Since 1945, American automakers have built concept cars to showcase futuristic styles, new engine technologies, and advanced amenities. This retrospective examines over half a century of concept cars from all "Big Three," as well as "orphan" automakers which have come and gone. Models featured include: the 1951 Buick XP-300; 1953 Buick Wildcat and Oldsmobile Starfire; the Chrysler Norseman which sank with the Andrea Doria in 1956; the 1963 Chrysler Turbine; AMC's AMX/2 and AMX/3; the 1995 Chrysler Atlantic; and many more. Also featured are concept cars which in recent years have gone directly into production virtually unchanged, including the Dodge Viper, Plymouth Prowler, and Chrysler PT Cruiser.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
John Heilig is an associate editor at Automobile Quarterly and the author of several MBI titles. He lives in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
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A Book that Could Have Been,
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This review is from: Detroit Dream Cars (Automotive History and Personalities) (Paperback)
Detroit Dream Cars is supposedly about cars that could have been. but it's, in fact, a book that could have been. It could have explored some of the most fascinating and significant vehicles ever, but instead sacrifices quality for quantity, touching lightly on dozens of insignificant, lightly modified show versions of production cars, while giving short shrift to the development and reaction to important concept vehicles. While some new insights and knowledge are evident, most of the descriptions of these organized by marque group of cars appear to be rewritten press releases, with little differentiation of length reflecting each car's importance. The book's production values are also just fair, although there is a lavish and attractive color section included. Particularly galling is the mismatch of captions to photos. A caption about the important Lincoln Futura (p. 96) underscores a photo of three people in an old convertible by a factory. A photo of Chevy's 1959 racing Sting Ray, (p. 37) which set the styling for the 63-67 production car, is captioned as a "Corvair by Pininfarina." One hopes these errors were because the author never got to approve final proofs, and not from any lack of knowledge. After all, Heilig recently was featured as an expert on a History Channel special on the subject. Save your money on this one, or better yet, spend it on a subscription to "Collectible Automobile" magazine, which really knows what could have been, and why it often wasn't.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In the beginning there was Harley Earl, and what Earl began has been with us for more than 65 years. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
individual bucket seats, four bucket seats, crossover vehicle, turbine car, gullwing doors, oval grille, wraparound windshield, bubble roof, quad headlights, dream cars, concept car, interior upholstery, rear deck lid, styling features, styling cues, auto show, exterior styling, fog lamps, concept vehicle, fiberglass body, wheel housings, fender skirts Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Daimler Chrysler Historical Collection, John Heilig, Ford Historical Collection, Virgil Exner, Cadillac Historical Collection, General Motors Historical Collection, Oldsmobile Historical Center, Chrysler Corporation, Harley Earl, Power Wagon, Bill Mitchell, Eldorado Brougham, Park Avenue, Bill Porter, Detroit Auto Show, New Yorker, Trans Sport, Pronto Spyder, Fleetwood Sixty Special, Ford Motor Company, Automobile Quarterly, Collectible Automobile, Flight Sweep, Neil Walling, Aero-Dynamic Coupe New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the beginning there was Harley Earl, and what Earl began has been with us for more than 65 years. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
individual bucket seats, four bucket seats, crossover vehicle, turbine car, gullwing doors, oval grille, wraparound windshield, bubble roof, quad headlights, dream cars, concept car, interior upholstery, rear deck lid, styling features, styling cues, auto show, exterior styling, fog lamps, concept vehicle, fiberglass body, wheel housings, fender skirts Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Daimler Chrysler Historical Collection, John Heilig, Ford Historical Collection, Virgil Exner, Cadillac Historical Collection, General Motors Historical Collection, Oldsmobile Historical Center, Chrysler Corporation, Harley Earl, Power Wagon, Bill Mitchell, Eldorado Brougham, Park Avenue, Bill Porter, Detroit Auto Show, New Yorker, Trans Sport, Pronto Spyder, Fleetwood Sixty Special, Ford Motor Company, Automobile Quarterly, Collectible Automobile, Flight Sweep, Neil Walling, Aero-Dynamic Coupe New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3
books:
2
books
cite this book:
- Automobile Quarterly (1aq0241) by Bailey on page 76
- What If? by Asma Pumpi Moore on page 90
- Packard: A History of the Motor Car and the Company (Automobile Quarterly Magnificent Marque Books) by Beverly Kimes on page 157
- Ford GT: The Legend Comes to Life by Larry Edsall in Back Matter
- Ford Racing Century: A Photographic History of Ford Motorsports by Larry Edsall in Back Matter
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