General Automotive Reviews

I loved this book! I was very concerned about buying a car. Now I am well informed and prepared to stand my ground. Many of the key points have been mentioned by other auto experts. I do not feel so vulnerable now when I walk into the showroom. This book is must for anyone thinking about a car purchase. I am so glad it has become part of my auto purchasing research library. I now see all the things I did incorrectly last summer when I first glaced at some models. I also laugh about the crap that the saleperson said to me and the stupid questions he asked. I won't be visiting that dealership again. I'll drive by in my pre-owned Grand Am (baby #2 :)) and wave and I will laugh and thank Pique again.

I was in the market for a new vehicle, and even being a guy, I was not 100% sure of what I was going up against with the car dealers. Ms. Lyle's book is informative, entertaining and a MUST read for anyone who is considering buying or leasing a vehicle. I purchased the book, read it completely a few times, and went to the dealership and saved almost $3000! Buy this book!

When someone reccomended the book to me , I thought it would probably not be of any help considering I've purchsed several cars and thought I pretty much thought I had the idea of the whole thing....But Pique's book opens new ideas that I had never even thought of as being a rip off ...the book is definitley worth buying , considering you will learn soo many new things in a clear , light hearted manner ! A car buyer must!

It is understood that to better appreciate anything in our modern life we need to go back to its origins. Authors Lamm and Holls did that quite adeptly with a wonderfully organized automotive chronology...with the pages beautifully arranged. Most striking is the contrast and resolution of the black and white photographs, which, as the professional photographer already knows, are often preferred over color for those very reasons. Beginning with a light treatise on shipbuilding as a starting point, our authors lead us on a journey through coachbuilding, the "Nuts and Bolts of Early Automotive Fashion" (Chapter 2) and styling designs of the Big Three Automakers: Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.

This book is not, however, simply an encyclopedia or recalling of events. It analyzes the overall effect that the lives of the designers themselves, and their families, had on our own modern culture. These insights are precisely what sets this book apart from a simple narrative with pictures. Consequently, we can then appreciate how much work is actually instilled into what we drive today. This book basically teaches us that automotive design is at the very foundation of our modern heritage.

Covering 306 pages over fourteen chapters, highly illustrated and perfectly indexed, "A Century of Automotive Style" is practically an education by itself, or more specifically, that of the social and economic impacts of automobile styling on our American culture. Knowledgeable, well-written and extremely detailed, this excellent work is clearly indicative of our author's background at GM's advanced design facility and formal schooling in industrial design. ... My top recommendation for all readers.

Like sweets in a hiding spot, you'll keep coming back just to sample. Open it to any page, and you're immediately swept into the world of car design as you've never seen it presented before - the faces and names behind the cars, the corporate struggles, the hits, misses, and might-have-beens. Peppered with fabulous design sketches and factory photos, there's enough eye candy here to guarantee that even the least auto-savvy among us will never look at a parking lot the same way again. For any kid who drew on the back of his or her notebook, wondered where fins came from, (Not Finland - sorry), or got giddy over riding in the front seat, this is wonderful - heck, required - reading.

Lamm and Holls have hit a home run! This book will provide any car lover with many hours of informative and pleasurable reading.

I just read this book for school and i thought it was amazing. David Langston is the sweetest guy, working and caring for his wife. I really liked this book because I can almost relate to it, being fortunate enough to have a boyfriend who is as wonderful as David. The augthor really gives the characters life, and reading this book makes you feel like you are actually there with David and Ruth. Excellent reading....I highly recommend it!

This is one you will read over and over. Yes, it is old-fashioned, but that is part of its charm. My sister loves this book so much she planned her vacation trip around visiting Gene Stratton Porter's home. For anyone who loves romance!

This romance novel in my mother's girlhood collection was the first novel I ever read. The Harvester, a hermit who lives alone and supports himself by growing, harvesting and drying medicinal herbs, has vision of a wonderful woman. He sets out in search of her among the city streets by knocking on doors and selling flowers. He finds his girl, but she is traumatized and ill. The Harvester builds a home for her and establishes a relationship only to have her become so ill she almost dies. How he wins both her life and love make this story one you will never forget! If only Hollywood knew, we could have an academy award if this were ever made into a movie - it's a treasure!

