The Art of Cars

Book Description

In the tradition of the smash hits Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles comes the newest film from Pixar Animation Studios, Cars, the story of a race car who learns that it's not all about the fast lane. (In fact, life begins at the off-ramp.) Offering an insider's view into the artistic development of Cars, this gorgeously illustrated book celebrates the whimsical yet painstaking research that fueled Pixar's directors, production designers, and artists. Fascinating storyboards, full-color pastels, on-the-road snapshots, and hundreds of character sketches reveal the origins of Pixar's charming and clever automobile-based world. Gleaned from the team's trips to racetracks and down the famed Route 66, The Art of Cars is as colorful as its memorable story and characters, making this book the only movie tie-in for adults a spirited ride down the road of a masterful animated feature film.

Customer Reviews:

must have item.......2007-07-20

I purchased this art of book recently and found it one of the best art of books I now own. The illustrations are very helpful to my concept art assignments. Great reading

Wonderful art book for a great movie........2007-02-12

Pixar's most recent animation is fully revealed in this wonderful art book. All the research, ideas, and concepts are printed gorgeously in this book. You see how the ideas are captured on paper to guide the production teams to make one of the best animation in years. Conceptual ideas of characters from the beginning to the final rendered CGI model on screen are all there. The landscape is captured in with colorful pastel paintings. Even all the details from neon signs to the Southwest vegetation are drawn out for you to see. Everything in the book is traditional artwork techniques from pastels, blue pencil, to gray scale markers. Only a few pages have any 3D images for you to see, but in an age where everything is computerized... its really nice to see that old fashioned techniques being used.

Its a quality book I highly recommend for the Pixar fan, 3D animation enthusiast, and art students.

AWESOME BOOK.......2007-01-26

I have to say, I love this series of books. Seeing the concept drawings for the movie is wonderful and how they got there inspiration for what eventually became the charming and funny movie CARS.

Must Have.......2007-01-26

This is a must have for the "Cars" collector. It is an easy read, but the information provided by Mike Wallis was wonderful to have. We're extremely excited to add this book to our expanding "Cars" collection.

The Art of Cars.......2007-01-16

Very Nice Book! A Lot of information and a lot to Read!

Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices: How to Write, Direct, Shoot, Edit, and Produce a Digital Video Feature for LessThan $3,000

Average customer rating:

Awesome book!
Good intro to those seeking to make film at "used car" price
A digital filmmaking must!!!
Yuck
Don't Be Afraid

Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices: How to Write, Direct, Shoot, Edit, and Produce a Digital Video Feature for LessThan $3,000
Rick Schmidt
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142004359
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Book Description

For years, award-winning independent filmmaker Rick Schmidt has been teaching aspiring writers, directors, and producers how to make “no-budget” films, both in workshops and in his classic guide, Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices. Now Schmidt shows how it is easier—and cheaper—than ever to make an innovative, high quality work, thanks to digital video. Filled with the latest information on equipment and software, ideas for experimenting with new techniques, and advice based on Schmidt's own experiences, Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices offers a step-by-step tour through the making of a feature- length movie using the newest and ever-changing DV technology. Instructive and inspiring, this one-of-a-kind book is essential for filmmakers with lots of ideas but little money.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome book!.......2007-09-23

Do yourself a favor and read it if you are serious about no only making a movie/video but having people sit through and enjoy your work.

Good intro to those seeking to make film at "used car" price.......2007-08-03

This book is a good intro to those seeking to make a DV film at a "used car" price. It has a chapter on everything from planning, shooting and marketing plus some of the author's experiences in each. The bad aspect of the book is that each section is very short. The chapters only basically touch on subjects. In addition, the movie is weak in the area of planning non-documentaries (i.e., very litte discussion of script - author's advice is just go out and shoot). In addition, the book is geared to the cheapest production values. For example, he spends a lot of time discussing the use of a TRV10 (a digital 8 camera!!) and the $60.00 on camera amateur mike that can be purchased for it. Little discussion is given of using even a slightly more advanced camera such as a Canon XL-1. If you are going to spend a few weeks of your life on a project does it not make sense to spend another grand and use decent equipment?

Despite these weaknesses book gives good (albiet very rudimentary) intro to most phases to indie filmaking. For somebody starting out fine. For someone who is beyond the beginner level the book will not provide much of use.

