Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1976-1999 (Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999, 3rd ed)

Rating:
Summary: Wealth of Information
Review: The Standard Catalog of American Cars really sets the
standard to an automotive history book. The information is
overwhelming, and you will find yourself glued to the book
any chance you get.It's also a great book for anyone looking
for a used domestic automobile. It lets you find the right
car, and gives you options that you can look for while
shopping for your car. This is not a book for page flippers.
But it will fill your head with a wealth of information.
Best book ever!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Exhaustive and informative
Review: This book is not for everyone. Flammang and Kowalke have given us not merely a reference book, but a sort of "living history" of the American automobile industry's most challenging era. It's great fun to track the changes in American cars from the North American Vinyl-Backed Road Pigs of the mid-70s through the confusing transitional years of the 80s, on into the rebirth of the American auto industry in the 90s. Reading this book not only shows you how the way cars are built has changed; you also get a sense of how the way cars are sold has changed.

The reason this book is not for everyone is that this is essentially an encyclopedia. There's a section for every American automaker, and within those sections, a section for every model year. Thus you can learn what makes, say, a 1978 Chevy Impala different from the 1979 models. Or you can read about the travails of the Ford Motor Company in the late 70s and see how they dug themselves out of a rut with their products. Flammang and Kowalke have done a good job researching this book and finding telling little factoids to help illustrate where each company was at in a given year.

This book is also a boon to collectors, as it gives fairly complete production numbers. You can learn about ultra-rare body styles, option packages, and the like.

I've only got one quibble: the authors exclude any discussion of "captive imports" (cars produced by foreign manufacturers but sold with American names, like the Dodge Colt and Ford Fiesta). I can understand their rationale, but there are future collectibles among these cars, and it's been a *long* time since the Standard Guide to Imported Cars has been updated. On the whole, though, this is a good book for any hard-core auto enthusiast, and one of the best rainy-day reads I've got.

Rating:
Summary: Exhaustive and informative
Review: This book is not for everyone. Flammang and Kowalke have given us not merely a reference book, but a sort of "living history" of the American automobile industry's most challenging era. It's great fun to track the changes in American cars from the North American Vinyl-Backed Road Pigs of the mid-70s through the confusing transitional years of the 80s, on into the rebirth of the American auto industry in the 90s. Reading this book not only shows you how the way cars are built has changed; you also get a sense of how the way cars are sold has changed.

The reason this book is not for everyone is that this is essentially an encyclopedia. There's a section for every American automaker, and within those sections, a section for every model year. Thus you can learn what makes, say, a 1978 Chevy Impala different from the 1979 models. Or you can read about the travails of the Ford Motor Company in the late 70s and see how they dug themselves out of a rut with their products. Flammang and Kowalke have done a good job researching this book and finding telling little factoids to help illustrate where each company was at in a given year.

This book is also a boon to collectors, as it gives fairly complete production numbers. You can learn about ultra-rare body styles, option packages, and the like.

I've only got one quibble: the authors exclude any discussion of "captive imports" (cars produced by foreign manufacturers but sold with American names, like the Dodge Colt and Ford Fiesta). I can understand their rationale, but there are future collectibles among these cars, and it's been a *long* time since the Standard Guide to Imported Cars has been updated. On the whole, though, this is a good book for any hard-core auto enthusiast, and one of the best rainy-day reads I've got.