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The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana | 
 enlarge | Author: Jim Hinckley
Publisher: Motorbooks
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $3.25
You Save: $21.70 (87%)
New (19) from $3.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 597991
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 10.6 x 8.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0760319650
Dewey Decimal Number: 629.2220973
EAN: 9780760319659
ASIN: 0760319650
Publication Date: October 6, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: This book is new and in great condition.
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Product Description
While countless books have been devoted to single roadside-culture and car-related subjects, none have addressed in one volume American pop culture's love affair with the automobile. But what is that love affair, if not an expanse of fond memories and compelling kitsch as vast as the nation itself? This smorgasbord offers discriminating readers a tasty A-Z assortment of entries and accompanying images touching upon all the old chestnuts (Route 66, drive-in restaurants, filling stations, et al) as well as some edgier topics to appeal to younger generations interested in the seedier and/or more whimsical sides of roadside America (i.e, Earl Scheib, the Chicago entrepreneur who promised to paint any car for $99, or 1950s juvenile-delinquent hot rod films
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| Customer Reviews:
Great Fun Book February 6, 2008
I loved this book. It is fun for those who like to go done Memory Lane.
more than just cars May 1, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There is something to the fact that too many people today seem to think the purpose of a road trip is to reach the destination, instead of taking the whole ride in as part of the package. This book is full of beautiful and novel places that used to lure travelers to briefly stop and gawk, like gigantic duck- or shoe-shaped diners, bizarre little museums that refuse to advertise what you're paying to see (like the museum to The Thing! which was also frustratingly not revealed in the book). Wonderful little independent food stands--like the one that invented the corn dog--and curio shops that once stretched along Route 66 have now almost all disappeared due to travelers' preference to taking the quicker interstate routes, replaced by giant fast food chains that have nothing to lose by the decrease in traffic.
Great attention is also paid to the evolution of the modern automobile, with sections dedicated to the independent automobile inventors that paraded out design after design up until the 1950s, when the government placed regulation on the industry. The fantastically beautiful Duesenberg (ever wonder where the phrase, "It's a Duesy/doozy?" comes from?) is profiled, as is a variety alternative-powered vehicles, 8-wheeled cars, the Checker cab company, and the Ford Model-T. There's also a short section on the Harley-Davidson company and its founders and "electric bicycles" in general.
Fascinating November 11, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This has to be the ultimate bathroom reader or coffee table book for the trivia buff. Quick, fact filled reads on topics as diverse as Model T Fords, crash test dummies, Route 66, Rock City, Mustangs, GTO's and the evolution of the gas gauge plus fantastic vintage advertisements, colorful pictures equals 315 pages of never put down, water cooler conversation starting fun.
FABULOUS October 11, 2005
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I just received my copy of this book and have found that it far exceeds my expectations. It is not just a sit down and read a bunch of boring history about cars book. It is loaded with short and interesting factoids on all sorts of miscellaneous auto-related subjects. I'm not a huge fan of classic cars but I am a fan of trivia and "useless knowledge" and I am just thoroughly enjoying this book!
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