Customer Reviews

Marmon Heritage

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The reason I wanted this book was because my husband's family has the remains of a V-16 behind their barn. The front fenders (sidemount) are almost 8' long! I wanted to learn more about this particular car (there were only 390 V-16s built), but little did I know what I was in for with this book. My wonderful husband gave it to me for Xmas '96 (from Classis Motorbooks), and it is big, heavy, and packed with info. From the family's beginnings in Europe to the company's unfortunate demise in 1933, this book is amazing! The engineering done on Marmon autos, considering the "state of the art" of the technology available at the time, makes you wonder what they could have done had they survived. Would you believe cast aluminum body panels, before 1910? How about a double frame, one for the engine and one for the body (patented double 3-pt suspension)? This made for a very smooth, stable vehicle, one that was more than a match for the roads of the period. The 1905 Marmon had a cast aluminum barrel engine crankcase! Later Marmons continued this theme of engineering genius and design. Even if you don't like pre-World War II autos, if you like technical detail and engineering, you'll love this book. Engineering specs and drawings abound, with lots of historical contemporary commentary. This book has over 600 close-printed pages, and I haven't read it all yet. It is not a coffee-table book--it has substance, not fluff and lots of color pictures. It rates five stars, two thumbs up, a 10--all the cliches for the best. My only complaint--copyrighted in 1985, and printed in 1990, 2nd edition, I think a supplement is in order--perhaps one that updates the survival statistics, and places where a Marmon (any Marmon) can be seen. This book is a "keeper" in my old car library, and I'm not letting it get away.