Automotive Books

Our 19 month old grandson loves Cars, Trucks and Things That Go, so this book is perfect for him. It is not too old for him. He looks and looks at the pictures on the pages and says the name of the object over and over.
He has learned many new words from having this book.

The Pig family takes a road trip. On their way to the beach for a picnic, they encounter cars and trucks, vans and motorcycles, tractors and buses. What an exciting day!

My kids delighted in finding Goldbug. A very fun book for children who like cars.

After wearing out a couple of these books 30 years ago with our own kids, we still have fun giving copies to new parents so that their kids can enjoy the search for Gold Bug with them--over and over again. The detailed illustrations keep kids' attention for hours, and the fanciful vehicles and their drivers are great for feeding little imaginations. There is a whole host of R. Scarry books, but this is the one we like the most.

I remember this book from when I was a kid. Now my two year old has it and he loves looking at the great illustrations and learning new words. He even insist it goes to bed with him every night. A very good book for 2-year old boys who are curious about "things that go". A must have!

I recall reading this book to my younger sister many years ago.
I recently purchased this for a 6 year old. He squealed with delight.
It is his favorite R S book.

Richard Scarry books are classics - great for young & old.
Delightful pictures & so fun to look at!

If I had one book about driving to recommend this would certainly be it. Skip Barber managed to cover pretty much every aspect of how to drive fast around a track in step-by-step, clear and easy to understand fashion. The book is well ilustrated and well structured.
I personaly haven't taken classes at his school, but I'm pretty shure that all the knowledge he tries to pass and his method are put down in words in this masterpiece. It's the closest from a racing driving class you can get without actually driving around a track with an instructor at your side.

From what I've read so far, it is a great book which covers the aspects of "Going Faster" (whad'ya know?) More theory, rather than dealing with the hands-on-at-the-track-i-need-to-make-sure-the-car-is-running-before-i-go-out, part. Great for people (like the book says) "who want to get into racing or want to appreciate more of what the pro's do when they're spectating from the stands. I haven't read Speed Secrets yet, but from what I read from the reviews, it should be similar.
Compared to Secrets of Solo Racing (which I have read), there's much more useful information for me, because it has more material covering driving rather than covering the entire autocrossing experience (volunteering, clean up, what to take to the track...you can get this from your close autocrossing friends. So focus on driving well with what you have).
All in all, main point is, great book if you want to learn how to drive fast.

My wife and I just completed our first high performance driver training event sponsored by our local Porsche Club of America chapter. The book was recommended by my driving instructor. It seems to be a very detailed version of the Skip Barber Racing School classroom material. Lots of photos and diagrams that make the concepts easy to understand. Reading the information is like listening to my driving instructor all over again. I've purchased two other books on the subject. One was so technical it was difficult to understand and the other was 98% the author telling how great he was during his racing career. This book is spot on. It is a must have for anyone who is about to attend a driving school or is a spirited driver.

If you interested in racing or virtual racing, this book is fantastic. It's an interesting read probably for even just fans of racing. I keep my copy on the toilet and have had many productive sessions.

When starting my book project "Go Ahead - Take the Wheel," I decided to focus my book on how people can start racing be it autocrossing, high performance driving events, and wheel-to-wheel racing on budgets ranging from economy to extravagant. I choose not to go into much detail on driving techinques in part because there are fantastic books such as Going Faster and Speed Secrets that serve as resources on driving techinques.

This is a book that a racer will read through once, then continually come back to read again learning new things each time. It truly is one of the great books on how to drive a racecar.

