Autoshite book club

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I have tried to read Lee Iaccocca's autobiography, but I had to give up after about 20 pages as it was as boring as hell! He obviously is a skilled corporate man, but a shite writer.

[Station]

From the 80's

 

That first one really made me LOL. It was virtually like me last month with my MR2.

The last one is like me all the time when I get going. F*cking cars.

[Station]

 

Can you buy those car styling books anywhere?

[andrew e]

Station try this:

 

http://www.carstylingmag.com/

 

http://www.motorbooks.co.uk/search.asp? ... or=styling

 

Alternatively ebay occansionally trumps, look for Auto & Design (Italian/english) Style Auto are normally ££££.

[Spottedlaurel]

Ooh, couple of handy links there - thanks. Think I'll make use of them come payday...

[retrogeezer]

A couple of recent additions:

 

 

 

[FredTransit]

Do brochures count?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[trigger]

Thought I'd share my hardback car themed book collection, Though most are old now having had them for many years, Stll nice to look at every now and then though.

 

[r.welfare]

A couple of recent additions:

 

I've got that one, it's pretty good. Mine's got a different cover with a cartoon of a cat hugging a Fiesta, which is pretty bizarre, but I guess something to do with the fact they were going to call it Bobcat originally.

[Father Ted]

If you want to know the price of a 1980 Ital in 1986 money, I'm your man....

[pogweasel]

LOL. Every mag you picked up in the 80's had one of those ads for 'Bennett's' insurance, all with the crappy inky outline drawings of various undesirable ex-fleet chod.

[Guest]

All about the mk3 cavalier

This is a bit older than father teds though

[Guest Tony Hayers]

I also have a copy of this. Interesting to know that the Sierra XR4i was designed to have the Cortina 2.3 V6 in it

[Guest]

[Guest]

"But be quick cos we're about to launch the Sierra"

[r.welfare]

 

Ford Cortina - more than ever about to be replaced and we've still got fields of them to shift... (EDIT: Dammit Craig, you were quicker than me).

 

That Ghia with the optional front spots is a handsome bugger even now, though.

 

I've just ordered "The decline and fall of the American car industry" by Brock Yates - published in 1983 but still pertinent today. Apparently goes into a lot of detail as to why Yanks can't build good small cars, and why the J-Car project (aka Mk2 Cavalier) was a failure.

[Guest]

Strange how it worked out though Welf, common consensus suggests Ford didnt have a problem offloading the last Cortinas while the Sierra struggled to get going. Though I suspect the reality was a little less dire - the contemporary motoring press was equally full of stories that the Ka had a sluggish first year, and both designs went on to have lengthy and successful production runs.Early Sierra Ghia for me every time though!

[Richard]

Hadn't they already stopped making Cortinas by September 1982?

[Guest Tony Hayers]

"But be quick cos we're about to launch the Sierra"

Funny you should say that, I thought the same thing when I saw the date - September 82, the Sierra was just a few days away!

 

Early Sierra Ghia for me every time though!

I agree. Think of all the toys you get in a Sierra Ghia that the Cortina never had as standard (or options). And I cant understand why there was a big fuss about the Sierra when it was launched, after all when you sit in it you cant see the outside (if you have a problem with it how it looks). The Sierra Ghia was a very nice place to sit in 1982!

 

And yes, I love Sierra's never gone for the Corty

[r.welfare]

The last Cortina rolled off the Dagenham line in July '82, but there were sufficient stocks for it to be 8th in the sales charts as late as February 1983! I do believe that heavy discounts were offered, plus the resistance to the Sierra's shape made the difference.Don't get me wrong, I love an early Sierra as much as the next man - my uncle got a 2.3V6 GL auto in October '82 (must have got his order in quick!), and my dad had a white 1.6L delivered on August 1, 1983. That said, that colour/trim combination really suits the 'Tina...

