General Automotive Reviews

This is an excellent book for any Miata MX-5 enthusiast, well written with plenty of pictures. Of particular interest is the extensive and detailed history of the MX-5 with wonderful photos of prototypes and early designs.

As this book was written in the UK, it has a decided UK (actually a worldwide) flavor. Although not a negative, if you're from the U.S., it causes a few double-takes when you first see pictures of right-hand drivers. You'll also quickly get used to the language differences: boot for trunk, tonneau cover for boot, hood for convertible top, and bonnet for hood.

Written in 2002, the last year model covered is the 2001. But since very little has changed since then, the book is not seriously lacking in covering the modern versions.

Buy this book if you're interested in Miata MX-5 history details: model changes, design, production, worldwide differences. Don't buy if you're interested in performance improvements, racing, repairs, or modifications.

I, too, am concerned about the decay of our cities in the name of car culture. Asphalt Nation is a nice light reptitious long read about the problems, how we got here, and a few ideas on how to fix the problems autos have wrought. While clearly written, the author is repetitive, and I think would have had more impact in a 10-20 page article.

I had heard of this book and heard the author but didn't realize how compelling and well-written the actual story would be, not only in delivering insights on the way we have become car-dependent but in portraying the root of so many of our environmental and urban ills. Not just a diatribe, this book offers a broad and literary tale of our massive shift to automobility. Both more eloquent and factual than similar books (e.g. "The Geography of Nowhere" and "Fastfood Nation") it is a a good read and influenced my outlook on current events from global warming to farm and forest destruction to being just plain stuck in traffic. I heartily recommend it.

Asphalt Nation is wasted on any reader who would dismiss it as another disgruntled environmentalist diatribe. Aside from the obvious environmental issues of pollution and the consumption of natural resources described by the author, the more compelling sections of the book relate to the social costs of automobile dependency. Among these are the destruction of some of the nation's finest architecture in cities such as Boston and Detroit to make way for highwayws,roads and parking lots, the second class status assigned to public transportation, particularly railroads and subways which serve to break automobile dependency, and the lack of suitable space for pedestrians and bicyclists in cities and towns designed to accomodate the automobile and further dependency. The point is well made that the Amish reject the automobile not because the internal combustion engine is intrinsically evil, but that the automobile serves to break social ties and alienate fellow human beings - all one need do is to observe the typical American suburb to see this prophecy fulfilled. What we are left with in the end are "uglified" cities, congested roadways, lack of accessability for those who choose not to drive, and "carchitecture" (to steal a term from the book), that undifferentiated, generic, plastic looking architecture built along roadways, and also in residential subdivisions which serve the automobile. How many "environmental" issues have I mentioned? These are societal ills. The wanton destruction of our architectural heritage, the dumbing down of our aesthetic appreciation, the lack of societal ties, are the results of decades of poor social policy and the influence of the automobile industry's powerful lobby upon it. We are a nation that needs to preserve and protect our social and cultural heritage and identity.

This book is so full of waffle and technical innacuracies, dangerous ones at that, see the chapter on wiring a battery. You either agree with his attitude or yours doesn't count. You must do this, you must do that. My way is best, no other way counts runs all through this book. He is uncompromising and dictatorial and I'd hate to crew for him. I also wonder if his family life is as described in the book as it sounds so soap opera stereo typical, incidents pulled right from a tv show. It is not much help if you don't have money as he writes from a position of starting off with a healthy amount. All in all there are many more interesting and accurate and helpful books on this subject

If you're thinking you'd like to get a boat and push off for more than a few days, you should defintiely read this book first. It's not a manual for sailing, but rather a manual for preparing to sail. It's full of the basic kinds of information that budding cruisers need to know to help them decide if the life is right for them, while still including enough detail about boat types and systems to show that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to cruise successfully. This should definitely NOT be your boat's bible, but it's a very good and entertaining start to your library.

A must for potential cruisers. The author not only tells you what to do, he tells you why you should and backs up his reasoning with examples from his own experience of sailing half way round the world with a youg family, and the experiences of other cruisers they met on the way. It contains a wealth of information, and bursts a few long held erronous beliefs. Its suitable for both the experienced cruiser and the one who is still toying with the idea. The book is sprinkled with anecdotes which clearly demonstrate the author is a man of humour and wisdom. A thoroughly worthwhile and enjoyable book.

This book argues that GM, Ford, and Chrysler have lost their influence over American consumers because of lower quality, a focus on horsepower instead of hybrid powertrains, and otherwise not giving them what they really want. Along the way Maynard praises everything Toyota, Honda and BMW have done (and that Hyundai has done lately) before proudly proclaiming in her acknowledgements that, aside from her first car, she has always owned imports.