A digital filmmaking must!!!.......2006-01-18

Don't judge this book on the typing errors (they are not noticeable anyway), but on the content. Rick has been very successful in independent film, but is a much better teacher than a filmmaker. As a filmmaker myself, this book along with Rick's original one on feature filmmaking, has inspired and taught me more than any other book on the subject. In the new era of digital and HD filmmaking, this book will breif you on everything you need to know. Great advice lines the pages and motivation to make a movie is the least you'll take away from reading even just a chapter. Buy this book because even if you breifly thought about making a movie then Rick can get you started.

Yuck.......2006-01-04

Dont buy this, its just his own personal experiences of making horrible sounding DV film. He gives bad advice, and sugguests not using a script. As said before, look at who is giving you advice before you take it. If you really want this book buy a used copy.

Don't Be Afraid.......2005-06-05

Ya ever think - I'd like to make a movie - but then stopped right there 'cause the reality (so you think) is that putting something like that together is just too hard? Pick up Extreme DV, ya goof. It doesn't have to be that difficult. You could get your cinematic vision in the can without the unpleasantness of ulcers and spousal abandonment. Take a look. And don't be afraid.

The American Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-in Restaurant in American Car Culture

Average customer rating:

Only Grade A Beef
lot's of great color pictures

The American Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-in Restaurant in American Car Culture
Michael Karl Witzel
Manufacturer: Motorbooks International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0879389192

Customer Reviews:

Only Grade A Beef.......2002-03-21

Unlike many coffee table books on pop culture phenomena, The American Drive-in Restaurant supplements its generous use of photos with material from regional archives and 1950s restaurant trade industry journals, resulting in a pop history with a strong seasoning of well-researched facts. Interviews with former carhops also provide an interesting slice of life effect.

Witzel's copywriting background intrudes most in the brief portraits of major drive-in chains, which read like corporate marketing pieces. The serious researcher needs to handle this book with care: not only are there numerous typesetting errors (including mislabeled dates and places), but some corporate biography facts don't match those presented by the same corporations' official Web sites (though it wouldn't be surprising if the corporations were the ones who had it wrong).

All in all, a good read packed with interesting material.

lot's of great color pictures.......1999-07-03

I have several of his diner and drive-in books. If you are a fan of diners, drive-in eateries and burgers and shakes; you will not be dissapointed. There are many, many beautiful color pictures.

A Nation on Wheels: The Automobile Culture in America Since 1945 (Wadsworth Books on America Since 1945)

Average customer rating:

A Nation on Wheels

A Nation on Wheels: The Automobile Culture in America Since 1945 (Wadsworth Books on America Since 1945)
Mark S. Foster
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 015507542X

Book Description

This brief text examines the central role of the automobile in American life in the late twentieth-century. Synthesizing and discussing the most insightful monographs written about the automobile, Mark Foster provides students with an enlightening history of one of America's most recognizable contributions to industrialized society. This volume is part of the AMERICA SINCE 1945 series--a collection of brief texts that seek to define the ways in which the United States has changed in the last 50 years.

Customer Reviews:

A Nation on Wheels.......2003-10-30

Mark S. Foster's A Nation on Wheels describes the rise of automobile culture in America. The first chapter sets the stage, giving background as to why society was ready for the introduction of the automobile. Foster gives a rounded and interesting account of the history of the automobile and its impact on American culture, but fails to give any insight as to the solution of the problems created by the automobile. He also gives important statistics on the effect of the automobile on the US economy. Foster also showed how the automobile created the market for huge industries today such as motels and fast food. As well as the automobiles influence on the trend towards suburban lifestyle and it's effect on the economy.

High Performance: The Culture and Technology of Drag Racing, 1950-1990 (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)

Average customer rating:

A Must Have for Drag Racing Fans
HIGH PERFORMANCE the culture and technology of drag racing!!
A "Must-Read" For Anyone Seriously Interested In Drag Racing
High Performance: An Insider's Look
Invaluable

High Performance: The Culture and Technology of Drag Racing, 1950-1990 (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)
Robert C. Post
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801854644

Book Description

For those who love high drama and high-powered machinery, there is nothing to top big-time drag racing. High Performance is a dramatic, firsthand history of this daring sport, from the earliest "legal" drags run on rural airfields to the spectacular--and sometimes tragic--careers of drag racing's boldest innovators. Post, a former drag racer himself, has interviewed most of drag racing's legends and superstarssuch as "Pappy" Hart, who opened the first commercial strip in Santa Ana, California; Florida's "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, the first person to define himself as a professional drag racer; and Shirley Muldowney, who was nearly killed in a 250-MPH crash and returned to the cockpit two years later with the simple explanation, "It's what I do."

