Edelbrock: Made in USA [Hardcover]

Tom Madigan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2005

Tom Madigan, with foreword by Benny Parson, NASCAR champion. The Edelbrock Corporation emerged from a young mechanic's dream in Southern California during the earliest years of the American love affair with the automobile. One of the central figures of the hot rod culture that began before World War II and blossomed after the war, Vic Edelbrock, Sr. built his company around a simple philosophy: never overextend yourself, and never put your name on a product that hasn't been tested and proven true. When Vic Edelbrock, Jr. took over after his father's death, he stayed true to the family philosophy while incorporating progressive marketing plans to grow the company into a corporate giant. It is the last family owned automobile aftermarket company in the industry.Edelbrock Made in USA is the story of the company's growth from a simple shop at the rear of a gas station to an American institution. It is at the heart of the history of the earliest drag racers and land speed racers, it is woven into the early days of NASCAR, and it flourishes today in the cars owned by enthusiasts and ordinary drivers across America who boast Edelbrock equipment. It is the story of a company whose influence not only helped shape automotive performance, but also led the automotive aftermarket industry in addressing and conforming to the clean air and safety regulations that have emerged over the past 35 years. And it is the story of an iconic family business that has preserved its values and its spirit of independence, creativity, philanthropy, and fun over three generations.0-7603-2202-3 - 139600AP - $40.00 - $58.00 CAN '

Editorial Reviews

Review

Road & Track, December 2005 (circ.: 730,000)

“Well-written racing history and newfound photos of great and near-great drivers – all related to the career of the very talented Vic Edelbrock. He could do everything better than anybody when it came to engines, especially Ford’s V-8 60.”

Hot Rod, November 2005 (circ.: 680, 000)

“Of all the contributors over the years to this life we call hot rodding, probably none have been more influential than the Edelbrock family. Even those of you new to the hobby know the name, but you may not know the story. Now, thanks to Tom Madigan’s new book, you can learn the entire history of the Edelbrock family and its namesake company.”

 

About the Author

Tom Madigan began writing about cars for the magazine Motorcade. He was a feature writer for Popular Hot Rodding magazine for many years and is the author of several books, including The Loner: The Story of a Drag Racer. He lives in Sonora, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; 1st edition (June 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760322023
• ISBN-13: 978-0760322024
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 10.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,038,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the Year's Best Car Book!, June 27, 2005

By 

Hib Halverson (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Edelbrock: Made in USA (Hardcover)

<u>Edelbrock: Made in USA</u> is an epic story of a family and a business which, for 70 years, have influenced a uniquely American hobby, hot rodding, and one of our country's quintessential businesses, the high-performance automotive aftermarket.

Through extensive research, rich style and deep understanding of and reverence for the hot rod experience, Author Tom Madigan, provides more than just a profile of the Edelbrocks and their company. It's a wonderful story of automotive culture and history. Not only is it a fascinating sketch of not only how a family business developed, but the reader learns how the car hobby influenced the direction that business took and how the Edelbrock Equipment Company and, later, the Edelbrock Corporation, influenced the direction the hot rod hobby took.

<u>Edelbrock: Made in USA</u> is a people story, too--not just of the book's namesakes but other famed hot rod personalities, too. Wally Parks, Alex Xydias, Bob Peterson, Fran Hernandez, Bobby Meeks, Murray Jensen, Ed Iskenderian, Ed Pink, "Racer" Brown, Bob D'Olivo, Zora Arkus-Duntov, Jim McFarland, Rodger Ward, Tom Medley, Benny Parsons, Smokey Yunick, Junior Johnson, and many others all have parts in this book.

This work is a "manual" on how to build a successful American business. It tells how one generation of a family started a performance parts business in back of a Gilmore service station near the corner of Hoover and Venice in Los Angeles and how the next made that into a hundred-million dollar, world-wide enterprise.

The book is illustrated with a mix of black-and-white and color photos. Its imagery is timeless and beautifully presented, making it not only a wonderful reading experience but intensely pleasing visually, as well. The photography from the 30s, 40s and 50s is outstanding. Clearly a significant amount work went into restoring, enhancing and retouching old photos.

Weaknesses? Well, there are a few. There is an annoying lack of date information in some parts of it. Several times, I found myself reading an interesting discussion of some event then wondering when it happened. There are places where the first mention of important characters is only by last name. Vic Edelbrock Jr.'s lifelong friend, Jerry Herbst, is first introduced to readers simply by surname. Same is true of famed race car builder Bob Joehnick. This name issue had me suspecting that the original manuscript must have been far, far longer and that the Herculean process of editing that to a marketable size might have let a few little problems slip through.

Towards the end of the lengthy project that resulted in<u>Edelbrock: Made in USA</u>, the book was no secret. For a number of months prior to its publication, it had the car hobby abuzz. That Vic Edelbrock Jr. commissioned and funded the project was, also, no secret. While the cost is known only to Mr. Edelbrock, Mr. Madigan and executives at Tehabi Books, it's obvious upon just skimming this work that a large sum must have been invested. For that kind of money, Vic could have made this book his family's own, private, 324-page, self-appreciating shrine, but he didn't. Yes, the Edelbrocks are the main characters but their portrayal is little more than what they deserve. There's much more in this book about the dawn and growth of hot rodding as a hobby and a sport, about the automotive performance aftermarket industry that grew along with it and the people, Edelbrocks and others, who made it all happen.

<u>Edelbrock: Made in USA</u> is a lot in one book. An amazing chronicle of American ingenuity, tenacity and success? You bet. Intriguing biography? Indeed. A fascinating business book? You bet. Absolutely. A captivating story about fast cars? Uh-huh. A book worth reading? Totally.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Tangle of Business and Personal, September 23, 2009

By 

John Mccarrier (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Edelbrock: Made in USA (Hardcover)

A part of this book is an interesting history of a company that has been an important part of the speed equipment industry in the U.S. for decades. It shows the relationships and interactions among the well known companies and people in the industry during the post-war period. It also gives readers a glimpse at the symbiotic relationship between the speed equipment industry and Peterson Publishing, i.e. Hot Rod Magazine.

Unfortunately that history is buried in a family scrapbook of personal events and countless testimonials about either what a great person Vic Edelbrock Sr. was or what a deserving heir and brilliant manager Vic Jr. is.

It seems to have been written for the people who were part of the west coast hot rod scene in the 1950's and not for the general reader of automotive history.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edelbrock, September 2, 2005

By 

Donald G. Bulitta "Donny B." (Phoenix, Az USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Edelbrock: Made in USA (Hardcover)

What a facinating history of one of the greats in the Hot Rod industry. What I appreciated the most was the integrity of the man and that his son continued his legacy! I was a fan from the get go and loved the history and the photos to support it. Some of my old heros came back to life like Bill Vukovich and Roger Ward. These are greats from the past and I didn't know how they were affected by Vic Edlebrock. What a great story. This is a great country and Vic Edelbrock proved it. I would reccomend this to anyone who loves cars and the history of racing in this country!