But does Ms. Maynard deserve the quality of her Lexus?

She criticizes Detroit for its quality control, but what about her own quality control? Aside from numerous typos, I noted the following errors in fact and basic logic:

1. She says GM once controlled 60% of the auto market. This common misconception likely springs from how sales statistics used to be published, without import sales. GM did have 60% of domestic car sales at its peak in the early 1960s, but "only" 52% of the car market.

2. She says Cadillac and Lincoln haven't led luxury vehicle sales since 1986. She's over a decade off. This is not a typo: she later states that import brands have led this segment for 15 years.

3. She says the Honda Odyssey owes its success to "its three rows of seats and solid handling." Minivans, unlike midsize SUVs (where a third row is a recent innovation), have had three rows of seats from Day One. Most likely she is referring to Honda's innovative third row that stows beneath the load floor.

4. She says the Tundra instantly made Toyota a force to be reckoned with in the large pickup market, unlike its predecessor the T100. Her evidence? Quality rankings. But the T100 was also at the top of these rankings.

5. She says Honda's original CVCC small car was likened by a critic to one of its riding lawnmowers. However, the CVCC preceded Honda's first riding mower by a decade. She might be referring to a relatively recent criticism of a 30-year-old car, but that's not at all clear and if so not relevant.

6. She says Toyota and Honda created the CR-V and RAV4 based on their superior understanding of the American consumer, when both vehicles were created for the Japanese consumer and only belatedly exported.

7. She says the Mercedes M-Class handles as well as a Mercedes car. Maybe to someone who doesn't know anything about handling...

8. She says the "escape doors" (she creates a new term without realizing it) on the Nissan Titan can be opened independently of the front doors. Nope.

9. She says pickups commonly come equipped with "unfinished or scantly painted beds." Have you seen an unpainted pickup bed?

10. She says Nissan's pickups before the Titan were "primarily popular with California surfers." I had no idea surfers were such a large market. Or is she basing this on the brochure?

11. She says Ford borrowed the Taurus's aero styling from the 1984 Audi 5000. What about the similarly styled 1983 Thunderbird? In fact, Ford introduced a number of aero cars in North America and Europe before the Audi appeared, and the two companies' aesthetics were significantly different. (Ford's bordered on bulbous while Audi's was sheer and lean.)

12. She says Ford made $2,500 on the 1986 Taurus "at a time when most companies lost money on every car they sold." In fact, 1986 was a boom year in auto sales, the best of the 1980s in sales and also quite profitable. Even in the worst years of the 1990s there was never a time when MOST companies lost money on EVERY car they sold. Think about it.

13. She says Toyota introduced a new Camry in 1988. The correct year is 1986. (She uses calendar years.) She presents it as Toyota's response to the first Taurus, which appeared at the end of 1985. Quick response.

14. She notes that the 1992 Taurus had "a larger engine" than the 1991. The four-cylinder was dropped, but Ford never sold many four-cylinder Tauruses. The V6 engines that powered the great majority of 1991s were unchanged for 1992. Larger BASE engine, sure. Significance to the consumer? Zip.

15. Explaining the failure of the 1996 Taurus: "The cheapest version cost close to $20,000, and once options were loaded on the car, the price approached $23,000. That was a steep price for a family car in the mid-1990s--still more than some Camry and Accord models cost today." No factual error here, just poor logic. I can think of no justification for comparing a loaded 1996 car to a base 2003? Does she avoid the more valid comparison between a loaded 1996 Taurus and a loaded 1996 Camry or Accord because the latter two listed for $26,700 and $25,500, respectively, or out of ignorance?

These are just some of the errors I caught in a quick read through of the first two chapters, a sixth of the book. I found many others in later chapters, but I'm about out of space. Ms. Maynard's quality control is clearly far worse than Detroit's ever was. Do people who fail to produce quality products deserve to own them? There's no law against this, but hypocrisy is another matter.

Beyond these errors, Maynard's "research" is questionable. She mentions that BMW's CEO served her chocolate cake and champagne in his hotel room. Is she trying to undermine her own credibility? More troubling, her research was not systematic. She toured import brand facilities, but not those of American brands. How are we to know the things she praises about the former are not present in the latter?

Overall, instead of rising above common perceptions, some of which are tired misperceptions, Maynard is a slave to them. Instead of conducting a thorough analysis of the major auto manufacturers, she provides highly selective, even inaccurate impressions that support a pre-formed conclusion. There is never a hint that reality might be more complicated than "import brands good, American brands bad." It is, but no one will learn that here.

