Customer Reviews

The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana

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This has to be the ultimate bathroom reader or coffee table book for the trivia buff. Quick, fact filled reads on topics as diverse as Model T Fords, crash test dummies, Route 66, Rock City, Mustangs, GTO's and the evolution of the gas gauge plus fantastic vintage advertisements, colorful pictures equals 315 pages of never put down, water cooler conversation starting fun.

I just received my copy of this book and have found that it far exceeds my expectations. It is not just a sit down and read a bunch of boring history about cars book. It is loaded with short and interesting factoids on all sorts of miscellaneous auto-related subjects. I'm not a huge fan of classic cars but I am a fan of trivia and "useless knowledge" and I am just thoroughly enjoying this book!

I loved this book. It is fun for those who like to go done Memory Lane.

There is something to the fact that too many people today seem to think the purpose of a road trip is to reach the destination, instead of taking the whole ride in as part of the package. This book is full of beautiful and novel places that used to lure travelers to briefly stop and gawk, like gigantic duck- or shoe-shaped diners, bizarre little museums that refuse to advertise what you're paying to see (like the museum to The Thing! which was also frustratingly not revealed in the book). Wonderful little independent food stands--like the one that invented the corn dog--and curio shops that once stretched along Route 66 have now almost all disappeared due to travelers' preference to taking the quicker interstate routes, replaced by giant fast food chains that have nothing to lose by the decrease in traffic.

Great attention is also paid to the evolution of the modern automobile, with sections dedicated to the independent automobile inventors that paraded out design after design up until the 1950s, when the government placed regulation on the industry. The fantastically beautiful Duesenberg (ever wonder where the phrase, "It's a Duesy/doozy?" comes from?) is profiled, as is a variety alternative-powered vehicles, 8-wheeled cars, the Checker cab company, and the Ford Model-T. There's also a short section on the Harley-Davidson company and its founders and "electric bicycles" in general.

When I initally bought "Car Culture" I thought I was getting a book on classic American cars. As it turns out this book is more about American culture than anything else. I ended up reading the whole thing though and found it to be very entertaining. Those folks out there who long for the good ol' days will really enjoy "Car Culture".

Anyone who loves cars and car culture, this is the book for you! It is great reading with varied topics that are either closely or loosely associated with the love of cars and car influenced life. It goes into topics of trailers, gas stations, drive ins, billboards, etc. If someone you know loves cars, especially classic cars, this is the book for them~