Post looks at all aspects of drag racing: the sport, the business, the means of personal affirmation. But most of all he explores it as an example of technological enthusiasm, tracking the innovations that permitted racers to disprove on pavement the "laws of physics" that experts had laid out on paper.

"By writing about the combination of talent and technology that make drag racing the most exciting sport in the world, Bob Post has finally given us the credit and credibility we deserve. This book has been a long time coming."--Shirley Muldowney

"All the roar and smell of rubber that one finds at drag races is present in this comprehensive study of the sport."--Ray Browne, Journal of Popular Culture

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have for Drag Racing Fans.......2001-10-27

This book is, plain and simple, the best book on what drag racing is all about. The history and facts are first rate. I learned more about the sport from this one book than all others I have read combined. This would be a fantastic documentary for TV.

HIGH PERFORMANCE the culture and technology of drag racing!!.......2001-04-22

as a lover of drag racing and a drag racer myself,i have to say this is THE MOST COMPLETE BOOK on the subject of drag racing i have ever read.it covers all aspects of the sport from the beginning to 1990 and in every detail.if you are a lover of the sport,a drag racer or even if you know nothing about the sport this book will give you new insight,new feelings and you WILL learn a new appreciation of the sport..

A "Must-Read" For Anyone Seriously Interested In Drag Racing.......2000-07-01

This is by far the best book on drag racing I have ever come across. My first season was 1961 at the track of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and to varying degrees I have followed the sport ever since.

This book has an incredible amount of detail on who did what, and includes many important historical events, and other oddities that have happened in the forty years covered. He even includes one of the weirdest accidents I ever saw, which was the time Paula Murphy's rocket car had a stuck throttle, and sent her off the end of the track at Sears Point Raceway, and literally over the rolling hills of Sonoma County at well over 200 mph, like a real-life Whiley Cayote.

But even more to his credit the author attempts to get at the heart of drag racing, what drives the participants. And he writes with a fine balance of scholarly objectivity and insider's appreciation. A very nice piece of work and a "must-read" for anyone seriously interested in how drag racing got to be what it is today.

Richard Fay

High Performance: An Insider's Look.......2000-04-13

The book HIGH PERFORMANCE allowed us a view into the formative and early years of our sport, complete with the games, politics and personality clashes that were in existence. There were a lot of politics by the sanctioning groups who have come and gone over the years(UDRA,AHRA,PRO), as well as those who continue with us (NHRA, IHRA). The fuel ban years are covered, the promoters clashes with the sanctioning groups were covered, and the evolution of the sport is pretty well documented with accuracy. Several people I have spoken to who were running in these early days have confirmed a lot of this books content. This book removes the lustre from the logo of the sanctioning bodies, instead exposing ulterior motives within their organization for all to see.

I think the book is incredibly accurate and deserves high marks for bringing the facts out, in a non-judgemental way, for the fans to absorb.

