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Hot Rod Milestones

America is the home of the hot rod. And in Hot Rod Milestones, authors Ken Gross and Robert Genat bring us 25 of the coolest cars to ever be chopped or channeled. From rockin' roadsters to speed record coupes, every one of these ground-breaking machines gets its own chapter with a complete history and a wealth of detailed photographs. It's great reading, with plenty of technical detail for the hard core motorheads, and some very entertaining anecdotes for the history buffs. One of the best hot rod books that you can buy.

Cars of the Fantastic ’50s

Automotive history took a pivotal turn during the 1950s. In Cars of the Fantastic '50s, writer and photographer Dan Lyons takes us back in time to explore America's new appreciation for head-turning motoring. The book covers a wide variety of icon vehicles, from the Cadillac Eldorado to the Kaiser Darrin. See how America expressed its post-war euphoria with vibrant tail-fin styling that turned even lowly pickup trucks into glamorous works of art. Each page is filled with brilliant photos of these colorful cruisers, along with detailed explanations of their design and significance. So for anyone who enjoys classic American cars, polish your chrome, drop your top, and get ready for a journey through the truly fantastic '50s.

Suzuki GSX-R: A Legacy of Performance

In the world of high performance motorcycles, the letters GSX-R are synonymous with speed. Few motorcycles have ever matched the Suzuki GSX-R's dominance of both street and racetrack. And now the entire history of this legendary motorcycle is available in Suzuki GSX-R: A Legacy of Performance by Marc Cook, an experienced and respected motor journalist. Mr. Cook delivers a chronological guide to the GSX-R's development, from its conventional GS series predecessors through the groundbreaking, lightweight design of the first GSX-R, to today's all-conquering GSX-R1000. It's packed with excellent photos and tons of technical data. The copy does sometimes read like a Suzuki sales brochure, but that doesn't stop this from being a book that every fan of this mighty motorcycle can enjoy.

“LeMans” with Steve McQueen on DVD

The wait is over -- 33 years after its theatrical release, Steve McQueen's racing masterpiece, "LeMans" is finally available on DVD. Considered by many to be the best racing film ever made, "LeMans" was Steve McQueen's tribute to his personal passion for cars and competition. Presented on wide-screen letterbox format and digitally re-mastered from a pristine film print, this DVD captures all of the excitement of the original release. Here's a DVD that begs to play on a wide-screen TV with surround sound. Crank up the volume, sit back and you can practically smell the racing gas. While the motion picture was made with a supporting cast of 45 professional racers, Steve McQueen did all of his own high speed driving for the film. McQueen was a well-respected racer in his own right and so his intimate knowledge of the professional racing community gives "LeMans" a gritty realism missing from so many previous racing films. The racing sequences account for 90% of the film footage, leaving the viewer breathless. Never has the average film fan been so close to the racing action. Three decades after its initial release, "LeMans" is still the film by which all other racing films are measured.

American Car Design Now

Car design is a complex art that involves a lot more than just putting pen to paper or mouse to pad. American Car Design Now by C. Edson Armi gives us an inside look at the process through the words and techniques of top designers from Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. The book explores not just style and shapes, but how designers approach the customer, the accountants, and most importantly, the executives upstairs, as they strive to create an ideal design. It's not a light or casual read, but for the dedicated student of automotive design, the book is packed with fascinating insights into how experts like Tom Gale, J Mays, Wayne Cherry and others produce some of Motown's most enticing car designs.

Automotive Atrocities!: The Cars We Love to Hate

Many of us cannot define art or obscenity, but we know it when we see it. Author Eric Peters, however, knows an ugly car when he sees one, and can tell you exactly why. His new book Automotive Atrocities!: The Cars We Love to Hate, is a clever, sometimes cutting, look at some of the worst cars ever to soil the world's roads. Now, some may take exception, but few can argue with most of his choices, or his sharp, biting descriptions of their journey from the factory to the junkyard.

Professional Cars: Ambulances, Hearses and Flower Cars

Collecting the cars of hospitals and funeral homes is a pretty specialized field, but as Gregg Merksamer show us in Professional Cars: Ambulances, Hearses and Flower Cars, this little known segment of the collector car hobby is filled with fascinating design work and very specialized engineering. Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of black and white photos, it's a very interesting look at a very unique branch of the automotive family tree.

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