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During his sixty years as a motoring journalist, Stuart Bladon test drove almost every car on the road. Working for Autocar, and later as a freelance writer, he was granted access to some of the oddest vehicles off the road as well, including the three-wheeled Bond Minicar, in which he was very nearly killed. The best part of any car test, however, was finding out how fast they would go. In 1970, he set what was for a long time Autocar's fastest road test maximum speed, at 172mph. Going back to the days when the only speed limit was the 30mph restriction in built-up areas, each chapter of this book brings a motoring story of travel, testing and adventure. Since a fond aunt began teaching him to drive at the age of 7, Stuart Bladon has enjoyed a lifelong passion for cars. This book recounts the many motors and the colourful escapades of a life spent very near – if not over – the speed limit.
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It was brash and it was loud – the 1980s put paid to the glumness of the '70s and nowhere was that more obvious than in the cars we drove, which took a quantum leap in durability, performance, equipment and style. They had to: Japanese quality and European design were luring away ever more customers. Features such as fuel injection, turbochargers, computer-controlled systems and four-wheel drive became commonplace. This was also the decade that brought us the people-carrier and the off-roader, new classes of car that radically reshaped family transport. Meanwhile, seatbelt-wearing became law, the M25 opened, speed cameras appeared and ram-raiding was the new motoring nemesis. Relive everything car-related in Britain in the 1980s with Giles Chapman.
The United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, is in trouble.America is known as the most powerful nation on earth, economically and militarily. But can she still lay claim to this title? And for how long?The author, Mike Huerta, believes that his beloved nation is sliding down a slippery hole of ruination that it may never be able to crawl out of. With budget deficits, mounting national debt, deteriorating educational system and values, and the sense of ¿entitlement¿ that the majority of the American public seem to favor than earning their own keep, he sees a pattern of devastation that could quite possibly happen if they, as a nation, don¿t start changing their ways. But he proposes ways to combat these societal maladies, and as president, if the people so choose him, he will perform his utmost to bring back America¿s glory as its fearless and incorruptible leader.
Alec Issigonis, the brilliant British designer of the Morris Minor and the Mini, is one of the commanding figures in the history of automobile design and engineering. His ingenious and effective designs had a deep, lasting influence on the evolution of the motor car and on the wider history of industrial design, and he deserves to be ranked with the other giants of the field like Ferdinand Porsche in Germany and Dante Giacosa in Italy. But, until now, Issigonis's career as an engineer and designer, and his strong, single-minded character, have never been the subject of a full-length biography. Jonathan Wood's meticulously researched, penetrating study of this flawed genius of automobile design offers a rounded portrait of his life and work, and places him squarely in the context of his times. Vivid recollections of Issigonis's contemporaries, combined with a critical reassessment of his output, create a balanced view of a remarkable, controversial man. The author also offers a behind-the-scenes impression of the personal and corporate struggles within the declining British car industry, a complex process in which Issigonis played a famous role.
During the 1960s, the automobile finally secured its position as an indispensable component of daily life in Britain. Car ownership more than doubled from approximately one car for every 10 people in 1960 to one car for every 4.8 people by 1970. Consumers no longer asked "Do we need a car?" but "What car shall we have?" This well-illustrated history analyzes how both domestic car manufacturers and importers advertised their products in this growing market, identifying trends and themes. Over 180 advertisement illustrations are included.