After reading this book and doing what it said, I saved over $4,000 on my new Camry. If you're looking for a new (or even used) car, this book will teach you what discounts the dealers receive, what the kickbacks are, what you should expect to pay for your new car and how to get the best deal possible. The book will teach you how to pit the dealers against each other and give you the upper hand when it comes to negotiating. No more sitting in a dealership for hours while they play their waiting games, no more high-pressure sales, no more haggling. The "fax attack" portion of the book tells you where to get the information about your car, how to present your deal, and who to fax your information to. It's that simple. With just a little research on your part, you can make a really great deal. Simply put, do the research, create your fax, send to the dealers in your area (the more the better), wait for the phone to start ringing with great offers on the car that you want. Take the lowest offer and call the dealers who will, in turn, try to beat the offer. Do this until all of them are done bidding. Go pick up your car.

If you are reading this review then your must be considering buying a new car. Don't even think about walking into a dealership and talking to the salespeople. Except of course to test drive and see which one you really want. After that run out of the showroom. I highly recommend using Mr. Bragg's strategy for buying a car. It is so easy and stress free and you will have the dealers eating out of the palm of your hand. I also highly recommend visiting his web site fightingchance.com and purchasing his information package. Actually if you get the package you may not even need the book. But the book is a good read in any event. I was looking for a compact car which typically doesn't have a lot of wiggle room for dealers because they generally don't come with expensive extras like leather seats, real wood trim etc.... I was able to get mine for $1150 under dealer invoice and maybe could have even gone a little lower but I had to stop the dealers from chasing me at some point. It was crazy. I finally just said enough. It works that well. Before finding Mr.Bragg's information I probably would have been happy to get a couple hundred of the MSRP. I can laugh about that now. One word of caution would be if you use this method and have a trade-in the dealers might try to really stick it to you on your trade. They won't be making much if any money on the sale of the car to you so they will most likely try to make it by low balling you on your trade-in. That was my experience until I told them I'd take it some where else and sell it. Bottom line is if you think you can walk into a showroom and negotiate the best deal, you're CRAZY. Buy the book or buy the info packet. And pocket the rest of your hard earned money.

James Bragg has made a successful career out of helping people through the intimidating process of buying cars. And his success is well-deserved. I just recently bought my first new car. I had put off the process for a long time, because:
(1) I'm young and could be seen as an easy target by car salesmen
(2) I was intimidated and had how idea how to even approach the car buying process.

So I began to do my homework, researching car buying on the web. I found a lot of advice out there, much of it conflicting. One thing people never disagreed upon was the value of the Fighting Chance, the information service by James Bragg. When I finally decided that the time was right, I ordered the Fighting Chance and bought this book. Armed with the all of the knowledge and preparation I needed, I now knew exactly what I needed to do to launch a successful "fax attack" on dealerships surrounding me. I knew exactly how to field every response from car dealers. I knew how not to fall into their traps. I knew how to defend myself and control the situation. I was doing everything on my terms and not letting the salesmen know too much or dictate any of the terms. I got a great price on a car (way below invoice price). And when I went to the dealership to sign all of the papers, I knew exactly what to do and what to look out for. I drove away feeling happy, satisfied, and NEVER taken advantage of.

This book will arm you with all of the knowledge you need to buy a new car. You'll know exactly what to say in every situation. And you'll know how to not fall into playing a car salesman's games. Whether you've done it before or not, you will be amazed by how effective the techniques taught in this book are. James Bragg's writing is entertaining; you'll breeze through and thoroughly enjoy this book. As one reviewer said, this book does somewhat play out like a long infomercial for the Fighting Chance service. But it fleshes out a lot of areas that Fighting Chance doesn't. And for someone like me who has never done this before, it helped me walk into the dealership with full confidence that I would get what I want.. with no surprises. It is a vital companion piece to the Fighting Chance package.

If you're in the market to buy a new car, you need this book. If you think you can get a great deal by walking into a dealership (or a few) and negotiating well, you are greatly mistaken. Buying a car is like a high stakes game of poker. And the dealership is holding most of the cards most of the time. This book will give you a chance to level the playing field. And it will enable you to have the upper hand in getting the best price for the car you want.

