Classic Car Reviews

A very useful book, perfect for race engineers, and a good launching platform for an engineer just starting to delve into the field of racecar engineering. Mr Van Valkenburg has a very unique view of racecar engineering that makes his writings a pleasure to read.

Mr. Van Valkenburgh has succeeded in getting across a great deal of technical information, and presenting it in such a way that the non-technical reader can understand and apply it. From tires and shocks, to suspension geometry and slip angles, all of the nuts and bolts info. is covered. No muss, no fuss, no useless information that won't help you win races, just factual, useful information. I take it with me every time we go to the track, and I use it every time.

Does anyone know if this book is available as a cd rom

The Standard Catalog of American Cars is the best source for in-depth information on all makes of American cars. In addition to thousands of photos, the catalog includes specs, serial numbers, production totals, and current values on a 1 to 6 scale. Specs include original prices, weight, options, engines, overall length, wheelbase lenth, locations of factories, and much more. It's a great first source for anyone that's thinking of buying an older American car. It arms the potential buyer with enough information to have an intelligent conversation with anyone selling classic cars. With the information in this book, I've talked to sellers and knew more about their car than they did. As an old car collector and hobbyist, I've found it to be an indispensable tool. The only criticism I have is that I wish it had more photos in general, especially color.

The Standard Catalog of American Cars really sets the
standard to an automotive history book. The information is
overwhelming, and you will find yourself glued to the book
any chance you get.It's also a great book for anyone looking
for a used domestic automobile. It lets you find the right
car, and gives you options that you can look for while
shopping for your car. This is not a book for page flippers.
But it will fill your head with a wealth of information.
Best book ever!!!!!

This book is not for everyone. Flammang and Kowalke have given us not merely a reference book, but a sort of "living history" of the American automobile industry's most challenging era. It's great fun to track the changes in American cars from the North American Vinyl-Backed Road Pigs of the mid-70s through the confusing transitional years of the 80s, on into the rebirth of the American auto industry in the 90s. Reading this book not only shows you how the way cars are built has changed; you also get a sense of how the way cars are sold has changed.

The reason this book is not for everyone is that this is essentially an encyclopedia. There's a section for every American automaker, and within those sections, a section for every model year. Thus you can learn what makes, say, a 1978 Chevy Impala different from the 1979 models. Or you can read about the travails of the Ford Motor Company in the late 70s and see how they dug themselves out of a rut with their products. Flammang and Kowalke have done a good job researching this book and finding telling little factoids to help illustrate where each company was at in a given year.

This book is also a boon to collectors, as it gives fairly complete production numbers. You can learn about ultra-rare body styles, option packages, and the like.

I've only got one quibble: the authors exclude any discussion of "captive imports" (cars produced by foreign manufacturers but sold with American names, like the Dodge Colt and Ford Fiesta). I can understand their rationale, but there are future collectibles among these cars, and it's been a *long* time since the Standard Guide to Imported Cars has been updated. On the whole, though, this is a good book for any hard-core auto enthusiast, and one of the best rainy-day reads I've got.

There are chapters of SAH throughout the USA and in Britain. They vary in size and interests; some are primarily social and others have regular historical programs for their members. A few, like the Wisconsin chapter, carry on chapter-wide research and writing projects. This work has culminated in the publcation of their first book, timed to coincide with the state's sesquicentennial celebrations.

Wisconsin Cars and Trucks is neatly organized into ten chapters plus an appendix listing over 80 automotive marques built in the state, and an index. Seven of the chapters cover vehicle manufacture; steam cars, trucks, major car and truck manufacture today, and four regional summaries covering vehicles built in Racine, Kenosha, southeast Wisconsin, and the Fox River Valley. Complimentary chapters concern component manufacturers, related auto topics (mostly Wisconsin license plates). The authors of several of the chapters are authorities on their subjects; most are chapter members. coverage of Wisconsin vehicles is exhaustive, from J.W.Carhart's 1871 steam-propelled "Spark" to present day Chrysler production in Kenosha, including the "mainstream" Nash, Kissel, Case and Mitchell, the not so wellknown Harris Six and Wausau Flyer, and the very obscure Ballard and Radford.

The book is nicely produced, with generally good quality photo reproduction, and a smooth-reading text, that belies its origins on the keyboards of 16 authors. Editor Quandt, who wrote a good many of the chapters himself, is to be congratulated on this book, which will tell you just about everything you could want to know about the automobile industry in Wisconsin.

I like to read books like this! Many of the articles, oops, chapters, may have been printed before in a local newsletter, but who cares? They seem well researched and are presented with a good deal of respect. Surprise!

Kenosha built automobiles make up only 10% of the pages in Wisconsin Cars and Trucks. There could have been more pages dedicated to the largest and longest-lasting manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, but there was so much more to cover, and besides that story is better covered in a book of its own.

The list of 183 brands of vehicles built in Wisconsin in the last 100 years is impressive. Kissel Kar, Mitchell, National and Rambler were the big ones during the brass era, but there were others and many of them are covered quite nicely. Harley-Davidson is not covered at all but, then again, has never been accused of making a car or truck.

Chapter 9 covers manufacturers of automotive components and it is quite interesting.

Wisconsin Cars and Trucks is not a coffee table book. It is something to read cover to cover and to be thankful for.

John C. Meyer III

From a 1903 Packard to a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air Convertible to a 1992 Saturn--The 2000 Standard Guide to Cars & Prices is an exceptionally comprehensive price guide covering vehicles for most of the last century. Prices/values are shown using the "1 through 6" rating system, which is the standard in the auto-enthusiast arena. Also included are lesser-known vehicle makes and models, like the Frazer, the Hupmobile and the Henry J, as well as light domestic trucks and even imports. Even the book's size makes it convenient to carry in your own vehicle or to take to car shows. Cars & Prices is a must-have for the serious car collector, restorer, seller or admirer of classic and soon-to-be classic vehicles.

In the 50s and 60s we had the Coventry Climax 750cc race engine for cars. The present day equiv. is the Reliant 750/850. This book covers that engine completely and in depth.

An excellent source for anyone interested in the sometimes strange world of car dealers. Covers the history of car dealerships from the turn of the century to today. Chapters dealing with the design of a dealership and the history of famous and not so famous marques add to the over 130 black and white and 40 color photographs. Well written and fascinating. If you know a car nut this is the Christmas present of the year.

Stanley Nowak was a founding member of the Long Island Old Car Club. He began with a 1919 Stellite Cloverleaf Tourer in 1949! He restored and supervised the restoration of over 15 cars -- from a 1931 MG C-Type Montlhery Midget (now in the Long Island Automotive Museum) to the oldest Ferrari in the world.

While published in the 1970s, this book contains invaluable (and hard to find) advice on what to buy, how to begin, and saving money in the process.

I really like the organization of the book by different material types with different chapters on these topics: dealing with rust, coachwork, road wheels, woodwork, glass, broken pieces and welding, instruments and electrical. Additionally, there is advice on preparing for shows, preparing for storage, and AFTER storage. This is a recommended and affordable useful study guide in this field. My only complaint is that I wish it was a bigger, longer book, by a man of that kind of expertise and experience!

These literary, humorous sketches may be difficult to easily categorize but any with an appreciation for Mark Twain's wry sense of observation will find this an engrossing gathering of sardonic observations of everyday people. Cannibalism in the Cars focuses on Mark Twain's early sketches, many now available only here.

This book has beautiful pictures, is a great gift for those who have a passion for classic cars. It is divided in cars from the United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, is worth every cent!