Automotive Books

This is the book for the true fire engine/pumper enthusiast. It provides a level of detail that far exceeds other books on the subject. Shapiro looks at each make/model of pumper and explains all the variations. The photos are execellent. The "uncommitted" might be turned off by all the information packed into this book.

Although I bought and read nearly all of Motorbooks on modern fire apparatus, I didn't read this book completely for reasons the previous review stated.

It IS a five-star book in terms of research, photos, details, and information. As the below post stated, it's all very technical with a lot of abbreviations that made it pretty slow reading at times. It makes a great reference guide.

The book describes most of the American fire pumper makers past and present and the models of each. Great exterior color photos accompany many company entries. Another section describes the major parts of the pumper: cab, pump panel, body and cab. Great information and some detail photos. Other sections talk about how pumpers are used at fires (hose hookup/ pump panel procedures, tools, placement, medical response, etc.).

The last section talks about a few future designs of fire pumpers.

Although probably not very politically-correct, one aspect I wished the book talked about was what made one manufacturer preferred over another. For example, why does a city buy just Emergency-One and another just Spartan? I also wished there were some opinions from firefighters about the pumpers they ride to working fires. How this 1990s brand compared to that different 1980s brand? What they saw as improvements made over the years? Missing is the human element in the book from the users of such vehicles so this book is mostly facts and specs on pumpers but no way to know if the users like the equipment they're using.

Recommended for the major fire pumper buff who wants photos and to learn the intricate details of the pumper. Great for someone who wants to build a model of a scale fire pumper. This book will be 5-stars to them.

This is a great book and may be interesting both to a Honda fan and to someone sceptical about those "riceboyz carz". This book not only talks about the success of Honda (and they have a lot to say!), but also openly discusses the problems and unsuccessful designs they had. This book tells you why, besides cars and motorcycles, Honda builds walking robots and airplanes. With every page I read I had more appreciation of Honda thinking and I was more proud to drive something designed by these people.

Some of the future car prototypes discussed in the last chapter are already on sale as production cars, and it leaves a feeling that this book is kind of old, outdated, but this is only another confirmation to how dynamic and innovative Honda is.

I really enjoy this book and recommend it to everybody who wants to know how Honda came about and what they are after.

This is one comprehensive history book of the most important motor company of all time: Honda. Honda was and is making progress in leaps and bounds. They are the past, present and future of the automobile industry, hands down. They even had enough foresight to develop a hybrid car while all of the gas consuming, muscle car fanatics stood back and laughed. But, like so many times in the past, Honda always gets the last laugh! Who was it that almost put Harley Davidson out of business...?

A great book. The name says it all

This book is the most excellent book I have ever read in TQM. The book's foreword is written by Quality Guru Armand V. Feigenbaum. Also, this book is highly praised by all quality gurus including Philip B. Crosby, Genichi Taguchi, and J.D. Power III. The authors explained how an effective quality systems to be implemented in any size of organization. This book is for any types of industry, not only for automotive. Every case study featured in the book is also reviewed by the renowned faculty from HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL and MIT's SLOAN MANAGEMENT SCHOOL. I highly recommend this book without any reservation.

This is the third book by Mr. Davis about, "doorslammers,". They just get better and better!

Larry Davis has another great book out as a follow up to Super Stock - Drag Racing the Family Sedan. This one mainly covers the factory built stockers and cars that made places like Woodward Avenue famous. Good clean photos (wish they could have been bigger though) of a lot of stockers. The focus is on the Midwest/Ohio are where Davis grew up. Great book, highly recommended!

As a sports photographer and long time Rally fan, I have been blown away by Reinhard Klein's photography in Autosport for years. I was so excited to see his book that I imported a copy from England before it was available here. Please note that his photos are not just about cars. His pictures capture the diverse environments of international rallying from his favorite Kenya to Monte Carlo. The photos of the mechanics working in awful conditions are splendid, too. As much art photography as sports.