This book provides good practical advice for buying or leasing a car. It is clear and easy to understand and takes all the mystery out of the process. I also learned about my own motivations for buying a new car and how car stores are ready to separate me from my money. The book, however, is a couple of years out of date. It's not critical but more up to date data and more info available on the internet should in my opinion be included. The techniques offered for saving money are sound.

The "fax attack" method for purchasing a new car is genius. I not only got my 2007 Honda Civic for the least expensive price out of the 18 dealerships I faxed in Illinois (darn near the whole state, excluding some northern Chicagoland dealers), but I was able to sleep at night. Not ONCE did I wonder, "could I have gotten this at a lower price?" because I knew for a FACT that the price I got was not only the lowest at that time for that model, but was also fair. Ever get burned by a dealership? (Don't lie, everyone has, even if it was just a waste of time.) Well, buy this book, study it well, and you won't get burned again.

Precious information to any one who practice or simply want to understand the technical side of motor sports.

I read this book upon a recommendation of another book titled "Go Ahead - Take the Wheel" which describes how people can begin racing. The author of that book explains that it's purpose is to provide people the necessary guidance needed to get into racing (which it does a fantastic job of), and recommends a couple of other books that discuss driving techniques. One of the books "Go Ahead - Take the Wheel" recommended is Speed Secrets. Both books are very well written and provided me everything I need to get started in racing.

I really enjoyed how Speed Secrets was written and made me feel like the author Ross was coaching me in person. Great gook and well worth the money.

Any gearhead should read this book about racing. Learn what race car drivers do while on the circuit and find out about car modifications.

This book is an absolute must for any novice or even intermediate racer. I race karts often and bought this book recently to enhance my skills.
Within a week of reading this book I have already dropped more than a FULL SECOND off my lap times!!! MUST READ MATERIAL!

Read the book over vacation, the info it gives you is great but a lot of it only works if you actually drive a Formula or Sport Racer Vehicle. Lots of info about tracks and courses, how to get the ideal line in an apex, and how to drive smoothly and fast gain control, then it repeats itself again, so this makes an illusion that there are a lot of secrets even though he is just repeating it using different verbiage. This is a great book for advanced racers that understand the concept and terminology of F1 type races and it helps you prepare for a F1 race too but for an average driver trying to learn the ropes this book might be to hard and doesn't help much with everyday driving since a lot of the techniques is for driving above 150mph and plus F1 has totally different suspension systems and steering systems then regular sport cars so if you try it it might feel weird. You learn the heal toe move which I have been trying to get for a while, very detailed and lots of graphs, data charts, and drawings. I personally had to skip some chapters because I was not interested tracks, officials, and what they do with the flags, and some more stuff because a lot of it does not apply to me as I do not own a formula car or race professionally in such a track they described, but I did read about perfect turning and control plus weight transfer and how to keep that center of gravity which helps me in the real world of driving on the streets. I feel that I am going a lot faster in my car by being able to turn safely yet not slowing my car down to much where it would take longer to accelerate plus I have been able to drive fast yet so smooth that my mom fell asleep the whole time as I drove her. So i was really happy with that info. I am a mechanic and I test race clients vehicles at the track, my average speed is 140mph so you know my point of view

This book is definitely not for beginnings. The authors have put too many technical words into each sentence, which makes for much confusion. There are many fine books out there for those who are beginning to learn about automobiles. This is not one of them.

This book has alot of good information about automotive technology. It has the basics and foundation to get you started in your career as a technician or if your just curious about the industry in general. Great book.

I've always been interested in cars but never knew very much about what was under the hood other than the very basics. All I'd previously done to my cars is top off any fluids, change burned out bulbs and change flat tires. So, I finally decided to learn about cars and do some maintenance myself which led to this book. It took me a full year to read completely (maybe 2 months actually reading) but with a new baby and a move to a new house mixed in, I think I did pretty well! I was very serious about learning and that is almost a requirement as this book is very detailed and needs to be studied in many areas to really understand the concepts, especially if you have nothing else to go on.