I bought this book and it was a major down blow.She made several mistakes and was clearly right up into the import comanys butts.She took no time to properly go through the lineup of american cars and pretty much came to the conclution hey are all junk.She also faild to mention the fact that american automakers own large shares in more then one import company.She is clearly a big fan of imports and knows very little about what goes down in the real world.Construction sites are full of GMC,FORD,and dodge trucks.They have the torque and displacement to work ,import trucks are light duty.She failed to mention just how fast north american roads disolve the sheet metal found on import cars.The book is clearly an example of how ignorant people can be.The book makes an incredible 4 cup/can coaster.

Certainly with the problems facing the Big Two of Detroit and the company formerly known as Chrysler, I was looking forward to an enjoyable read while attempting to add one more person's perspective on Detroit's problems and whether or Ms. Maynard's reporting of the same might well be insurmountable, in turn leading to disaster for one or more of our American manufacturers.
Sadly, Ms. Maynard should have asked the Society of Automotive Historians if they would volunteer their time to proof read her book, as the numerous little factual errors built up to become a huge disappointment to me.
Additionally, Ms. Maynard falls into the trap that so many would be automotive analysts do, oversimplification of the issues at hand. By claiming that Japanese companies like Toyota never make mistakes in determining want the customers want in new products or overstating the German's abilities to capture the mood of the American public's automotive desires, she overlooks vehicles such as the Toyota Echo or Volkswagen's "soon to come to America" Phaeton.
As an automotive analyst and historian and a very harsh critic of many of Detroit's missteps along the way, I'm always on the lookout for another person's viewpoint on the present crisis. However, Ms. Maynard's book sheds little new light on the subject and many of her conclusions are simply wrong.
That doesn't mean that Detroit isn't in serious trouble, but by my analysis, the current situations that are likely to cause permanent damage to the American automobile industry has little to do with her oversimplification of the market dynamics and how Detroit is reacting to them. And because of her many small but significant mistakes in factual items that should have been corrected by a knowledgeable proofreader, I found it impossible to continue on to finish her book.
(For those who don't recall, Brock Yates wrote a similar book on Detroit's problems in the early eighties, only to find his entire thesis discredited within three years of publication by Detroit's resurgence in the market place.)

If you consider fixing your car yourself, this book is not going to help you. Well, I should have known... it covers the 6-cylinder, 8-cylinder and the diesel engine, which means that the book would have to be at least 3 times as thick to be any good. So if you are curious to know how things work in your car, but plan on having your repairs done at a shop, this book is great. But then, why would you even bother reading about it? I still wonder who could get any use out of this book... Any ideas?

This book was widely anticipated and loaded with high expectations among the 124 (E-class chassis) community. I pre-ordered a copy months in advance. Why? The factory shop manual on CD is very difficult to use. A Haynes manual is only published in Europe, and covers only European models. This means there is effectively no aftermarket shop manual for these cars, where many other MB models have one available. I think we were all expecting a "Bentley Grade" shop manual (and all that this entails), like the stellar ones produced for BMWs and Audis. What we got was essentially an enhanced owner's manual, or a buyer's guide.
If you just bought a 124, this book makes for a good orientation.
If you are considering buying a 124, this is an excellent buyer's guide.
If you want to actually fix something yourself, forget it!
The Haynes manual from the UK is still the best bet for an aftermarket workshop manual. (ISBN: 1859602533)
Anything really serious requires the factory CDs.

Some claim this book to be no more than a coffee table book, with others stating it gives maginally more information than a standard factory issued driver's handbook. Yes, it goes much further than a driver's handbook and, armed with a quality after-market workshop manual (Haynes or similar), there's very little you won't know about your Mercedes E-Class W124 series. Don't rely on this book alone if you're thinking of doing major work on your vehicle. I recommend the book if you want to use it as a supplement to the driver's handbook and workshop manual.

As soon as I started reading this well-researched and interesting book, I could here the right-wingers grinding their teeth..."Stupid commie liberal pinko pantywaist trying to tell ME what to drive?! This isn't Russia...blah, blah, blah..." And sure enough, that's the tone in a number of critical reviews posted here. Well folks, Bradsher isn't proposing banning SUVs, but he does propose ways to make them safer, and suggests for most people, a large sedan or a minivan would serve them just as well, and be a lot safer for the driver and everyone else on the road. Although this thoughtful book is well worth a read, I don't expect any of its suggested reforms to be implemented any time soon. Certainly not with our current crop of leaders...

Keith Bradsher's lively, lucid and fascinating new book on sport utility vehicles is a major milestone and wake-up call for automotive safety. Bradsher shows how these gas-guzzling highway behemoths arose from a long history of special deals for the domestic automotive industry in the form of import taxes, subsidies and countless regulatory loopholes, with automakers left off the hook for everything from miles-per-gallon and emissions standards to safety protections.

