Automotive Books

Republished auto magazine road tests of all the SLs and SLCs from 1971 through 1989, with tables of specs and performance. Other books look better on the coffee table, but this is the one we can use to compare the years quickly and easily. And it's less than half the price of books not as thorough, though prettier.

A very nice collection of road tests and driving impressions of one of the most desirable Mercedes-Benz. Clarke confirms his class. Some pages are in colour.

If you are a Metro fan this is a must-have book. Great pictures along with an informative text. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a Metro owner or a wanna-be Metro owner.

I bought this book as a gift for my father's 49th birthday. He had a Metro in high school and recently got it back to begin renovations to make it like new again. He has always loved the car but didn't know much of the history of it. This book was perfect! It gave historical information as well as color pictures and tips for renovating the classic car. I was very pleased and he was very grateful for such a thoughtful gift.

Bought this while living in Phoenix. It's quick, easy, and has explanations even a gringo can understand and fix. I have had this recipe book for 15 years and am looking for copies for gifts. Just tonight I used it to find a quickie recipe for taco seasoning because I didn't have a store bought packet of seasoning. The family didn't know the difference. Salsa, Fideo, sauces. desserts-all quick and all easy! Wish she'd write another one!!

This book adds a new dimension to the use of the microwave oven. No more is the microwave limited to re-heating, defrosting, or "cooking" those pre-package plasticine food products from your grocer's freezer. I haved used only a subset of the techniques presented and have been completely satisified. Even though the book is targeted toward Mexican food, the concepts only require a little imagination, as well as trial-and-error, to utilize these techniques in other dishes. Because of the abundance of the microwave oven in American households (and the lack of knowledge about what to do with them), I feel this book is an invaluable resource for the serious home cook.

After owning an MG for over 15 years, and reading what I thought was everything I could find, this new version of the book is everything I expected. The writing is very informative, and the pics in the book are most enjoyable. I think this book is a must have for the MG enthusiast.

F. Wilson McComb's book is probably the best single work on the MG Car Company, Ltd. He covers in exhaustive but very readable detail the history of MGs, from Old Number One to nearly the last MGBs. McComb covers the racing efforts, from British hillclimbs to perhaps MG's greatest outright win at the Nurburgring in 1967. Copious photographs illustrate the work and the appendix provides a wealth of technical detail on each MG ever produced. A tremendous effort and a very rewarding book.

Following on his excellent work, 'MG The Untold Story', David Knowles adds a great deal of new material to events with which MGB aficionados are already familiar. In particular, the interviews with those involved with the factory and various companies are most enlightening. Even more of these personal insights would have been welcome. Extensive use of sidebars provides the opportunity to present statistics and detailed discussion of special topics, for example, a list of suppliers of MGB components, or the disagreement on the fate of the MGB GT prototype, without interrupting the main narrative.

The book also makes use of numerous black and white and colour photos, many of which have not been published previously. The only disappointment in this area is that some of the early colour photographs, including the cover shot are reproduced with a magenta cast, suggesting deterioration of the negatives, which I would have expected to be better corrected.

Chapters include development and production of the MGB, various stages in its life, as well as the GT, MGC, and V8 versions and the politics and corporate history pertinent to the MGB. I found the period of transition from chrome bumpers to "Sabrina" bumpers to rubber bumpers particularly well documented. The death of the MGB and the Abingdon works, and the attempts to rescue them, are also thoroughly covered. In addition, Knowles lends chapters to racing activities during the production period, and touches upon the brochures and advertising material. Separate chapters are devoted to the assembly of MGB's in Australia and the production of the Heritage bodyshell.

It should be noted that the author suggests that this book should be considered a complimentary publication to Anders Clausager's 'Original MG', which concentrates more on the precise production history of the MGB. Meanwhile Knowles has done an excellent job of presenting the why's, how's and who's of the saga.

My copy of the book was on order months in advance of publication. It was well worth the wait. I highly recommend it.

I bought this book based on the above reviews and was thoroughly impressed. Wonderfully researched if you want the details, and with great pictures if you want to browse. I couldn't imagine a better book on the subject.

OUTSTANDING book, probably the BEST that I have in my collection, this is a MUST own for your MINI library...GET IT NOW, you will NOT be sorry.

I have been a Mini Fan since the mid-sixties when they were racing at many "club" venues in Southern California. I actually became a "Fanatic" in 1986 when I actually purchased a Mini and have read many, many books on the Mini since. This book contains lots of pictures (along with many facts) that I have not seen before in any other publication. The book is very well laid out and the pictures are really well done. I enjoyed it immensely and wholeheartedly recommend it. A "must read" for any Mini Nut.

