Roadside Relics: America's Abandoned Automobiles [Hardcover]

Will Shiers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2006

Abandoned junk to some, the rusty old steel shells of vehicles are treasures to others, holding memories of a bygone era, or the promise of a pristinely restored, radically customized automobile. Automotive photographer Will Shiers has captured these dreams on film for over ten years, and this volume collects his images between two covers for the first time. Here are the beautiful husks Shiers has found in the United States fields and barns, shops, and salvage yards across States. Divided into five categories—General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Independents, and Special Vehicles—these wrecks and relics from 1910 to the 1970s come equipped with all the relevant information: history, model, location. And because few salvage yards today keep anything older than a 1980 vintage, many of these cars have been lost to the metal crusher. The most comprehensive and beautifully photographed collection of abandoned cars ever published, this volume preserves for all time the exquisite skeletons of American automotive might.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Transport News Network (UK), Feb. 1, 2007

“The book is not only engagingly quirky it’s also highly original.”

Roadtripamerica.com, Dec. 31, 2006

“It might be a bit difficult to believe that a book filled with photos of rusty old automobiles could be uplifting, enlightening and inspiring, but this book is all those things and more. In his beautiful hardcover opus Roadside Relics, Will Shiers has filled 200 pages with a treasure trove of rarely documented and surprisingly fascinating roadside Americana … It's a book to be picked up and savored over and over again. Not only has it given me new appreciation for the forgotten skeletons of ancient cars, it has ignited my wanderlust. You really can't ask for more in a road trip book.”

Book Description

Here are the beautiful husks of American autos photographed over a decade by Will Shiers in barns and salvage yards across 49 states. Divided into five categories—General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Independents, and Special Vehicles—these wrecked relics from 1910 to the 1970s come equipped with all the relevant information: history, model, location. And sadly, because few salvage yards today keep anything older than a 1980 vintage, many of these cars have been lost to the metal crusher—and may be seen here for the very last time.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; 1st edition (November 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760327483
• ISBN-13: 978-0760327487
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rusted Relics Live, January 18, 2007

By 

G. rush (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roadside Relics: America's Abandoned Automobiles (Hardcover)

Beautiful images of burnt out, rusted, and
dead classic cars, trucks and vehicle parts,
dressed in weeds, grass and mud...lovely.
Not so much in your neighborhood, but they
make fabulous images in their abandoned settings.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, December 23, 2007

By 

wheezzee "Louise" (somewhere) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roadside Relics: America's Abandoned Automobiles (Hardcover)

Bought this as a gift for husband, and he absolutely loved it! He looks through it all the time, even wants me to order more books about abandoned or wrecked cars. He is a car enthusiast to the fullest, and I recommend this book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holey Rusticating Rusters , we have Quality here !, October 13, 2008

By 

James Davmore (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roadside Relics: America's Abandoned Automobiles (Hardcover)

Good Golly - Roadside Relics and the 2008 calendar of the same name are just fantastic!

Nearmost every page in this book is filled with glossy full colour photographs of automobiles rusticating ( and rusting) peacefully in out of the way locales.

Although left to the elements , a few of these vehicles still look quite dignified in their resting places. A good example of this is the 1949 Buick Super four-door sedan resting at Navajo Twin Rocks.
Dang, those late forties - early fifties Buick were works of art!

If not too many people in the U.S. desire to restore some of these once-upon-a-time common place cars, there will be those outside the 50 States who would be more than keen to do so (if they have the time and money!)
When we folks living outside of North America were still driving 'stick-shift', and using the 'Armstrong Crank-o-wynder System' (TM) to get fresh air into our vehicles, Americans had fine forty or fifty year old examples of fully optioned autos in their junkyards. And wow, what options! Shift-o-matic transmission! A/C! Electrical upperdy-downey side-glass! And all that Chrome! (Somehow I can't see all that plastic used in modern cars looking as good with half as much exposure to the elements).

Cars from the Big Three and the smaller independents are pictured within. This book exceeded my expectations, real quality here.