Invaluable.......1997-12-01

Robert Post has given us an invaluable book. This is a strong claim, for Post's book is a narrative history of drag racing. And, while it is a very well done history, how can it possibly be "invaluable" when its subject matter is essentially useless? Now there's a strong claim. Let me hasten to establish my appreciation for what drag racers do. At the end of the 1997 racing season, the very best racers were getting to the end of their quarter mile race track -- from a standing start -- in less than a blink over 4.5 seconds. Perhaps even more astounding, the very fastest were going more than 320 miles an hour -- once more, from a standing start -- when they got there. This is truly amazing, but I am regularly struck dumb when asked a very simple question -- what's the point? Name almost any other major form of auto sport and I'll give you an answer. In NASCAR it's obvious. Even though those aren't at all stock cars anymore, a lot can still be learned by running flat out for 500 miles on production-based components, and that can be used to improve even the family car. Furthermore, that kind of abuse is perfect for testing tire technology. Even failing this, there's the old fallback, "win on Sunday, sell on Monday". But what do we learn from -- or sell from -- the top-notch dragsters? These are all completely purpose built vehicles, using all custom designed parts, performing a completely atypical activity and resembling nothing that is at all available on the showroom floor. In short, drag racing is the mountain climbing of motorsports. There is no point to it except to do it, and once you've decided to do it, you might as well do it as well as the technology -- and your money -- will allow. Recognizing the uselessness of the activity, however, is not to denigrate this very fine book. Anyone with an interest in the evolution of technology, automotive history, or motorsports will be fascinated, as should just about anyone who grew up during the time Post covers. Post writes that the first officially organized drag race happened on the streets in Goleta -- near Santa Barbara, California -- in 1949, although he recognizes that that same strip of road had been used for "unofficial" races for years before that. He uses that race as his starting point, and, in a clear, engaging writing style, supported my quite pertinent quotes from racers and many, many wonderful pictures, tells the story of the next 40 plus years in the development of this pursuit. Post is not a rah-rah boy, at least not for modern drag racing. This book is clearly a labor of love, but of love for a bygone era. While he appreciates and applauds the remarkable performance gains since the beginning -- those early cars took nearly 11 seconds to cover the quarter mile, hitting about 150 miles an hour -- he believes that the technical strides that account for those gains have changed the sport forever. It simply costs too much to go this fast. Further, going this fast fosters too much me-tooism. There is usually only one sure way to build a car to go this fast, so everybody essentially builds the same car. For these reasons, Post sees both the little guy, shade-tree mechanic and the spirit of innovation frozen out of bigtime drag racing. And since these are the backbone of what we think of as the hot-rod, drag racing culture, this is apprehensible. Post, then, seems to yearn for a time of more innocence. A time, say, 25 or 30 years ago. It is this that makes this book so invaluable. It will be invaluable to anyone who -- like me -- grew up not only during the time Post relishes, but also at the places, and cheering for, sometimes, if you were lucky, helping the people that he writes about. I started going to the drags before I had either a car or the money to get into the track. I must of been about twelve when I first rode my bike up the long hill to the Pomona fairgrounds and clung to the fence along the road, peering through the holes at what was going on. I was in love. My folks didn't have a lot of money, but I was lucky. My birthday almost perfectly coincided with Winternationals weekend! I had a standing request for a birthday present, and my parents never failed me. I always had my Winternationals ticket. Then I got a car, and enough money to hit all the local strips. Fontana. Lions. Irwindale. Orange County. Man-o-man. I took tons of pictures, but through the carelessness of youth and the normal attrition of many moves, all have been lost. Post's many pictures at least partially makes up for that. More important than the pictures, however, are the memories. The many intervening years have taken quite a toll on mine, at least. Post tells his story so clearly, and with such detail, that it can cause the fog to lift. You will be reading about a match race with Stone, Woods and Cook against Big John Mazmanian and suddenly remember that you were at that race, and remember it as if it had been run last weekend. Unfortunately, Post pulls no punches, and you will also remember that you were there when Lefty Mudersbach died, after his parachute failed. This is a very good book, but I have one minor quibble. Post keeps his focus firmly on the top rank of racers. This is understandable, since what he wants to teach us is what it took to get from going 150 mph in 11 seconds to going over 300 mph in far less than 5 seconds. But if he would let his gaze drift down a level or two, he may find that the little guy is still there and still innovating. Most often, this happens outside the formal, second-tier, "sportsman", categories of the larger sanctioning bodies, where costs are still quite prohibitive. But at places like the increasingly popular muscle car or nostalgia meets, a racer with tools and time can still run a unique and competitive car for a few thousand dollars and a lot of work. He'll only be going about 150 mph in about 11 seconds. He'll be, in other words, just about where we were in the beginning. Perhaps if Post would give us a history of this static drag racing he wouldn't yearn for the old days, for in many ways the old days of drag racing are still here.

Classic Muscle Car Advertising: The Art of Selling Horsepower

Average customer rating:

A cool book, but...
Nostalgia Trip

Classic Muscle Car Advertising: The Art of Selling Horsepower
Mitch Frumkin
Manufacturer: Krause Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0873493362

Book Description

Ride along during a historical cruise of muscle car advertising from the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Near full size ads paint the history of thundering muscle cars from three tumultuous decades. This valuable reference depicts some of the last remnants of promotional print material containing hard-to-find factory facts and images on muscle car models.

More than 160 ads have been restored to their original, vibrant color.

Muscle cars from American Motors, Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, General Motors, Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, and Pontiac are included. Covers popular models such as Javelins, Gremlins, Barracudas, Belvederes, Road Runners, Chargers, Camaros, Corvettes, Novas, and GTOs.