I own a 2005 Evo VIII and pre-ordered this book so I can learn about the previous models. A must have for the Evo owner and those looking to learn about the great tradition that follows these cars and the 4G63 engine. Great pricing from Amazon as well.

this is a great history of the lancer evo, but not a history of its modification or a how to guide. Its purely a historical book that has lots of EVO brochure information and is well written. A must for any Mitsubishi lancer or lancer EVO owner because it goes over the history of both.

It will change your point of view on how to finish your models forever. It made a 100% improvement on my painting and finishing skills. It gave me courage to try new techniques withoout fear or remorse in doing so. Every page is full of interesting content. A pleasure to reffer to again and again.

This book cuts through the mystery of putting an award winning finish on a model car. It answers all of the questions I've ever had about the subject of scale model finishes and has significantly improved the overall quality of all my models. Its well written and leads the modeler step-by-step through all the processes.

I've read zillions of books about the old car hobby, and this is easily the best one I've found. This is a book for driving enthusiasts, and people who love post-WWII sports cars and GT's -- it's not for speculators, it's not for people who want to modify cars (no how-to stuff), nor people who want to make a buck. It's a wee bit dated 25 years on, but hey, nothing's perfect. ...highly entertaining and informative read.
Taylor doesn't go into any of the notorious muscle cars, but instead concentrates mostly on lesser known models (mostly). Besides, there are plenty of books out there that go on ad nauseum about Detroit's V-8's. This book gets 5 stars as a car book, and 4 stars as one of my all-time favorite books, any subject.
So go ahead, learn a little about Bocar, Woodill, and Bill Thomas' Cheetah (a Cobra beater). Be on the look-out: buy your own copy of this book when you get the chance -- I'm keeping mine, and taking it with me after I die.
By the way, Amazon also lists this book under the title, "Modern Classics: The Great Cars of the Post War Era." There's another 5 star review there, with more detail, and in truth if you're not familiar with the book, that review may be more useful than my rave here.

When I first read this book in the late seventies, it was to check out what this automotive journalist thought of some of my favorite cars, like the Avanti, the Austin-Healey and the Porsche Speedster. The reviews were so honest and funny that I shelled out thirty part-time-job dollars to buy it. I look back on it now as one of the most influential books I ever read, because it opened up a world of fabulous cars that I had only vaguely noticed previously. The book is divided into three main sections detailing the postwar/pre-Opec sports cars of the United States, Great Britain, and Europe. Each region produced cars that reflected a certain national character, and Mr. Taylor describes, in roughly chronolgical order, all the cars that best exemplify it. Using a conversational and salty style, he traces each chosen car's history in the context of the time it was made, its competion history where applicable, and the good and bad points of owning the car yourself. Most importantly, he tells the stories of the men who made the cars, men who put their own personality and blood and fortune into producing the kind of cars they wanted to drive. Although each car's history can be read as an entity unto itself, the book is so arranged to give you a continuous overview of the whole era. I was particularly impressed by his inclusion of lesser-known and sometimes maligned cars, finding reasons for loving and admiring the Crosley Hotshots and Meyers Manxes along with the Ferraris and Gullwings and Corvettes. He expresses opinions that may rub some humorless enthusiasts the wrong way, but he can usually back up his remarks, and he is so engaging a writer that the unflattering comment is almost always followed by some redeeming compliment. And it's hard to fault his choice of the ultimate manifestations of each region's most characteristic sports car (the 427 Cobra for the US, the Morgan for Britain, and the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing for Europe.) So if you like the kind of cars that seem to be made only by the Franklin Mint these days, I highly recommend Modern Classics. Every page is an engaging read, and may inspire you to pursue your own modern classic yourself, like I did.

This is the ultimate guide to modern tractors in 96 pages between two covers! It's got a full-color gallery of John Deere, Ford, and New Holland farm tractors plowing, planting, spraying, and HEY! I Can't tell you everything. But anyway, if you love tractors, what the heck are you doing just sitting here? GO BUY THIS BOOK

I refer to this book more than any other of the tractor books I collect. It covers most modern tractor manufacturers with striking and beautiful photography and quick backgrounds of each company. Even obscure European tractor companies are covered in depth.

Andrew Morland and Peter Henshaw should update this book since some of the information is now outdated (especially since the Case-New Holland merger occurred last year). As with other Enthusiast Color Series books, precious pages are sometimes wasted with repeat photographs of tractors we have seen elsewhere in the book. This occurs less frequently in this book than others of the Series.

Anyone who loves tractors will love this book!