Rally is nor a regular kind of racing. Rally, unlike F1, is full with passion, adrenalin ans views. The book RALLY gives the reader the exact feeling of standing next to a rally car. the book's size is big, gives the reader feeling of holding a black racing steering wheel between his hands. pictures are just wonderful. It's a very colourful book, with lot of information about rally, rally drivers and cars since the begining of the rally. this book, must be found on every rally lover's shelf!

An interesting well written history of the first women to attempt and then accomplish driving across the United States. I initially purchased the book because I found my great-grandfather, Eugene Gnehm, was mentioned in the book. I found Mr. McConnell's review of the events in the early days of American automobile travel a good view of how things were only 100 years ago.

Although I was familiar with Alice Ramsey's 1909 trip, I was pleasantly surprised at the detail of the notes regarding Alice's and the other ladies' trips. For the serious researcher these notes are indispensable! Although I was not so familiar with the other ladies save Blanche Stuart Scott, Mr. McConnel provides much insight into their travels and is able to make a research book as enjoyable as an adventure novel. Blanch made her way into San Diego and garnered several paragraphs in 2 issues of the San Diego Motor News. One thing Mr. McConnel overlooked, according to the Motor News, Blanche's trip had been free of serious accidents until she reached the seaside town of Pacific Beach. "The accident, the first and only serious one, occurred at Pacific Beach, was due to a bit of careless driving when any thought of care had been banished from her mind." Since the author of this article was a salesman and soon to be owner of the Willys dealership in San Diego, he is excused, I guess, from giving us more details. Mr. McConnel makes it prefectly clear throughout this book that "company men" were less than forthright when describing the exploits of their female drivers (even my favorite, Alice Ramsey). I was annoyed however to learn of Willys-Overland's and Blanche's attempts to ignore Alice's trip. All in all a fine book, carefully (as far as I can determine) researched and certainly entertainly written. Michael Miller, Education Director, San Diego Automotive Museum

This book starts out with the simplest 2-stroke engines, explaining different carburetor setups, and goes up through more complicated 4-stroke engines. This book would be a great basis for learning about gasoline engines in general... It also has advice on general maintenance and troubleshooting. Very informative book for learning HOW these things work so that you can fix them.

I looked at several small engine repair manuals and I was unimpressed by them. (The Haynes book is particularly disappointing) This one goes into a nice level of explanation of how something (e.g. a carburetor) works, the various types available and then how to trouble shoot it. Knowing how something works is crucial to really trouble shoot an engine.

I am an engineer so I like how this book describes the items function. Obviously some level of technical understanding is necessary to really appreciate an engine manual. But if you don't have that appreciation - you probably aren't trying to fix your own engines. So if you are looking for such a book, I can easily recommend this one.

The knowledge I've gained from this book has also helped with larger pieces of equipment - like full-size tractors. The older tractors (like my John Deere 3010) use the same basic components.

This book is excellent. It has all the numbers and stats that you could possibly want on any car sold in America.

Horsepower, options, engines, 0-60, pros, cons, and pretty much anything else that you can think of. All including pictures.

There are some extras as in new model spotlights, and coverage of some of the overseas autoshows.

Every car's page is layed out in a very easy to read manner. If you just like to know everything about cars, and I mean EVERYTHING than you must buy this book.

For any car person - this is the best guide to features and benefits on a model-by-model basis. Also, the reviews of the major International Auto Shows is excellent. I know of no other car book that even comes close to the content of this publication ! A Must Read !

I got this from my Grandpa and have read it through 4 times in the past 3 years. Each time I get more out of it. If you want a look at how a big aerospace company developed and works, and also all the phases of development of an aircraft, this is the book.

Author Cook traces the evolution of aircraft from Wright days to the jet, including the serendipity of men, machine, and Air Force. Technical but readable for the non-engineer; fascinating history.

Bought this as a gift for husband, and he absolutely loved it! He looks through it all the time, even wants me to order more books about abandoned or wrecked cars. He is a car enthusiast to the fullest, and I recommend this book.

Beautiful images of burnt out, rusted, and
dead classic cars, trucks and vehicle parts,
dressed in weeds, grass and mud...lovely.
Not so much in your neighborhood, but they
make fabulous images in their abandoned settings.