The author gives information in this book which is probably not compiled anywhere else.

This book is probably the only one around which gives details on how to keep the Corvair running. Common-language terminology makes the author easy to understand, and Corvair ancedotes keep the reader entertained.

The one drawback is that many of the illustrations are hand-sketches. Such sketches may or may not be useful to the reader when trying to use them to supplement the text. Similarly, some of the photos are too dark to be useful, though most are quite good.

I generally enjoyed the book.

After purchasing my first Corvair, this was the first book I purchased to support it.Well known to all Corvair enthusiasts, Richard Finch hits the mark by providing basic survival information on the Corvair. A "must have" when new to the Corvair world and a great addition to any automotive library!

This book has saved my life, not to mention a lot of time, in restoring and maintaining my 1964 Spyder Convertible. Many thanks to Mr. Finch for the many photos and drawings. Also for easy to understand language used in the book.

(...)I could have used Mr. Berardelli's text a few years ago.
Now, I have the book wrapped up and ready when my two speed demon grandsons hit the magic driving age.
I agree also with Berardelli's comments about professional driver training being essentially inadequate. Bob Bondurant or Skip Barber training is expensive but worth it. The High School Driver Ed guy is not up to the task.

Berardelli does a great job of coaching parents on 1) how to cope with teaching your teen to drive, and 2) how to engage your teen to see the responsibility and honor having a drivers license really is. My book is a bit tattered. I have 3 teen boys, 2 with licenses. I used his suggestions, particularly the 100-hour lesson log, to negotiate expectations for driving in our family. My husband and I take teaching our kids to drive very seriously. We have not delegated it to the school or a driving instructor. Cars are just too fast, too many drivers are either ignorant of the laws of physics or don't think they apply to them in their cars, and we all just make mistakes on the road. My sons attend a rural, private high school with @160 students. In the past 4 years, 2 teens have died in car crashes. It's the greatest fear I have, not random terrorism.
I highly recommend this book as a dialog tool with your teen. I have used it as a "mediator" of sorts, turning to it to stop arguements about driving techniques with my sons. Every high school driving instructor should distribute this book to all their parents!

Anyone who thinks a few hours of commercial or parental driving instuction is sufficient either does not have kids or lives on another planet. Mr. Berardelli is right on target with this book. I would highly recommend it to parents and commercial driving instructors to pass on to parents. (...) Every teen (and older driver too) could use support and guidance this book gives.

This story is the tragic account of the completely unneccessary death of a young child because of an airbag. I often found myself crying as the author spelled out some of the details of the ordeal that he and his family lived through as a result of that car accident. I found myself crying both for them and for me (because I, too, have suffered loss because of an airbag). I think that this book was probably a tremendous avenue for the author to deal with his grief, and I applaud his courage for doing so. At times, I found myself to be disturbed by the descriptions of some of the things that the family chose to do related to final arrangements for their daughter. Everyone, however, deals with grief and loss in his/her own way...and has the right to do so. Once again, courageous, but disturbing. Overall, a pretty well-written story - almost more of a journal,really. I found myself wanting more to be said about the dangers of airbags than was said. I realize, however, that the author's focus was honoring the loss of a child in his life....not "righting the wrongs" of the automotive industry. And in that, he did a good job.

Facing the unthinkable--the sudden death of a child--this thought lurks uncomfortably in the corners of my and every parent's mind. What is the big picture of life and death, destiny, the love and role of parent and child, family, and the friendship of others? Alison's Gift is the story of the sudden death of a child of a mother that could easily be in my own circle of friends. Beth Sanders, with the support of her friends and family, follows her own intuition about how to handle the physical, emotional, and spiritual details of the crossing of her child from this life into the next. I found myself fasciinated, touched, and, yet, strengthened by the telling of this story by author, Pat Hogan. The results were a sense of inner calm and that "unthinkable" feeling subsiding. This book has that ability to show the reader how to tread down a path that we all are unsure of. It is a book to read and pass around.