• Compilation of near-full-size, full-color muscle car ads from the '50s, '60s, and '70s
• Some ads are the last remnants of promotional print material
• Contains hard-to-find factory facts and vibrant muscle car images

Customer Reviews:

A cool book, but..........2006-12-09

I have Mitch Frumkin's first two books, and I must admit this one is better, picture wise. His first two contained just b&w photos and not much text. This book is wall to wall color, which really brings the ads to life; some ads are even reproduced in their original size. Very cool - A+ on that account. However, this book contains much more text, which should have been a nice compliment to the ads, but unfortunately, there are a number of errors. Yes, I realize that one person cannot possibly know every little detail, and we are constantly finding out new facts about muscle cars, but if you have the ads in front of you, and hopefully the magazines they came out of, you should know the correct years of the cars and the dates the ads ran. In other words, model year 1971 cars were not advertised in late 1969.

Also, I feel a number of historic ads were left out in this publication that should have been included. For example, there were several ads that were pulled by the manufacturers almost immediately after they ran, because they were considered too contraversial. None of these are here. Maybe Mitch wanted to offer the public some fresh material. The problem here is, his first two books are out of print. Quality used copies are going for good money and are becoming hard to find.

Aside from those two nick-picky points, overall, it is a cool book. Would make a great gift. Buy a really nice used copy, you won't be disappointed.

Nostalgia Trip.......2005-03-05

I was impressed by Muscle Car Mania and Son of Muscle Car Mania but Mitch came up trumps this time as we benefit from colour print - the best way to see the psycadelic Plymouth ads of the 60's. If you like muscle cars buy this book.

Cool Cars, High Art: The Rise of Kustom Kulture

Average customer rating:

Good book with less photos than you might expect
Kulture Kids
Street Rodder Hall of Fame Pick
Blue Collar Art on Parnassus

Cool Cars, High Art: The Rise of Kustom Kulture
John Dewitt
Manufacturer: University Press of Mississippi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1578064031

Customer Reviews:

Good book with less photos than you might expect.......2007-02-28

I really like this book, although I would like to see a lot more photos of cars in a book that focuses on the aesthetic qualities of custom cars. The author successfully argues that kustoms are an art form and then proceeds to analyze various styles of custom cars in relationship to various styles of high art. Good stuff! As for the photos, the most refreshing thing about them is that they are not the same dozen famous kustoms that you've already seen in every other book about custom cars.

Kulture Kids.......2006-03-06

An exhaustive (and exhausting) cross between a fan-rave and a dissertation examining the history and pop-ological intricacies of the brief but very influential rod-and-custom period in America.

Although it is chock full of details and insights into the subject one wonders who exactly it was written for. It often seems much too highbrow and academic for the average kid or gear-head, and I'm sure most academes wouldn't be seen reading anything with so many "purdy pichures". You're left with the impression that it in fact began as a scholarly defense (always check who the publisher is) which, once it appeared to have legs, was tricked out with some chrome and kandy kolors to help find it's way onto American coffee tables.

Still it is well worth having to glean ( for practiced speed readers ) ever more minutia about an era that always spawns endless nostalgia for fans, and eventually, a true sociological and anthropological exegesis for 22 century rustmites.

Street Rodder Hall of Fame Pick.......2002-04-27

Just want to let everybody know that Jerry Weesner of Streetrodder (June 2002) picked Cool Cars, High Art as a Hall of Fame selection with only three other books on the art of customizing.

Blue Collar Art on Parnassus.......2002-04-24

This handsome book is an unusual treatment of its subject for sure. There is a bevy of color photographs to satisfy the aficionado--and to make it an ideal gift for any car-crazy friend. But what I find most striking is the author¹s truly unique take on the car as an art object. Obviously comfortable with the demands of current theoretical discourse, he seems purposefully to prove that the obscurantism that bedevils so much academic prose today is merely self-indulgent. He has helped me grasp much more than just the beauty of the customized car. Readers (and especially teachers in a number of disciplines) will appreciate Prof. DeWitt¹s cunning explications of a Williams poem, a Picasso collage, a Futurist sculpture, and a surprising number of movies and TV shows to support his insights into our car culture.

