Explore the wide open spaces of Arizona with this guide to roads less traveled and awe-inspiring sights less seen.
Backroads of Arizona guides you into the heart of Arizona’s sun-shiny beauty and fascinating history. In this thoroughly updated edition, you’ll find twenty-five driving tours and adventures that take you off the beaten path to stunning landscapes and breathtakingly beautiful vistas. Marvel at the multicolored hues of the Painted Desert and the jaw-dropping majesty of the snowcapped San Francisco Peaks. Wander into a sky-high forest of regal ponderosa pines and quaking aspens near Flagstaff, scan the deep blue waters of Lake Havasu on the western border, and feel dwarfed by the incredible Grand Canyon. With scenic drives in all corners of the state, Backroads of Arizona offers insight into Arizona’s rich history, from the Spanish conquistadors seeking the legendary cities of gold to the Wild West shootout at Tombstone’s OK Corral.
Thanks to the maps and directions to the Grand Canyon State’s unique scenic, historic, and cultural attractions, you can explore prehistoric cliff dwellings, hike to see a mountainside of cacti in bloom, or get your kicks on Route 66. This second edition includes new routes along timeless roads, with fresh images and pithy stories of what can be found along the way. Discover something off the beaten path, and make memories you’ll never forget.
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This highly visual book explores the seldom-told story of how glamour, fashion, design, and styling became the main focus of automotive marketing from the postwar 1940s through the 1970s. With the expansion of the American suburbs after WWII, women suddenly needed cars of their own. By adopting the fashion industry’s yearly model changes, as well as hiring many designers and stylists from the fashion industry, the automobile industry made a direct appeal to the rising sophistication and influence of women. By perfecting the fashion-centric concept of planned obsolescence, it became the dominant economic engine of American postwar prosperity. The dramatic photography, elegant fashion, and use of color and materials in midcentury automotive marketing created a groundswell of demand for new cars. Much of the marketing imagery of the period hasn’t been published since it first came out, and this book features some of the best.
Filled with color photography, entertaining site descriptions and histories, and five unique infographic map illustrations, The Impossible Road Trip is your ultimate look back at America’s most famous—and quirkiest—roadside attractions, past and present.
The great American road trip is back. With its advantages for your health, budget, and the environment, now is the time to plan the road trip you have always dreamed of taking.
Following in the great tradition of the mid-century golden age of car travel, join the new wave of road warriors with a targeted itinerary chosen from the 150 roadside attractions explored in this colorful guide. From famous to quirky and covering all 50 states, author Eric Dregni gives you an unprecedented look at the breadth of roadside attractions in the US, illustrated in part by the photography of architectural critic and photographer John Margolies (1940–2016). Specially commissioned infographic map illustrations capture the spirit of mid-century automobile travel.
Each site depicted is accompanied by a lively and insightful history and color imagery. From autumnal New England to the gothic South, from the homey Midwest to the great expanses of the Desert Southwest, the dizzying heights of the Rocky Mountains, and the breathtaking Pacific Coast, The Impossible Road Trip encompasses it all:
- Neon-shrouded motels
- Mimetic architecture
- Tourist traps
- Roadside sculpture
- And much more
You’ll see sites both famous and esoteric, including the Cardiff Giant in Cooperstown, New York; the five-story Haines Shoe House in York, Pennsylvania; Solomon’s Castle in Florida; the world’s largest fish in Hayward, Wisconsin; one of several Paul Bunyan statues; Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, California; and so many more.
With The Impossible Road Trip in hand, set out to discover the nation’s oft-overlooked nooks and crannies.
- Full track breakdown using the principles taught in the Science of Speed Series.
- A bonus “Corner Close-Up” on the back for extra in-depth analysis of the most difficult and complex section.
- Available as a laminated, double-sided hard copy.
- Full track breakdown using the principles taught in the Science of Speed Series.
- A bonus “Corner Close-Up” on the back for extra in-depth analysis of the most difficult and complex section.
- Available as a laminated, double-sided hard copy.
- Full track breakdown using the principles taught in the Science of Speed Series.
- A bonus “Corner Close-Up” on the back for extra in-depth analysis of the most difficult and complex section.
- Available as a laminated, double-sided hard copy.
Laguna Seca Road Course Track Notes
Full track breakdown using the principles taught in the Science of Speed Series.
- A bonus “Corner Close-Up” on the back for extra in-depth analysis of the most difficult and complex section.
- Available as a laminated, double-sided hard copy.
- Full track breakdown using the principles taught in the Science of Speed Series.
- A bonus “Corner Close-Up” on the back for extra in-depth analysis of the most difficult and complex section.
- Available as a laminated, double-sided hard copy.
A popular feature in Antique Automobile magazine, Steven Rossi’s columns open up the world of old cars, transporting readers to earlier times from the age of horseless carriages through the evolution of cars and car culture. This compilation from a decade’s writings draws on a lifetime of knowledge and experience amassed in the antique auto hobby, the enthusiast community and the automotive industry to explore topics large and small. The selected essays, edited and with photographs provided by award-winning Antique Automobile editor West Peterson, include informative treatments of historical subjects and technical matters, whimsical observations, important brand and model analyses, profiles of compelling personalities and an abundance of fascinating excursions down side roads of the automotive map. For the curious, think of this collection as a crash course in automotive history. For those already immersed in the old car universe, it offers fresh insights and an authoritative perspective on topics of lasting interest.
