Chapman, Giles – The Bell Bookshop

Three Million Miles in a Volvo and Other Curious Car Stories

Emma — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

‘An intriguing series of tales about love affairs with cars which, like human relationships, can go badly wrong.’ – Christian Wolmar, best-selling author of The Subterranean Railway and Fire & Steam

Three Million Miles in a Volvo and Other Curious Car Stories is a whistle-stop tour of fifty fascinating petrolheads and how they changed car culture for good

Meet: The Prince of Darkness! The Sweeney’s ace stunt driver! Renault’s doyenne of colours and fabrics!

Discover: A pathetic steam car! Metal underpants! The unseen brilliance of Jaguars!

And find out exactly how one man adored his Volvo so much that he drove it around the world 120 times to cruise into the record books.

The classic car book

Emma — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

From the Chevrolet Bel Air to the Ferrari Testarossa, this stunning book showcases the most iconic and important classic cars from every decade since the 1940s.

Few things ignite such reverence as a classic car. With more than 250 iconic models from the 1940s to the early 1990s, photographed from every angle, this title is a glorious celebration of the stars in the classic car firmament.

The Classic Car Book brings you the story of more than 20 great marques, including household names Bentley, Mercedes, Ferrari, Cadillac and Aston Martin. Its lavish photography reveals every detail in close-up of models that range from the 1940s giant two-ton Daimler DE36, which ferried royals about in style, through to sleek Ferraris from the 1980s capable of smashing the 200mph barrier. It puts you in the driving seat of such icons as the Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford Thunderbird, and the Mercedes 300SL, and brings you the designers of these amazing machines and the story of their manufacturers.

This ultimate guide to classic cars further features:

– A comprehensive catalogue that draw out the key features of each important model, with detailed profiles and specification.
– Feature pages broaden the scope of the book, covering everything from the designers and manufacturers who created them to their evolution over the decades.
– Stunningly shot DPS images add an extra layer of colour and flavour to the book.
– Written by award-winning author and expert on all aspects of motoring, Giles Chapman, Editor-in-Chief of DK’s The Car Book, which has sold over 550,000 copies worldwide to date.
– Updates will include the key models that have grown in popularity since the last edition.

Whether you dream of owning one of these super-cool cars, or you are a collector already, The Classic Car Book is set to become a treasured favourite.

The Story of the Car

Emma — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A stunning visual celebration of cars over a century of progress!

Introducing The Story of the Car – a historical and visual exploration of awe-inspiring automobiles over a period of one hundred years, from the first horseless carriage to driverless vehicles, this all-encompassing car book takes you on a journey to explore the ways in which this once rare and luxurious status symbol has become a fundamental part of everyday life.

So get in gear and drive straight in to discover:

-Fact-filled narrative spreads, profiles, and features offer readers an unrivalled range and breadth of information
-Packed with colour photographs and artworks, fascinating facts, and biographies that bring every aspect of motoring to life
-Covers cutting-edge advances in car technology providing the very latest information
-Features specially commissioned photography, alongside evocative and rarely seen archive images

Taking you on a technical journey inside the engine of a luxury car, and into the lives of the most successful pioneers of automobile history, the book also explores the possibilities of the “green” motoring, the electric engine, and the uses of AI on the roads of the future. Combining rarely seen images, insightful biographies. and fascinating features, The Story of the Car illustrates how after over a century of progress and development, cars still convey that undeniable sense of freedom, passion, excitement and desire.

From the romance of Route 66, to mainstream motor-racing, alternative car culture to taming the traffic, this all-encompassing book on cars has something for everybody to explore and love. A must-have volume for motoring enthusiasts, whether a gift or a self-purchase, The Story of the Car hosts a plethora of fascinating topics, divided into 8 key chapters, in chronological order. From inventing the car in 1885 and the birth of the automobile industry between 1906-1925, to driving into the future at the start of the new millennium, explore speed, power and style as you race across the world with your new-found knowledge on all things automobiles!

On your mark, get set, go!

Top Gear My Dad Had One Of Those

Emma — Thu, 17 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Good old Dad and his good old Dad’s car. As solid and dependable as the man himself, if a little less balding, Dad’s car was almost a member of the family, whisking you to exciting days out, or just to visit boring relatives in distant parts of the country to the chant of ‘are we nearly there yet?’ Like the man behind the wheel, Dad’s car made you feel safe and secure, because it was as reassuring and sensible as he was. Maybe in an idle moment Dad dreamt of driving something rakish and fast, just like in idle moments he dreamt that your Mum was Twiggy, but the demands of family life meant soft tops, hard suspension and anything even remotely sporty were off the cards. Even anything less than four doors would have been wildly hedonistic. But although the family car may not have been the very essence of rock ‘n’ roll, Dad was proud of it.

Spanning the 1950s to the ’80s, this is a celebration of the heyday of the Dad car. From much loved family workhorses like the Ford Cortina and Vauxhall Viva to the rakish excitement and playground kudos of the Rover 3500 and Citroen CX, all the great Dad cars are here. Reflecting a time before people carriers and lifestyle off roaders, when the nearest thing to an airbag was hiding behind your fat brother, this is a celebration of simple, honest cars that were as flawed and as loveable as your Dad himself.