American Car Spotter's Bible 1940-1980 (Paperback)

by Tad Burness (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Spotting the best American-made cars is easy with this one-of-a-kind color guide! A follow-up to the Ultimate Car Spotter's Guide, the American Car Spotter's Bible 1940-1980 features vehicles from 250 different U.S. manufacturers in a familiar style, coupled with 8,000+ color illustrations.

Restorers and collectors searching for a specific make of car or a new project will appreciate the side, rear and interior views of each model. In addition to detailed illustrations, a quick glance gives car enthusiasts various technical specifications including weight, length, horsepower, distinguishing features and factory price. This indispensable reference gives collectors technical details they'll refer to again and again.

-Includes 8,000+ color photos and illustrations

-Features American-made cars of 1940 through 1980

-Unique format offers easy identification

Product Details

• Paperback: 792 pages
• Publisher: Krause Publications (December 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896891798
• ISBN-13: 978-0896891791
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #143,055 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #46 in	Books > Nonfiction > Automotive > Pictorial
  #74 in	Books > Nonfiction > Automotive > Classic Cars
  #77 in	Books > Nonfiction > Automotive > History

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, May 30, 2008

By	R Erwin - See all my reviews

Overall this is a great book; there are thousands of color illustrations and pictures of American vehicles. There are several things to note that keep me from giving it five stars:

There are some strange omissions like the Chevy II/Chevy Nova from 1961-1972--where is it? The 1962 Chevy II convertible was my parents first car, but it is MIA. There are no Plymouth models from 1979 and there are only two cars shown for the years 1977-1978. Many times one end of the car is shown, but nothing of the other end, like in the case of the 1969 Cadillac.

As one man said, some things are hard to find because there doesn't seem to be any consistency on a car's location. Ford Torinos, Comets, Mavericks, Granadas, and Fairmonts all have their place in the Ford section of the book. Mustangs, however, are with the "m's" and Thunderbirds are witht the "t's". Pontiac Firebirds aren't with Pontiac, but between Ford Falcons and Ford full size cars.

The author is also not consistent in presenting the changes for some years. The '77-'79 Lincolns are listed together as if they are all identical, but the 1977 Lincolns had fender skirts and the '78-'79 did not. There are entire pages for each of the '63-'65 Chryslers, and then '66-'69 are all crammed on one page. This kind of thing happens many times and is fairly disappointing.

Finally, there are strange markings on many of the illustrations: door lines are drawn in, wheels are colored in, etc. A lot of the illustrations are cut up, which is sometimes confusing and disappointing, but they can help to draw attention to differences between models.

Still, it is worth the price and has plenty of pictures to look at.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book rocks!, December 22, 2008

By	Kenneth Smith "artistmac" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're a baby boomer like me, you remember when most of the cars in this book were daily drivers instead of automotive Faberge eggs, which is the way owners treat them now.

This is, in a way, a compilation of two of Tad Burness's previous black-and-white guides, encompassing American cars from 1940-1965 and 1966-1980.

I had wanted both these books in college when they came out, in 1977 and 1982 respectively; never could afford them, and by the time I could, they were out of print. I never expected to see a guide from Burness of this size and quality, and in COLOR, no less! And I never would have known it was available, except that I typed in a search for used copies of the 1940-65 guide in Amazon, and this wonderful book came up in the results.

It's worth every penny of its purchase price, and I am happy, happy, happy! Mr. Burness, we're waiting for the 1981-2008 Bible;-)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars car spotters guid, December 16, 2008

By	John P. Janssen "mr.j" (l.i,N.Y.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

not a bad book, but its missing a few cars. don't buy it if you like chevy nova's. some cars are out of order. not mr.burness's best book, i have some of his old ones.