If you have a hankering for the sand and mud, this thoroughly updated edition of The Four-Wheeler’s Bible is your ultimate resource for overland adventures, both close to home and farther afield.
Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a four-wheeling novice, you will find the information you need to maximize your enjoyment of your next off-road excursion. Author and four-wheeling experts Jim Allen and James Weber begin with a primer on emergency preparedness before combing through all considerations you should take aboard, from trail etiquette to the latest technologies. Allen and Weber explain the concepts of four-wheel-drive systems in easy-to-understand terms and go on to suggest modifications to make off-road rigs more capable, comfortable, and dependable for intended application.
This third edition is completely redesigned and updated to offer explanations of the latest electronic GPS and communications gadgetry, advice and techniques for planning and negotiating overland routes, and updates for new off-road vehicles that will help you get the most from your four-wheeling experience. With you machine up to snuff, you will be ready to hit the trails. Allen and Weber demonstrate the correct way to handle countless common off-road situations. And because everyone makes a mistake eventually, they also show how to get out of a variety of sticky situations. There’s more to the four-wheeling experience than modifying and driving a vehicle, and the authors leave no rock unturned, ensuring that you are equipped to handle nearly any trip, no matter how far into the wilderness you choose to venture.
The Four Wheeler’s Bible is an indispensable piece of gear if you’re planning to hit the trails!
Car photography often evokes the same recycled tropes. Predictably slick, hi-spec images on the front pages of glossy magazines, or huge blow-ups on giant billboards which have one designed aim: to sell a lifestyle. But our relationship with cars is so much more meaningful than these images might suggest. Like the camera, the car has changed the way we explore the world. With cars came road trips, and with road trips came some of the most important photographic documentaries of our time. A car is a vehicle not just for transport but for our hopes, desires and dreams. In Smoke and Mirrors, a selection of world-renowned and up-and-coming photographers come together to pay tribute to the car. From Nick Turpin’s images of ‘donut’ skid marks, Todd Hido’s painterly landscapes taken through wet windscreens and William Green’s shots of sleeping Tokyo taxi drivers, these photographs display cars at their most playful, introspective and meaningful, reminding us that there is more to them than just metal and machinery – for cars are emotionally intertwined with the lives we live.
An English Car Designer Abroad is the humorous and personal account of a life spent working on the design of some of the world’s best known cars. Commencing his career as a designer at Vauxhall Motors, Luton in 1973, Peter Birtwhistle then left the UK in 1977 to take a position abroad, at Audi in Germany, where he lived for the rest of his working life.
From Audi, his career took him to Porsche in Stuttgart, and eventually, in 1988, to the Japanese company Mazda, with whom he would help develop a Design Centre close to Frankfurt, eventually becoming Chief Designer for Mazda Motor Europe. During his career, Birtwhistle was involved in the design of some very significant cars and in his work and travels, crossed the paths of many significant personalities from the car industry.
Car design has changed enormously since the time he commenced his career, and for Birtwhistle it was clear, his story needed to be documented before it was lost in time. Featuring original photographs and illustrations from the author’s own collection, this highly humorous and very personal story creates a fascinating collage of anecdotes and historical facts, not only from the secretive world of car design, but also his private life.
In 1949, the Detroit Region Sports Car Club of America staged a genteel cross-country run for foreign-make autos. They called it the Press on Regardless Rally, an homage to the Royal Air Force fliers of World War II who heeded Winston Churchill’s advice to “never give in.” Contested over the backwoods trails and logging roads of Michigan, the Press on Regardless Rally – or POR, as it was known – became a legendary test of man and machine, aided in its mythology by a cast of star drivers that included Scott Harvey, Gene Henderson, and John Buffum. Through the hearty grassroots efforts of the Detroit Region SCCA, the POR was elevated to an international event in 1970, drawing the biggest names in rally motorsports from around the world. In 1973 and 1974, the POR rocketed to the pinnacle of the sport as the first World Rally Championship round ever held in the U.S. In the years since, the POR has survived the ebb and flow of catastrophe, triumph, and tragedy; enduring as the oldest continually held auto rally in America. This is the complete story of the POR’s first 70 years and its core cadre of Motor City rallyists who have kept pressing on toward a dream – regardless.
Limited Edition of 500 copies SIGNED and numbered
Concept, design, production and development of the road-homologated cars
A dazzling tribute to the KTM X-Bow car – the world’s first production sports car with a full carbon composite monocoque. To fully understand and enjoy this car, it can, and should be appreciated on many different levels: a racing car for the road, and a road car that can excel on the track; its unique composition and aerodynamic qualities; its design and aesthetics. This is a car that was brought to life by the virtually unlimited monetary resources of an industrial giant, steeped in motorsport, who demanded that it be technologically cutting-edge. The car was honed to perfection by arguably the finest racing car engineers in the world, for whom ‘best in class’ was a minimum requirement. It is an objét d’art that can race in anger, or can transport in style. It startles, it fascinates, it wins.
