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

Art of the Hot Rod

by Ken Gross, with photos by Peter Harholdt

Once strictly a workingman’s pastime, today’s DIYer is joined by “checkbook rodders” bankrolling custom builds from specialized shops that offer the whole panoply of skills and services. The work done by the second generation of craftsmen, builders, and artists is showcased in this book.

Lost Hot Rods: Remarkable Stories of How They Were Found

by Pat Ganahl

Every time a hot rod got sold the new owner would personalize the vehicle and no one back then ever thought rods would become collectable or “important.” You see the predicament “hot rod archeologists” like Ganahl face when looking for “historic” or “original” rods.

Hot Rod Magazine: All the Covers

by Drew Hardin

Since its founding in 1948, Hot Rod Magazine has as much reflected as shaped the hot rod movement in the US. It even preceded what today are the mainstream, middle-of-the-road consumer car magazines; in fact, its success spawned theirs.

American Auto Legends: Classics of Style and Design

by Michael Furman, text by Tracy Powell

This latest installment in this Auto Legends series turns its—and your—gaze upon American cars of “distinction.” Without taking anything away from the text, what most distinguishes all the books in this series is the fabulous photography.

My Father the Car: Memoirs of My Life With Studebaker

by Stu Chapman

North Americans have always known about Daimler, or Daimler-Benzes after these two amalgamated in 1926. However, in spite of Max Hoffman’s best efforts, it wasn’t until the company, by then called Mercedes-Benz, made an arrangement with Studebaker that it really achieved a North American presence.

American Cars: 1946 to 1959 and American Cars: 1960 to 1972

by J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr.

Flory’s life is awash in numbers about cars. His dedication to gathering encyclopedic detail about every car sold between 1946 and 1972 is evident in these two 1,000-page (each!) books. No bit of information is too small, and none has been overlooked.

Buick, The Australian Story

by Eric North and John Gerdtz

The story of the auto industry in Australia, especially the Holden aspect, is interesting all on its own. As with many American makers, Holden too dates back to saddlery and carriage-building beginnings with the company bearing a man’s surname.

Motion Performance: Tales of a Muscle Car Builder

by Martyn L. Schorr

Many of the already-in-print “muscle” books mention a Motion or Baldwin-Motion car, but this boo is the only one exclusively devoted to the subject. And I’ll venture it might be the only one devoted exclusively to Joel Rosen’s tuning prowess.

Hot Rods and Custom Cars: Los Angeles and the Dry Lakes, The Early Years

by Ken Gross and Robert Ames

Featuring period photos from the 1940s and ’50s by Strother MacMinn, a fixture in the world of auto design, on his stomping ground.

Avanti: The Complete Story

by John Hull

There have been a number of books that have attempted to chronicle the history and lineage of the Avanti. But until now few have given accurate or chronological details.

We Were the Ramchargers: Inside Drag Racing’s Legendary Team

by Dave Rockwell

The Ramchargers were a group of like-minded young engineers who formed an after-hours racing team to transform Chrysler’s stodgy image and make it into a performance brand, in the process becoming one of the most successful drag-racing teams.

The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles: Shelby Cobras, Mustangs, and Super Snakes

by Colin Comer

This is a good book saddled with only a fair title. It should have been called simply The Book of Shelby Automobiles. Complete, in the sense of being a truly comprehensive history, it isn’t.

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