Alison was a delightful and loving little girl who lost her life all too soon. Fortunately, Alison's mission, her song of peace, her vision of helping other people realize their potentials was her legacy. Although we paid the highest price with the loss of this wonderful, gifted, loving child, we did inherit her legacy. We love Alison.

The book (a second edition with some additions) details the build of the Locost (Low Cost) replica of the Lotus Super 7. It's a solid primer on the subject, complete with plans for building the chassis, panels, suspension, etc. However, the book was written based on stripping parts primarily from a Euro Ford Mk2 Escort (RWD). While the car was sold in the UK, and other parts of the world, this car was never sold in America. Americans wishing to build a Locost will have to get a little more creative in sourcing parts!

Its an exciting read and I look forward to attempting my own Locost build (albeit with American-sourced components) at some point in the future.

This is an excellent book to help you develop your own first kit car. It will guide you step by step including how to weld, where to source parts, etc. It is an inspiring book!

What a concept! Building your own car! With this book Ron Champion outlines a plan for building your own Lotus Seven/Westfield clone. Some sections may be not as detailed as some people would prefer but overall it is excellent and informative. There are lots of builders and discussion groups that readers could join and learn from. The most valuable part of this book, in my opinion, is how to build the frame. The frame is built from square section steel tubing and welding equipment is required. Parts like the nosecone, windscreen, etc. can be fabricated or bought. There are quite a few Seven clone manufacturers around the world. The 'for as little as..' part may be a slightly incorrect but its much cheaper than most kit cars. In the course of building this car the reader will have to learn a lot about suspensions, drivetrain and engine rebuilding, fibreglass work, etc. It's almost like an outline for a course in Motor Vehicle Technology! I must say that this is one of the best car books I have ever read and if you've ever had schoolboy dreams of building your own roadster type car then you've definitely got to get this book!

Even with all the other books on GP Ferraris I already had, I found that this one was essential. Most of the photos I had not seen before, and the human side of the team is particularly well presented. A nice touch is the section showing Ferraris at the same corner at Monaco every year over a 22-year span.

I got this book as a gift from Rainer's son Boris. It is the ultimate gift a tifosi can get - a complete 1950 - 1996 history of a team that is often considered as a synonymous for formula 1 passion. Photographs made in style that is very own for Maranello based team - red love, red faith, red blood of driver's like Bandini or Villeneuve for who red was the colour of their blood leaked for the belief of success. Rainer Schlegelmilch can be proudly crowned as a 'commendatore' of photography. He said it all. You'll never be a real formula 1 fan if you don't have this book! And I give five stars because I have it autographed... ;-)

More than just a collection of truly exquisite pictures, this large-format volume -- in English, German and French -- covers each car, driver and season of Scuderia Ferrari's fabled GP history, including today's Maranello team assembled by Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemelo. As Niki Lauda's forward aptly states, Schlegelmilch's photography shows a "consistency of performance linked with the Ferrari virtues of brilliance and a finely-tuned sense of aesthetics." At nearly 350 pages (with several appendices), Ferrari F1 is a tour de force for Tifosi everywhere.

Although there may be a few minor details subject to scrutiny, this work meets an important need. Replete with color and B/W photos, the authors point out the differences between the various Ford N-models, and attempt to illustrate the important details to be considered when restoring these tractors. Paint details, variations in models and years, options, and anomalies are described in detail. As with many Motorbooks International publications, there is a tendancy to use oft-published photos, but this is not a major concern. A section on the popular Sherman auxiliary transmissions includes a table of various gear ratios and speed ranges. Original and aftermarket reproduction aprts are compared and the appendix includes a pretty thorough list of suppliers. While this book is not the final authority on the subject, it is by far the best thing yet to come out on this topic. Highly recommended.

I previously stated that the pictures used in this edition were previously published. This statement is in error. The confusion arose because many tractors included have been seen in other works. The author assures me that these pictures are all new issues.

this was a great buy. it has great info about the models, specs, restoation, and even funk and sherman stuff.