This is a multi-semester text book intended for students in an auto shop class that covers all automotive systems from engine internals to wiring to air conditioning. Everything is covered in detail with multiple designs of components covered where appropriate.

My only complaints are that many times the text references figures that are on the next page so there's a lot of flipping back and forth. Also, some illustrations are a little difficult to make out to really visualize a complex part while some exploded views (many direct from manufacturers) are so overly detailed that the important information discussed in the text is lost.

These are small gripes though as the few gaps left from a few sections with bad drawings can be supplemented with an internet image or animation from sites like howstuffworks.com. These really help with things like differentials and transmissions.

Otherwise, armed with the knowledge in this book you will have no problem understanding any shop manual and doing most auto maintenance yourself. Where the Haynes manual you buy at the auto parts store goes over your specific car and what bolts to loosen to fix whatever and the torque required when you bolt it back together, this book goes into much more detail on all systems in a more general but complete way. It doesn't assume you know any of the basics. The layout is pretty good too. Things are broken up so you don't have a lot of very detailed chapters all bunched up like engine internals, carburetors and transmissions. They are seperated by chapters like Tool identification and use, electricity fundamentals and wheel alignment. The best part is how everything builds on previous chapters or sections. For example, the engine internals section starts with just a piston in a cylinder, then they add valves, then cooling, then timing for those valves, etc until all the major components are added to the final engine drawing.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It's obviously a mature work (previous edition copyrights go back to 1963!) and I can't see much that can be improved. So buy this book, a service manual for your car, a jack and some tools from Sears and do your own work and be able to knowledgeably discuss more complex procedures with your mechanic when it comes to that. Also find a forum on the internet for your car (such as automotiveforums.com) for help troubleshooting.

I am a beginner mechanic, this book is helpful in explaining how a vehicle works. It shows you many types of engines, there parts and how they work together, plus it shows there subsystems. trans/clutch/axle/air/heat and so on.

I am new patent attorney working on patent applications related to the automotive industry. I was looking for a great book that was easy to understand and had tons of diagrams. I have found it!!!!

Great read--nothing like this over the pond------I will see how this book works on the UK gents-------I recomend this book to all women all over the world-----------

untill I read this book.---I followed each step---and---
got a great SUV and a great deal!

This book is outstanding, and in touch with our times.Thank you ladies!

I cannot believe that a book about about automobiles could be written with "class." Well thank goodness for first times.I was attracted to this book by the cover, and when I read the reviews, I knew that I must have it. It was the smartest thing I have done in years. I saved myself time, agoney, and a lot of money, and at the same time enjoyed reading every word.--I am an attorney- you think I would know how to purchase a car without having to rely on a book.------the book now resides in the library at my firm.

WE LOVED THIS BOOK,AND,WILL SHARE IT WITH ALL OF OUR FRIENDS----

I was pleased to have this book be in prime condition when it arrived. The price was excellent. The order came in a timely fashion.

The Art of books by Pixar are wonderful. For the artist these books give a great background into how the art brought the story alive.

I highly recommend these books, especially for those who love Pixar.

If you enjoy learning the behind the scenes process that goes into many of the animated and computer animated films of today, you will love this book.

It shows step by step the drawings and thoughts that went into each character in Radiator Springs and also the creation of all the backdrops. From the smallest signs and orange cones to the racetrack and beyond, you can see how it all evolved.

It's nicely bound with a great jacket cover. Definitely a nice coffee table book your guests will enjoy leafing through or the perfect addition to the library of any art and animation lover.

I purchased this art of book recently and found it one of the best art of books I now own. The illustrations are very helpful to my concept art assignments. Great reading

I have to say, I love this series of books. Seeing the concept drawings for the movie is wonderful and how they got there inspiration for what eventually became the charming and funny movie CARS.

