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 enlarge | Author: Richard Porter
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $4.95
You Save: $10.00 (67%)
New (29) Collectible (1) from $4.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 93236
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 112
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.8
ISBN: 1582346380
Dewey Decimal Number: 629.222
EAN: 9781582346380
ASIN: 1582346380
Publication Date: October 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New - may have a small remainder mark on the edge.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Funny, Although I've Never Even Heard of Most of These Cars November 22, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book does have its funny moments and if you can actually relate to the cars, ie you have or know someone who has owned them then I have no doubt you would be rating this book five stars. The problem though that Porter has created is that unless you live in North America, are wealthy enough to afford BMWs, Jags, Ferraris, Rolls Royces and the like and have also been of driving age since the 70's or 80's then most of these cars, as a reader you really can't relate to at all. Being able to relate to driving the cars is where the satisfaction and majority of humour of this book is.
Even though I'm not old enough or rich enough to know of most of these cars, never having heard of them does not mean I did not enjoy the comments. For example the story accompanying the AMC Gremlin I thought was hilarious.
The only cars I'd actually heard of are VW beetle and Suzuki 4WD and they're still around and quite popular so even though I've never driven one of these their worthiness of crap status would be somewhat questionable in my opinion. I still did enjoy the accompanying storylines on them though. A few others I've also only seen in the movies such as Back to the Future and Wayne's World so although I know what these cars look like I have never seen them being driven on the actual roads. I say these things just to emphasise that I have no idea how accurate the comments on the cars in here actually are, but I will emphasise again that these comments are funny.
Regardless of if you've heard of these cars or not you'll enjoy this book but if you are rich, live in North American and have been driving since the 70's then I think you'll get even a lot more out of Crap Cars than just the laughs that I did.
Quick read that is mildly entertaining August 23, 2006
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
A quick read (less than one hour) that put a smile on my face. Author determined which cars to include based on his styling tastes, lack of performance on the part of the vehicle or size. I passed the book on to my brother; not really necessary to keep it in the library.
Richard Porter is too young and lives too far away... August 7, 2006
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
...to make decent assessments on most cars in the book. I regret having paid the full cover price. It's a collection of humorous pot shots that he'd probably been considering since his teenage days, with little more thought. He's right, that there are many more to choose from, but he clearly does not appreciate the context in which many of these cars were produced, and should have selected others. The V6 Citation was actually very stable, and a huge step for our family from the gas-sucking, underpowered '72 Nova 6 it replaced. I don't recall a brake problem, but then, by the time Mr. Porter was tall enough to drive one, it was a decade old! And he clearly does not understand the Beetle as one might growing up in the '60's or earlier. Personally, I miss the utter simplicity of the '69 VW I drove in college - and my heater worked great - but wouldn't be caught dead in one trying to do 80 MPH on the highway today. He got a few right - the first Hyudai Excel, the K car, the Datsun B-210. I even tried to talk my mom out of an '87 Cimarron V6, but when I later drove it, I was amazed at how "Cadillac" it was. It felt heavy, had a wallowy ride, the cushiest seats, and was "loaded". I doubt the Cavalier ever felt like that. Pintos, too, were no gems, but my wife and I preferred our 12 year old Pinto to a new Suzuki Samuri. A 100 mile test drive was all we needed for the novelty to wear off. We bought a Honda CRX Si instead. Good choice, huh, Richard?
 Well written... though I don't agree with every one of the assessments. July 3, 2006
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a cute little book and provides a light hearted view of a few of the more lemon-y cars. Most of the cars are there for obvious reasons and reading about them is quite amusing and informative.
 Really funny...unless you owned one! April 19, 2006
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Really funny, unless you owned one! I would like to make two exceptions to Porter's list from my personal experience. The Gremlin was not a crap car because of its body style. My 1971 was an economy vehicle, which competed with the Vega and the Pinto, that I purchased for cash. Today, I could not even purchase a crappy neon for cash. The vehicle was crap, however because of the nasty cheap sheet meal that was pinched into an alleged "unibody." When the unibody rots away the door will actually fall off! Then, there was safety! You think the Pinto burst into flames! The large gas tank was located immediately forward of the pitiful excuse for a bumper, a design which could give immediate meaning to the word "barbecue." You don't see any Gremlins on the road anymore. They all went to rust heaven. But, Cheverolet Lumina APV is actually a moderately priced family van. Unlike its sheet metal competitors, the polymer exterior does not rust, which is why GM switched back to sheet metal. At 150,000 miles, mine has given me no maintenance expenses other than tires and brakes and the engine still runs fine with only one tuneup, with an actual MPG of higher than the alleged U.S. government average. Hey, your craps cars are funny. Mine aren't!
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