used the book as it was meant to. Don’t be that person!

A Technical & Operational
 History of the Liberty Engine: Tanks, Ships and Aircraft 1917–1960

by Robert J. Neal

One of history’s most famous engines, and very possibly the one with the longest active military service life, the Liberty represents an ambitious and visionary solution to what could have become an intractable problem: too much creativity resulting in too much incompatibility.

Designing Dreams

by Dick Ruzzin

At the center of these essays is the groundbreaking1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, designed by the author. But what started out as the story of its design program then grew into one about the creation of the car designer profession by Harley Earl.

William Howard Taft and the First Motoring Presidency, 1909–1913  

by Michael L. Bromley

Impressively documented re-appraisal of oft-maligned president, with special emphasis on autos. At an important early stage, Taft, in the face of opposition, articulated a national interest in the auto industry and the social advances of widespread motorization.

« Older Entries