Pixar's most recent animation is fully revealed in this wonderful art book. All the research, ideas, and concepts are printed gorgeously in this book. You see how the ideas are captured on paper to guide the production teams to make one of the best animation in years. Conceptual ideas of characters from the beginning to the final rendered CGI model on screen are all there. The landscape is captured in with colorful pastel paintings. Even all the details from neon signs to the Southwest vegetation are drawn out for you to see. Everything in the book is traditional artwork techniques from pastels, blue pencil, to gray scale markers. Only a few pages have any 3D images for you to see, but in an age where everything is computerized... its really nice to see that old fashioned techniques being used.

Its a quality book I highly recommend for the Pixar fan, 3D animation enthusiast, and art students.

The depth and breadth of this book are astonishing. I just started reading it seriously a few days ago, and rather like the car, it goes quickly. The tone is stiff-British and humorless, although I'm glad it avoids so many of the exclamations and hyperbole usually seen in books of this type.

Much of the text is made up of quotes from the main players involved with the F1 project, but Doug Nye adds much from his knowledge of racing and cars in general. Near the end the author wisely lets Rowan Atkinson, better known as Mr. Bean, give his impressions of the project. The hundreds of captioned pictures, sketches, and notes make for a revealing peek into the car's gestation. Many times I felt as if I were seeing privileged information, to be kept within the company, although its obviously not as sensitive as it once was.

If anything, this book outlines what a torturous and exhaustive process creating a road car from the ground up really is. So much has to come together to make the finished product, and not one of the problems presented an obvious solution. One bit of irony concerns how McLaren were searching for a specialized facility to construct prototypes. By coincidence, such a building was owned by Ferrari, who were looking to sell. McLaren boss Ron Dennis pounced on the deal, avoiding a delay of months or maybe years to the project. Ferrari were perhaps less than pleased by the acquisition... Other than that, there was no luck involved in the McLaren F1 process, just slavish testing, sleepless nights, and an obsessive refusal to compromise anything. The total budget is never given, but it's hard to believe the McLaren F1 ever made any money.

The book also includes a large poster/chart with the F1 GTR's full racing record, as well as the number and body color of each chassis. Not to be missed.

An excellent detailed review of how the McLaren F1 came about. From the basic concept test platforms to the engine design by BMW to the final long tailed race version. Gives a clear presentation of Gordon Murray's philosophies in putting this amazing vehicle together, even shows sketches that go back to his college years. The three seater concept with the driver in the middle was not new to Gordon's mind.

More than a decade have past since the McLaren F1 was on the street. No one has ever surpassed it. Not even themselves, with the new Mercedes SLR Mc Laren. So if you really want automotive history on your house, this is it

This book is a 'must have' for anyone interested in the McLaren road car. It is one the best books to cover a single model that I have ever read.

The 'insiders' view of documents and photographs could never be possible without the help given from the factory.

By reading the book, and seeing the photos, one can truely get into the mind of Gordon Murray and his team.

The comprehensibe book on the Mclaren F1 supercar in great detail.From the ideas,designs,testing right through to the racing models this book covers everything you wanted to know.
Colour photos,diagrams and a story of this unique car make this book everything enthusiasts want.A huge book that belongs on ever car lovers book shelf.

If you love the Mclaren F1 supercar this book is for you.

Manual transmissions aren't as sexy as some other engine parts that I could think of (like cams, or turbos), but that doesn't make them boring!

This book covers the little-known and little-described topic of manual transmissions. The writer attacks the subject from the angle of a "weekend warrior" mechanic or car builder, which means it's neither dry and academic nor lowbrow.

Manual transmissions, clutches and even differentials are covered in enough detail to be useful without drowning in theory. Unlike many automotive books it's full of meaty details and tips - the chapter on manual transmission diagnosis alone is worth the cost.

Even if you're not a die-hard stick shifter, it's a fun read and an interesting look at the technology behind a manual transmission. If nothing else, you could read it and impress the guys at your local hot-rod spot with your knowledge of gear oil additives.

Besides, where else can you get all the current thinking on manual transmission modifications in one place?

