Team-BHP - Must-Read Car Books for automotive enthusiasts

I bought this book sometime back and its a worth every rupee that it costed. It covers history of 4x4 and how it has evolved to the current state. Also has sections on which car/suv uses what kind of 4x4. Here is the link

Apollo - India - Promotions

I am contemplating publishing some sections from the book here, would it lead to copyright violation? Any comments?

I have a few books, namely:

The Ultimate History of Ferrari
The Ultimate History of Mercedes Benz
The Ultimate History of BMW
The Ultimate History of Porsche
The Ultimate History of Fast Cars

Just today I received a copy of this: Apollo - India - Promotions

It's the Apollo Driving off the Map! Based on Off Roading with detailed data on the past and present of Off-Roading.

I would love to own this one: Pagani, the Story of a Dream - Books It's the First Coffee Table Book by Pagani. This basic edition cost EUR 79, but There is an edition which costs EUR 189 that has been personally signed The Man: Horacio Pagani himself and is limited to 800 copies. Would love to get hold of one of these.

Few books which have been discussed on our forums are
'The Maharaja and their Magnificent Motor Cars'. Link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...otor-cars.html

Scorpio Coffee Table Book. Link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ndra-corp.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_trooper (Post 2480826)

I dont know about other Indian automotive manufacturers, but there is a Royal Enfield Coffee Table book available.

Wow that's great! Would love to get hold of one. Let me try! Thanks for the find!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806 (Post 2481425)

I agree with you mayank! The book is totally worth it. Good information in there. I would not advice you to publish sections as it would lead to copyright violation, unless obviously you have got the permission to post them here!

What other books do you have?

Been downloading some great books on Kindle lately. Here's the pick of the lot for petrol-heads:

Once Upon a Car: The Fall and Resurrection of America's Big Three Auto Makers. Mindblowing account of all that happened behind the scenes with GM (particularly Wagoner), Ford (particularly Mulally) and Chrsyler in 2005+. How the liquidity crunch nearly wiped GM out and the options they considered. If you have even a passing interest in the car industry, this book is a must-read.

Car Guys versus Bean Counters (Bob Lutz) is apparently another good book. I read the first two chapters and it seems interesting. But will reserve final verdict for when I complete it.

Another good read if you are interested in F1 is -

Burning Rubber: The Extraordinary Story of Formula One
Author: Charles Jennings

I just sometimes got lost in the Author's British humor and some parts in the book are way too full of statistics but a good read on the whole.

Please avoid Shift (Nissan).

I'm a huge fan of Carlos Ghosn and bought the book with high expectations; well, it's hardly a book for a petrolhead (unlike the books I've listed earlier). I was yawning through most of it. Sure, it's got some solid management stuff, but there are books that do it better.

For petrolheads looking at some solid insider car stuff, it's a thumbs down. Nowhere as captivating as Iacocca's biography (for instance).

Want to read a car book that'll blow your mind? One that you just can't keep down?

I highly recommend American Wheels, Chinese Roads by Michael Dunne. It's about GM's entry into the Chinese market and is of particular interest to us because:

1. China is our neighbour

2. There are some similarities between India & China

Dunne has superb narrative skills, sometimes informal (but in a welcome way). A deeply engrossing read.

One book I would recommend is Wheels by Arthur hailey. Although its fiction but it gives you an excellent insight into how a car gets assembled and the million other issues that a car maker faces. Probably one can understand the chaos that happened in MSIL last year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 2671141)

I read them both. The first one is a good read. The second one by Bob Lutz is partially candid and partially pompous. He does spill a lot of beans on GM though, in his straight talking manner in the book. He speaks very less about his days in BMW, Chrysler and Ford. Overall, teatime reading at best.

I would highly recommend "My Mercedes is not for sale: From Amsterdam to Ouagadougou...An Auto-Misadventure Across the Sahara".

Just about 200 odd pages, and hard to keep down once you twist the ignition key on this book. Full marks to the peppy spirited author for presenting this dangerous and twisted travelogue as a hilarious and entertaining story.