[Guest]

Indeed, a late model Cortina in immaculate condition looks a very special motor these days. Though I wonder if Ford photographed that example without an engine in, or some sacks of spuds in the boot... :)Back in '86 when the parents were looking for something secondhand which would be more suitable than our 3-door mk2 Golf for family holidays, we had a squint at an early Sierra Ghia auto estate, something like £4500 at the time. Which I'm sure would have been a more pleasant machine than the 1.5 Datsun Prairie we wound up with, if thirstier and ultimately equally rusty

[andrew e]

The mondeo book is very, very good. My Siegler Fiesta book has a differen't cover still!

[retrogeezer]

Gotta say I have always loved the Cortina Mk5 Ghia and Crusader - even since I was 19ish in 88/89 and a guy I worked with had one. They seemed/are so well equipped/luxurious to other stuff that was around.I briefly had a V plate 1.6L when I was 19 but discovered it had a bent chassis so it went back to the dealer I bought it from and I never had another.

[Guest]

Most people forget these have the prices in

Compare Sierra 1985 to Cortina 1982

These are good as not only are your bangers colours in here there is also a detailed look at how ford and vauxhall opel vin plates can be decoded for age/plant built etc

[brammy777]

got 'Bizarre Cars' by Colin Burnham through the post today

Love the 80s modifying scene, so inventive.

Pictures include

 

And pictures of such wonders including

These are all off the net, as i have no scanner

cost me £2.76 off amazon

[andrew e]

Burnhams Cal Look Beetles & Classic VW's are fab too - I bought them with my paper round money over 20 years ago

[AnthonyG]

We (my employer, Aston University Library) are about to delete (take off the shelves and dump) a French paperback called 'Naissance d'une Dauphine' which I think is a book about either the design of the Renault Dauphine, or about the manufacture of one particular Dauphine (my French is tres mal).Its subtitle is 'a report for a novel' - whatever that means. The French have a curious habit of combining philosophy into business histories, which whilst making them respectable for the bourgeoise, also makes them completely unreadable. They make Lee Iacocca look like a combination of Shakespeare and JkRowling. I once spent a few minutes looking through a tome that purported to be an account of the formation of the AXA insurance company, which was possibly the most inpenetrable book I have ever seen.Back on subject, anybody who wants the Dauphine book for the price of postage (can't be much for a small paperback) let me know.

[hammy]

I'll have to dig out some of my books which live in boxes at my mums, I know for a fact I've got all the 'Little Red Metro' series of books and I've never let them go. The books were:Little Red Metro gets started (how they built them, amusing ending where little red metro sits in a field for months and won't start when its time to move)Little Red Metro for sale - Little Red metro sits in a dealership surrounded by BL tat, highlight of the book is the sad Allegro 2 which is unsold and bleats on about how Allegros are old hat and nobody wants to buy himLittle Red Metro finds a home - Little Red metro goes home to his familyLittle Red Metro gets cold feet - Little Red metro is driven out on a snowy day, gets stuck and has to be towed in by a Range Rover who warns him not to go out in the snow again. I've also got a couple of Osbourne spotters books on ancient commercial vehicles plus the early 1990's Michelin I-Spy books on Cars & BusesI have a bizzare Ladybird book on France, which features a family driving in a cartoon Renault 4.

[Guest]

We should pool our resources and buy the rights to the Little Red Metro series then write some contemporary versions (as suggested earlier in the thread)

 

Little Red Metro Gets Twocked

 

Little Red Metro Fries Its Clutch on the A1(M)

 

Little Red Metro Sells For £87.01 on Ebay

 

Little Red Metro Gets Scrappaged For a Picanto

[Mr Lobster]

I had a fit of uncharacteristic extravagance whilst I was in France and bought this -

 

 

http://www.amazon.fr/Renault-collection ... 490&sr=8-1

 

Its a superb book for hardcore Renner pervs as it has extensive pictures / details of Renaults Histoire & Collection vehicles which are stored at Flins.

 

Lovely