This is one of those large, heavy, hard to handle "coffee table" books.  It is 348 pages deep with good descriptions and beautiful color photographs.  The double page photos seem to jump off the page, they are so vivid.  Within the book, occasional wording strikes the reader as unusual, but perhaps, appropriate.  On page 328, the author describes the fitment of the rear window to the 1986 Monte Carlo.

    The book is easy to read, chronologically presented with great photos of details, such as the engines, the script on the car body, head/tail lights, interiors and other components that showcase the power and the beauty of these cars.  The inside of the front and back cover spread over two pages (the back of the cover and the facing inside page and the reverse on the back, are interesting.  It is a graphic of the twin skunk stripes on the hood of a super sport, beginning at the air vent.)

    The index is set by MODELS and their production year, followed ENGINES and their years and ending with OTHER.  The OTHER section includes names involved with the development of the Super Sport cars, performance and a very few selected organizations.  The back cover carries the reader from the 1957 prototype through muscle car history to the V-8 powered Super Sports of the present.  It was disappointing that the author did not credit the owners of the cars that were featured in the photos.

    Of special interest to our AACA members are pages 80-89 that feature AACA members Mark and Glenda Linder's 1965 Impala SS.  Pages 318-321 features the 1970 Monte Carlo SS 454 of AACA members Jim and Shelly Schneider.

    The above review is by Fran Shore, but continue to read what someone who really understands these cars has to say about the book:

        "I enjoyed this book and especially thought the photos had such clarity that the details were easy to appreciate.  This presented a great accuracy to the cars described and photographed.  There was a lack of information on engine specifications throughout the years.  There was only one page per car that was dedicated to the "C.O.P.O." (Central Office Production Order).  The best part of the book was the outstanding close-ups of the under-hood, tire and wheel area photos.  I would want to own this book if it had more detailed engine specifications.  But it is a good book.  It is a good conversation piece with its outstanding pictures and backgrounds."  - Bob Prestianne, AACA member and one who enjoys high performance vehicles.

                                                   Reviewed by Fran Shore

 

The next book reviews are fiction books with antique cars written into the stories.

 

    This is a typical Clive Cussler authored story about his Dirk Pitt hero and all of the adventures the Dirk experiences.  Cussler interweaves something about antique cars into all of his Dirk Pitt adventure tales.  This story, INCA GOLD, has one of his cars featured more frequently than some of his other stories.  Cussler is a collector of vintage vehicles and even some aircraft and Dirk Pitt is a collector of the same vehicles and memorabilia of the past.  The cars are classic in type and you can feel Cussler's knowledge and enjoyment of his collection as he places the vehicles into his writing.  This story features Dirk driving and using his 1936 Pierce-Arrow (berline - a sedan body with a divider window) and hooked to it is a 1936 Pierce-Arrow Travelodge house trailer.  Both are painted "a gleaming dark blue" according to the storyline.

    Earlier in the book, Cussler mentions that Dirk Pitt lives in a remodeled old metal aircraft hanger on the "far end of Washington's International Airport".  Some of the cars stored in Pitt's hanger/home are: "a 1953 Allard J2X sports car, 1932 Stutz Towncar, a French Avoins-Voisin sedan, a huge 1951 Daimler convertible.  The Daimler was the newest car in his over thirty vehicle collection.  He also had an early Ford Tri-motor aircraft, a World War II Messerschmitt ME 262 Jet Fighter, a Pullman railroad car and the strangest item of all was an old Victorian claw-footed bathtub with an outboard motor clamped to it."

    Anyone who enjoys reading these adventure stories and is also an antique car person can get a bit of the best of both worlds with the stories by Clive Cussler.

    AACA members who attended the National and Grand National Meets in Denver, CO in 2005 had the opportunity to visit Cussler's museum.

 

 

 

DANGEROUS CURVES

by Judith Skillings

    There are three books in this set: Dangerous Curves, Driven to Murder and Dead End.  The author, Judith Skillings, was the featured speaker at the 2008 First Ladies Breakfast at the AACA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.  She was a pleasure to hear and it was obvious that she knew about cars and especially, antique cars.  These two pieces of her writing show the interest and understanding of the author and how she understands the joys of any antique car "motorhead" person reading these books.

    "Rebecca opened the bonnet and pointed to the cracked hoses and corroded fittings."  The discussion followed that the "entire brake system" was bad.  "Master cylinders, servo, lines, hoses.  The car hasn't been serviced lately."

    Skillings also describes driving techniques when speeding and problems that arise are correctly detailed.  She uses a term that is most interesting - it is "eversensor".  It is described as a mechanic's term for "ever since you serviced my car---this has been happening to it".  It is evident that the author can give good descriptions of car problems, causes, effects and how to repair them.

    Skillings knows the mechanics and the authentic materials necessary for many car marques, particularly British, from MGs to Rolls-Royce and even an encompassing knowledge of antique racing machines.

                                review by Fran Shore