The tragic result of this piling-on of self-dealing and special favors, as well as the industry's SUV marketing juggernaut, is the spread of this most dangerous vehicle, which fails to protect its own occupants and poses a serious menace to others on the road. The loopholes also create an SUV cash cow for automakers, who are able to cut corners - - manufacturing shoddy vehicles on existing pickup-truck chassis - - and grossly increase profits in the absence of rules requiring even basic safety and environmental features.

In producing these pickups masquerading as yuppie fantasy vehicles, the automakers neglected years of highway safety research and created vehicles deliberately designed to look boxy, macho and frightening. But, in a crash, the high bumper, stiff frame and steel-beam construction of SUVs override cars and roadside guardrails. By failing to absorb crash energy or to crumple as they should, they can ram into other motorists and shock their own occupants' bodies. And their high, tippy design and weak roofs place SUV drivers at risk of death or paralysis in a rollover crash.

As if this body count were not enough, the proliferation of SUVs is also a disaster for the environment. Because of the weak rules governing fuel economy and emissions standards for light trucks, the explosion of SUVs has begun to turn back the clock on recent pollution reductions, including emissions of carbon dioxide, which causes global warming. Bradsher documents the enormous, undue influence of automakers and their unions on Capitol Hill, showing how the industry blocked new regulations over and over again.

Bradsher also points out that as SUVs begin to flood the used-car market and new SUV sales increase, the next wave of consequences will be even more devastating. In this spreading highway "arms race," more consumers may feel they must compete by up-sizing the vehicles they buy, and less experienced drivers will be behind the wheel of these hard-to-handle trucks.

Bradsher, a top New York Times reporter with years of experience covering Detroit, chronicles this growing debacle in an accessible, clear and impeccably informed style. His book is the clarion call necessary to continue the drive toward safety begun by Ralph Nader in Unsafe At Any Speed, and is a must-read for anyone concerned about this massive step backward and the real and deadly costs of American's new highway narcissism.

This a very well written book. It is great reading, hard to put down. I highly recommend buying it or checking it out of the library (you might have to wait - the book is popular).

Keith Bradsher intelligently shows how anomalies in both legal regulations and the marketplace allowed the proliferation of the modern SUVs. While there are legitimate uses and users of SUV's capabilities, most people don't buy them to go off-roading, haul boats, etc. The author reveals the marketing thinking of the SUV makers. He also writes about the safety hazards SUVs pose for their occupants and other drivers; this is combined with demographic analysis that shows, among other things, how in the future a wave of cheap second-hand SUVs will fall in the hands of unsafe drivers (teens, young males, drunks) which will deepen the saefty hazards. Environmental hazards are not overlooked. The financial impact, through insurance rates, of SUVs on the drivers of other types of vehicles is examined in depth. How magazine reviews of SUVs are written (and how companies pamper journalists) is also explained. There are tons of quotes from auto industry executives and engineers, and there are references to scientific research.

Overall, this book presents a very thorough analysis of the SUV phenomenon: history, legality, environment, safety, finances, politics, marketing, cultural trends, future, etc. This is some of the best non-fiction in recent memory. Read it. It won't disappoint you.

Baja Bugs and buggies is the bible of building a dune buggy.
This book is less use than the haynes manual.
There is no detail or any usefull tips unless you count pictures showing which way round the gearbox is installed.
It does however show that it is possible to build a dune buggy with all stock VW parts and no welding ability, although it is the ugliest dune buggy I have ever seen.

As the title says "build an dune buggy" are lacking the words "without build the chassis". This book describes the
process on building an dune buggy only conecting the parts.
There are lacking details about build the chassis.
Overall this is a good book. The chapter about the engine
is very good and teaches you how to overhaul the VW air-cooled
engine. There is a good section about brakes. As a reference
book I recommend but this book isn't it for build an dune
buggy from scratch.

Overall, it is a good book. It reads easily, ample pictures to illustrate points to those who may not be too familiar with this hobby. It's focus is more towards building a buggy from a kit, or at least, buying a commercial frame and customizing the rest to your needs. Those who are looking for principles behind the design of custom built buggies will not find a whole lot of help. General information and suggestions might be pulled from its pages, but a reference for custom builds it isn't.

A few minor layout and editing goofs were the only thing that mars an otherwise good book. A few paragraphs had lost their ends and there was one major skip that i feel should have definately been caught by the proofers.

