Classic Car Reviews

I bought this book because it's very silly. Rather than make fun of classic cars, it glorifies them because they have fins. Yet, it does so in a very matter-of-fact and understated way.

The layout is quite plain, without the glut of pseudo-1950s designs that often accompanies such books. The many photos are the main substance of the book, and the cars can be seen clearly.

The title, "Cars With Fins," says it all. The book is no more and no less than that.

Almost every over-sized page contains a full-color photo of a great truck. Truck lovers will enjoy learning about army trucks, tractor trailers,tankers, and a variety of trucks from around the world. A must-buy for your truck lover. He/she will be reading it again and again.

This book is a collection of articles, with accompanying advertisements, from "Jaguar Enthusiast" magazine. It covers the major areas from body work, to suspension, to engine, drive train, and exhaust.

I used this book more as a guide to the steps that must be completed. It is not a detailed account of each overhaul. When accompanied by a Jaguar Repair Operation Manual and a Jaguar Parts Catalog, you wind up with almost all of the documentation you need.

Note: This car is most helpful for restoring Jaguar Series I, II, and III cars built from the early '70s through the late '80s. Though some of the information may be useful, this book does not cover newer models of the XJ40 and beyond.

John Tipler is no stranger to motoring publications, having to his credit two books on Lotus (Seven and Elise) and a host of books on other marques. Lotus Racing Cars is the latest in his bibliography and consists of two volumes, one spanning the years 1948-1968 and the other 1968-2000. They are reviewed together because the second is a continuation of the first. Why these books were not published in one volume is not clear, I can not imagine anyone buying one volume and not the other.

The subject matter has been extensively covered in other volumes, notably Nye's Theme Lotus, Pritchard's Lotus, All the Cars, and Taylor's The Lotus Book, so little new ground is covered. But the value of the books lies in the format and content. All of the racing cars, from Formula 1 icons to also rans in the minor formulae, are covered. The photos are extensive and appear to have never been published in the compendium of Lotus literature. Tipler includes anecdotal information from those who were there, including notables like Jim Enruweit. Of particular interest are the John Player Special Years where Tipler was on the inside as part of the John Player Special promotion team. Having read all of the previously published books on Lotus and its racing cars, I can say that there is a plethora of detail information that sheds insight into the ups and downs of Team Lotus.

Overall these volumes are a worthy contribution to the annals of Lotus history. The only drawback is the two-volume format. Tipler has clearly shown his knowledge of and dedication to the marque. I'm looking forward to his upcoming book on the Lotus 25/33.

For the international classic-car-collector this is a comprehensive book on the different antique and classic cars that are available in the European market, mainly in the UK. It covers mostly the known models in detail, sometimes lacking in the more popular ones. The pricing of the Guide is based on the British market but as far as I could compare to the actual values I encountered - there are differences (but that may be acceptable). The model pricing is based on the 1-2-3 codition and not on the 1-6 classification popular in the USA, but is fair. I found it very useful (as the managing secretary of the Israel Classic & Collectors Vehicle Club) in aiding many of our members to value their purchases from abroad and while searching for finds in other European countries - with a very good feedback on most parts. The book is also a good refernce for details on rare cars and models.

this is a great book which pay tribute to all the awesome cars of the past. I must have for classic car lovers.

I'm no muscle car expert and wasn't looking for an in-depth analysis of a particular car. I found this book to be a fun look at a few of the best and it includes some interesting insights into the companies and people behind them. If you're looking for a quick, easy read with a few beautiful color photos of the Judge, the Boss, the SS, the 442 and their kin, or if you know someone who is curious about the cars from movies like XXX, Fast and the Furious (Vin's old Dodge) and Bullitt, you'll like this one!

My good review of "Mustang-- America's Favorite Pony Car" may come as a surprise to people how know me. Even for people like me who love old American cars, Mustangs are one of those subjects that's been done to death, along with '55-'57 Chevys, Thunderbirds, and streetrods. I really didn't want to see yet another book on Mustangs, but I found myself unable to put this one down. This is not just another Mustang pep rally. For the first time in years, I found myself learing something about Mustangs. I've seen many California Specials, but I never knew the details of Mustang's High Country Special for 1968 or the evolution of Steve Saleen's amazing post-muscle-era custom performers. Like many, I had passed off the 1970's Pinto-based Mustang IIs as laughable relics of the bad old days, but more than any other chapter, the Mustang II story fascinated me with new and interesting material. For any Mustang enthusiast who's tired of the same old "aren't they wonderful" thing, this book will be a real joy with some subtle humor along the way. Apparently, terrified children were a Mustang option for 1967.

I found this book very complete for some of the classics I see regularly pop up in the classified. It is nice to have a price guide available for cars that can be difficult to assess the value of.

when looking for books on a particular make of car (crosley a kind of rare car)I came across "rays wrecking yard roster", this book was being sold on an online auction, so I looked for it on Amazon.com, where I easly found it (for a 3rd of the auction price). this book is broken down state by state, and car make by car make, has phone#s, addresess, open times, even some e-mail and 1-800#s. it is very acurate and even contains maps for each state. after looking though the related sections I found more then 30 yards that contaned at least 1 or more crosley, 1 of the yards being only 25 miles away from my own town, this book is great for anyone who is looking for parts for that restoration project or daily driver and I highly recomend it.