The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana

Average customer rating:

more than just cars
Fascinating
FABULOUS

The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana
Jim Hinckley
Manufacturer: Motorbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0760319650

Book Description

For readers who love cars and the open road, heres the ultimate fun armchair compendium to automotive Americana. Illustrated with hundreds of photos, period ads, postcards, gas-station giveaways, and more, this whimsical collection of nearly 150 roadside icons features all the old chestnuts, like drive-in restaurants, service stations, Route 66, and tail fins, as well as off-beat and less obvious sides of roadside America, like the Weinermobile, the breathalyzer, and even Earl Scheib, who built an empire based on $99 paint jobs. Written by Route 66 denizens and veteran Americana authors Jim Hinckley and Jon Robinson.

Customer Reviews:

more than just cars.......2007-05-01

There is something to the fact that too many people today seem to think the purpose of a road trip is to reach the destination, instead of taking the whole ride in as part of the package. This book is full of beautiful and novel places that used to lure travelers to briefly stop and gawk, like gigantic duck- or shoe-shaped diners, bizarre little museums that refuse to advertise what you're paying to see (like the museum to The Thing! which was also frustratingly not revealed in the book). Wonderful little independent food stands--like the one that invented the corn dog--and curio shops that once stretched along Route 66 have now almost all disappeared due to travelers' preference to taking the quicker interstate routes, replaced by giant fast food chains that have nothing to lose by the decrease in traffic.

Great attention is also paid to the evolution of the modern automobile, with sections dedicated to the independent automobile inventors that paraded out design after design up until the 1950s, when the government placed regulation on the industry. The fantastically beautiful Duesenberg (ever wonder where the phrase, "It's a Duesy/doozy?" comes from?) is profiled, as is a variety alternative-powered vehicles, 8-wheeled cars, the Checker cab company, and the Ford Model-T. There's also a short section on the Harley-Davidson company and its founders and "electric bicycles" in general.

Fascinating.......2005-11-11

This has to be the ultimate bathroom reader or coffee table book for the trivia buff. Quick, fact filled reads on topics as diverse as Model T Fords, crash test dummies, Route 66, Rock City, Mustangs, GTO's and the evolution of the gas gauge plus fantastic vintage advertisements, colorful pictures equals 315 pages of never put down, water cooler conversation starting fun.

FABULOUS .......2005-10-11

I just received my copy of this book and have found that it far exceeds my expectations. It is not just a sit down and read a bunch of boring history about cars book. It is loaded with short and interesting factoids on all sorts of miscellaneous auto-related subjects. I'm not a huge fan of classic cars but I am a fan of trivia and "useless knowledge" and I am just thoroughly enjoying this book!

Customized: Art Inspired by Hot Rods, Low Riders, and American Car Culture

Average customer rating:

Customized: Art Inspired by Hot Rods, Low Riders, and American Car Culture
C. Brenda Jo , and Chavoya Bright
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B0006GRGF0

Book Description

Sleek and slick and fast, hot rods with their souped-up engines and coolly restyled chassis have fired the imaginations of the youth who customize and drive them-and the artists who glorify them. Fantastically painted cars, as well as photographs and art works in other mediums inspired by America's love affair with custom cars, are the subject of this exciting new book, created to accompany an exhibition at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art.

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Von Dutch, Robert Williams, Richard Prince, and Rubn Ortiz Torres are among the contemporary artists who embrace hot rods not just as a means of transportation, but also as shrines to a way of life. Challenging the stereotype that American car culture is the exclusive domain of white males, curator Nora Donnelly highlights the work of women artists Sylvie Fleury and Fiona Banner and the predominantly Latino low riders. With its fabulous images and lively design, here is a book with all the sexy panache of its subject.

BRENDA JO BRIGHT is a professor of anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. C. ONDINE CHAVOYA is a Tufts University professor of critical studies at Boston's School of the Museum of Fine Arts. NORA DONNELLY is curator of this exhibition and is assistant curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. ROYAL FORD is an automotive journalist at the Boston Globe. PAT GANAHL is editor of Hot Rodder's Journal. LEAH KERR is a published author. DALE PECK is a critically acclaimed novelist. RUBN ORTIZ TORRES is a visual artist.

Book Description

The only anthology of its kind, this collection brings together classic and recent essays by thirteen leading geographers exploring American popular culture. The essays examine music, food, sports, politics, architecture, clothing, and religion within the context of five themes of cultural geography: region, diffusions, ecology, integration, and landscape. A list of suggested readings follows each section. Visit our website for sample chapters!

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