I just got this book and Have to say that it is one of the best automotive books I have ever read. Most automotive Books are either to Dry and Technical or have very little info. This Book is both easy to read and has a ton of information. I'll be referring to this book any time I have a problem with a manual transmission.

Excellent organization and structure. Lots of information on how manual transmissions work, and how to check and rebuild them. Many excellent color photos to go along with the text.

This book is well written and easy to understand with many pictures. It is a good starting point for anyone considering rebuilding a manual transmission.

The book covers material that is common knowledge for professionals, but that is hard to learn as an amatuer trying to learn on his/her own. Specifically in the areas of dianosis of problems, and explicit function of components.

I recommend this book.

This book really presents the work and theory in a straightforward manner. It explains what you are doing and why, and what happens when something goes wrong. It's easy enough to follow lightly as you work, or to read in depth to really learn something. You can easily pull from it what information you need. I would recommend this book to anyone with a technical background, whether already you know what you are doing or just starting your first project, there is definitely something to gain here.

A "must read" for anyone in manufacturing. It is the basis for all modern manufacturing, and for any business process or flow. The author describes the two pillars of the Toyota production system as autonomation and just-in-time. He explaines the six rules associated with the kanban. He also describes the seven wastes and the value of asking "Why" five times. The book is very easy and quick reading, and provides a complete backgroung to the Toyota development and success.

Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production
Great tool for understanding basics and roots of TPS

I got this as a present for my father for his birthday last weekend. He has already started reading it and making notes. It is everything we hoped it would be and met his expectations. I would recommend it for marketing students, teachers, and anyone interested in that type of thing.

"Toyota Production System" was published in 1979 in Japanese and, in English in 1988. It is the source material on the toyota production system and, in my view, it is often good to go back to the source. Sadly, I found this book disappointing. The writing style is clunky (perhaps a poor translation) and the book lacks structure; being more of a semi-random collection of points than a development of ideas. Nevertheless there is some interesting stuff in here. The honesty that this is a long slow process (taking Toyota 30+ years) is refreshing, and I hadn't realised that Mr Ohno ranked kanban (with quick changeovers) as the core of the system and essential to success. Often in lean kanban seems to be a bit of a side issue: here it is vital. Also there is an interesting analysis of some of Henry Ford's early writings compared to TPS. This would be good material for a student essay. However, for the philosophy of TPS you will get much more out of "The Toyota Way" or "The Toyota Way Fieldbook"; and for the tools of lean go to "Lean Production Simplified" or the many other books in this area. Overall this book is a bit of a let-down I am sad to say.

There are many myths around the Toyota Production System (TPS). Ohno Taiichi merits my deepest respects, considering he was able almost a half century ago to observe and learn from others. Considering the simple target given to him, to "catch up with America" he studied in-depth the work of Ford and recognised the idea of copying the US supermarket system for his operational purpose.

The book describes very well what constraints he was given from the owners when Toyota started to get into the automotive business and what path they followed until the first fully operated TPS plant went operational at the 60s.

Many thinkings of Ohno Taiichi are still actual. He is capable of bringing key problems to the point: efficiency gains are worthless until they really lead to cost reduction. Unfortunatelly we all now the opposite from this wisdom - and many "growth-strategies" of companies today are nothing else than to try to increase business with the same workforce. Furthermore the author gives good examples how Toyota handled different issues, as e.g. the syncronization of production with final assembly.

The reader will not find any operational theory or formulas in this book and if you are looking for books teaching you about designing and sizing Pull-systems you should look for books as "Kanban made simple" or similar. TPS is not about installing software than about eliminating everything which is waste and does mainly not contribute to the succes of your business.

Anyway this book is a must read for any readers interested in first hand information about the basis that made TMC what they are today - a business model developed by smart people many years ago and dearing to ask simple questions, to find sound and robust solutions and to steadily develop the system and its people working in it.

My deepest respect to Ohno Taiichi,
Domo arrigato,

Oliver