Classic Car

Starred review from September 15, 2016
Defining what is meant by classic car is a subjective exercise, to be sure, but the editor-in-chief of this big, bold, beautiful booka splendid addition to any public library automotive collectionoffers this, Cars made in the period after World War II until the beginning of the 1990s. But no one should enter these oversize, colorful, kinetic pages with a nitpicky attitude about the criteria, because these dramatic photographs will engage the eye of anyone interested in cars, regardless of how one defines classic. Beginning with introductory words about auto clubs and the restoration process for older cars, the book moves steadily, with knowledge and poise, through the 1940s to and through the 1980s, spotlighting exemplary makes and models, each given a brief textual profile and a crisp, clean, side-view photograph. Further, approximately a dozen more detailed explorations, rendered in two-to-four-page spreads, focus on particularly interesting makes and on individual automotive designers whose careers had significant impact. And this lovely survey is to be applauded, also, for its conscientious inclusion of European makes and models. Obviously, this is a book to savor, to be pored over time and again.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)