As Mr Toad (of Wind in the Willows fame) would undoubtedly have said, it is ”A Most Unusual Car!” – we are lucky that this most unusual car, the KTM X-BOW, exists in our lifetime.
This book details the design and development, the build process, racing history, and what it’s like to live with and maintain an X-Bow, written by joint owners and enthusiasts, with the full cooperation of the designers and developers.
From Sweden to Gran Canaria, from the Ukraine all the way to Portugal: the Amarok Adventure Guide presents 16 exciting European off-road tracks with varying levels of difficulty
Whether it’s a tunnel inside a mountain in Bulgaria or a desert in the East of Germany: Europe offers exciting off-road tracks for adventurers in many different countries. The Amarok Adventure Guide presents some of the most beautiful landscapes along these routes. A professional team made up of the author, a photographer, a videographer and a professional off-road driver took a trip through 16 European countries. Their vehicle: the new Volkswagen Amarok. The results of this amazing tour can be seen in this book and watched on the internet.
This book provides useful information about the visited locations, excels in technical knowledge about the new Amarok and invites the reader to drive along the paths mentioned in this book. Including geographical coordination of each location as well as tips and tricks for a safe off-road experience, it functions as the ultimate bible for Amarok drivers.
Inspiration and expert advice for planning and driving road trips around the world – including 50 suggested routes
Road Trip: A Practical Manual is aimed at inspiring readers to take a road trip, while providing practical advice to help them to do so. Whether looking at popping over to Europe for a quick circuit, hankering to drive the classic routes of North America, or even aiming to cover a clutch of African countries, there is something for everyone. Importantly, every road trip featured is possible without specialist equipment and, indeed, each and every trip could possibly be completed in a hire car – though for a select few a four-wheel drive hire vehicle would be advisable.
The author offers a wealth of advice from his experience taking road trips around the world. From hiring cars and paperwork, to what to take, driving laws, crossing borders and emergencies, the engaging text aims to give the reader confidence to fulfill his/her dreams.
The second part of the book provides a wide range of route suggestions, based on the author’s own experiences on six continents. Road Trip: A Practical Manual is a fascinating guide, which will, hopefully, inspire readers to turn their independent travel dreams into reality.
In the 1950s and ’60s the British motorcycle industry was at its postwar peak, with its large-capacity high-performance bikes in strong demand all over the world. AJS/Matchless, BSA, Norton, Royal Enfield and Triumph were all making 100mph-plus big twins, with the king of them all, at least into the 1950s, being the mighty1000cc Vincents, while among the ton-up singles were the BSA Gold Star and the Velocette Venom and Thruxton. In this book veteran motorcycle writer Steve Wilson reviews the top-of-the-line bikes of all these manufacturers, first giving an introduction to the motorcycling scene in the period, with a particular look at the emergence of the Rockers, the black-leather too-fast-to-live-too-young-to-die bikers who developed a culture all their own, inspired indirectly by Marlon Brando behaving badly on his Triumph Thunderbird in the banned-in-Britain 1953 movie The Wild One. Then the motorcycle makers are dealt with alphabetically, with their big bikes described in detail and their performance, handling, strengths and weaknesses discussed. In addition to a wide selection of archive photographs, specially commissioned colour photography features examples of the outstanding bikes of the period: AMC/Matchless CSR 650 twins and their Norton Atlas-engined ‘Hybrid’ siblings, BSA A7SS 500, Gold Star singles, AIO Super Rocket and Rocket Gold Star 650 twins, Norton SS 500/600/650 twins, Velocette Venom and Thruxton 500, Royal Enfield Constellation 700 twin, Triumph pre-unit 500 and 650 twins and unit Bonneville 650, and finally the Vincent 1000 vee-twin.
From the star of the YouTube sensation Jason Drives, the senior editor of the acclaimed website Jalopnik, and a producer of Jay Leno’s Garage comes the wittiest and most insightful guide yet to self-driving cars and the road ahead.
Self-driving cars sound fantastical and futuristic and yet they’ll soon be on every street in America. Whether it’s Tesla’s Autopilot, Google’s Waymo, Mercedes’s Distronic, or Uber’s modified Volvos, companies around the world are developing autonomous cars. But why? And what will they mean for the auto industry and humanity at large?
In Robot, Take the Wheel, famed automotive expert Jason Torchinsky gives a colorful account of the development of autonomous vehicles and their likely implications. Torchinsky encourages us to think of self-driving cars as an entirely new machine, something beyond cars as we understand them today. He considers how humans will get along with these robots that will take over our cars’ jobs, what they will look like, what sorts of jobs they may do, what we can expect of them, how they should act, ethically, how we can trick them and have fun with them, and how we can make sure there’s still a place for those of us who love to drive, especially with a manual transmission.
This vibrant volume brims with insider information. It explores what’s ahead and considers what we can do now to shape the automated future.
John Aston
