A Century of Automotive Style: 100 Years of American Car Design
The definitive history of American automotive design, complete with designers' biographies, coachbuilder histories, descriptions of car company styling departments, discussions of trends, etc.
Customer Review: Fascinating and Impressionistic, Absorbing Photographs!
It is understood that to better appreciate anything in our modern life we need to go back to its origins. Authors Lamm and Holls did that quite adeptly with a wonderfully organized automotive chronology...with the pages beautifully arranged. Most striking is the contrast and resolution of the black and white photographs, which, as the professional photographer already knows, are often preferred over color for those very reasons. Beginning with a light treatise on shipbuilding as a starting point, our authors lead us on a journey through coachbuilding, the "Nuts and Bolts of Early Automotive Fashion" (Chapter 2) and styling designs of the Big Three Automakers: Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. This book is not, however, simply an encyclopedia or recalling of events. It analyzes the overall effect that the lives of the designers themselves, and their families, had on our own modern culture. These insights are precisely what sets this book apart from a simple narrative with pictures. Consequently, we can then appreciate how much work is actually instilled into what we drive today. This book basically teaches us that automotive design is at the very foundation of our modern heritage. Covering 306 pages over fourteen chapters, highly illustrated and perfectly indexed, "A Century of Automotive Style" is practically an education by itself, or more specifically, that of the social and economic impacts of automobile styling on our American culture. Knowledgeable, well-written and extremely detailed, this excellent work is clearly indicative of our author's background at GM's advanced design facility and formal schooling in industrial design. ... My top recommendation for all readers.
Customer Review: The kind of book a "Car Guy" ...or Girl - can't put down.
Like sweets in a hiding spot, you'll keep coming back just to sample. Open it to any page, and you're immediately swept into the world of car design as you've never seen it presented before - the faces and names behind the cars, the corporate struggles, the hits, misses, and might-have-beens. Peppered with fabulous design sketches and factory photos, there's enough eye candy here to guarantee that even the least auto-savvy among us will never look at a parking lot the same way again. For any kid who drew on the back of his or her notebook, wondered where fins came from, (Not Finland - sorry), or got giddy over riding in the front seat, this is wonderful - heck, required - reading.