If you like reading with a red correction pencil in hand, this is the book for you. Getting through even one chapter is a chore because the reader must navigate through a minefield of botched syntax, misspellings, garbled grammer, unfinished sentences and plain ol' bad writing. If there's an award for the worst writing and editing, this book's a shoe-in! I felt as though the writer rushed to get enough pages typed for a book and didn't bother to even do a cursory check of her work.

The content is not much better. Skip this book.

I thought the book was a wonderful read and it contained some great information on riding as well as the other ladies stories that were included in it. I thought the author included all a lady needs to know about riding when first starting out. I loved it and look forward to reading the next one out.

I really loved this book and the information given for ladies who ride has been so useful to me as a new rider such as how to ride in the rain, and how a woman can check out motorcycles before buying one. I'm looking forward to reading Miss Dicks's next book, The Devil's Playground published by Prometheus Books due out this fall. I've already read, They're Going TO Kill My Son and Death Row by this author.

A nice read with lots of history and tidbits, however, not very useful if you are looking to make repairs or get information on post 1980 Alfa Romeos. If you have a Spica injection system this book is probably a must. I did appreciate the history and commentary. I don't think it quite rates the title "Alfa Romeo Owners Bible" as there are a few psalms missing.

An excellent work by a well-known authority Pat Braden whose previous efforts include books on Abarth, Ferrari (Daytonas), and Weber. He is currently a regular columnist for the Alfa Owner, publication of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club, and the Sports Car Market Magazine.

No single work could possibly cover all the mechanical aspects of post war four cylinder Alfa Romeos (contrary to the previous posting's allusion) and neither does this. For that one can purchase one of the many shop manual reprints available from several independent Alfa parts suppliers. On the otherhand, Pat's work is an excellent (and interesting) overview of the subject written in the friendly conversational tone he is known. So buy a copy, sit in your favorite chair or under your favorite car, and be entertained.....

For those who have a decent understanding of how cars mechanicals are laid out, but who know nothing about Alfa in particular, this book is an EXCELLENT resource. Pat covers all the unique features of the Alfa engines in an interesting and engaging style of writing. The focus is slanted much more toward the 4 cylinder cars, but if you own a V6 you will find information here which is also very useful. Pat says right in the beginning of the book that you should also have a shop manual handy and that he will not repeat that information here. If you didn't read the introduction, as some people here appear not to have done, you would not know this. This is why you should read the introduction: it tells you what to expect from the book. If you are new to Alfa and you want to get your hands dirty, this is an excellent reference. Pat even gives good strategies for the hobbyist to work on things without the special Alfa tools required in some places. The hobbyist is also warned about which parts are dangerous, difficult to work on properly, or should be taken to a skilled shop for repair. He will not steer you wrong. All-in-all this is a fine work on the subject!

We've all seen this guy at a stoplight and cringed. Ballcap pulled down to conceal creeping baldness, wraparound sunglasses in place to allow maximum "leerage," arm propped self-consciously atop the steering wheel -- a reminder that adulthood for some is just a sad continuation of high school, a pathetic attempt to prove one's sexual desirability by dressing the part. The saddest aspect of this ego trip are those left behind, particularly the author's third(!) wife, who clearly recognizes (present tense) that she can't trust him around other women -- women he approaches throughout the text as "possible scores." Gross book.

James Morgan describes driving a Porsche Boxster from Miami to St. Louis to Portland to San Francisco. Morgan seems like the sort of person who experiences life as a series of car stories, and during the journey, he tells his life history with an emphasis on the automotive angle. The pivotal part of his road trip is in Portland, Oregon, which is famous for its anti-car, pro-transit policies that are known as the "new urbanism." Morgan attacks the new urbanists, and wonders why anyone would choose to stand on a windy rain-drenched street waiting for the bus when they could be driving their own car instead. It's particularly ironic when Portland planning specialists use contorted rationalizations to explain why they drive to work instead of taking the public transit that they're forcing down the throats of their fellow residents.

Morgan writes well, if you don't mind the autobiographical element overpowering the travel narrative. However, he's a dyed-in-the-wool car buff writing for other car buffs. Unless you're the sort of person who loves talking about cars, you may have difficulty connecting with this author.

I receieved this book as a Christmas gift from a fellow Porsche lover and read while I was heading home back home for the holidays. I am in my late 20's, so I have not reached my "mid-life crisis" yet, but I still enjoyed following the tales of Morgan and his thoughts about how the car has influenced our society. I enjoyed his talks while he was in Portland, Oregon. Hearing his own tales on how certain cars throughout his life played a major role in certain cross-roads kept me intrigued. I love Porsches, but I also love the idea of just hitting the road and seeing life outside my little world. As soon as I finished this book, I began "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac. So far, I see some similarites.