1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Good idea - appalling execution, May 26, 2006
This review is from: Vauxhall: A History (Paperback)
This book is a mess. Robert Cook has used the archives of Vauxhall Motors and in particular the Vauxhall Motorist, a marketing magazine produced by the company for 40 years, to reconstruct the history of the marque. This was a good idea with a few pitfalls. While the Vauxhall Motorist does provide a detailed history of the evolution of the use of the car, particularly in Britain with the advent of the motorways etc and the demise of train travel, it also provides a rose coloured view of the cars which Vauxhall produced simply because it was designed to promote the marque. The result is that we get lots of interesting trivia but a very jaundiced view of the company's products.
The real issue, however, is that the book does not seem to have been properly proof read. Page after page contains grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, changes of tense etc as if notes were simply typed up without re-writing them into proper English. There are many errors in the text too - photos with incorrect captions, mis-information, phrases repeated. This a real botch. The best part of the book is that there are lots of interesting photos.
Maybe Mr Cook could re-issue the book and replace at his cost the draft which this edition represents - the literary version of a recall due to faulty parts in the car industry. Now that would be fitting, wouldn't it?
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No