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novelties
Posts Tagged “Books”
novelties
novelties
Haynes Now Offers Shop Manual For Sex!
As some of you may remember from all the talk about the Driveshaft Through The Skull warning symbol, I'm a technical writer by trade. That means that I'm sort of a snob when it comes to automotive repair books; if I'm going to use a book to tell me that how to fix a car, by God, it's going to be the factory-issued shop manual (pounds fist on table) or nothing! None of these Chilton or Haynes or other quasi-generic guides will receive my greasy thumbprints on their pages! But UK-based Haynes now has a shop manual that leaves the car manufacturers' books in the dust: The Haynes Sex Manual! Not only does it provide step-by-step how-tos (including, we hope, the guide to the best positions to use when steaming up the windows of a Reliant Robin), but you even get handy troubleshooting flowcharts! Thanks to LTDScott for the tip! [Haynes]
holiday gift guide
Jalopnik Holiday Gift Guide: Matchbox 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition Book
Whether you're merely a novice Matchbox collector with a Rubbermaid container full of well-worn cars, or you're a pro carefully dusting your mint condition 1966 Open Diplomat, we think you'll enjoy this tome dedicated to the die-cast toys that filled our dreams. Filled with more pictures than details, the Matchbox 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition Book will take you back to a time when your garage included a Porsche 914 and could fit under your bed. Product details below.More »
holiday gift guide
Jalopnik Holiday Gift Guide: Encyclopedia of American Cars
Though the Internet has mostly limited the need for printed materials, there's just something appealing about five pounds of inky paper dedicated to the American automotive experiment (j/k, keep reading blogs). There are many great resources out there for the car fan, but the "Encyclopedia of America Cars" is one of our favorites. Compiled by the auto editors of Consumer Guide, this beauty weighs in at nearly 900 pages and includes detailed descriptions of every car by every major American brand for the last 70 years. More »
books
Legendary Motorcycles
Yes, yes, we still love cars. And while we don't personally subscribe to the notion that 2 wheels are better than 4, some motorcycles are pretty sweet. In fact, some might say legendary. So writes good friend of Jalopnik Basem Wasef in his new book Legendary Motorcycles. In it he tracks down historically significant bikes ridden by the likes of Elvis, James Dean, Peter Fonda and of course, Steve McQueen. Here's part of the email Basem sent us: More »
the constant variety of sport
It Was All Part of the Fun
Chris Economaki slugged it out as an announcer for racetracks across the country before he took the helm of Speed Sport News, or wore the yellow jacket for Wide World of Sports. In the '50s Economaki had followed the promotional efforts of Sam Nunis to Sioux Falls, where he saw a bunch of guys unloading a sophisticated timing device from a truck parked on the infield before the race."They struggle to get it up the stairs of the judges stand, and they place it in clear sight of the grandstand. The device has a dial that's about 18 inches in diameter.More »
novelties
Tiny Jacky Ickx Book...in Texas!
We sort of beamed when Jacky Ickx called the assembled journalists at the R8 press reveal in Paris "beautiful." Well, at least two of us did. At least we don't think it was all the pink bubbly... Anyway we were bumbling around the dusty corners of the World Wide Web this morning and found this fun little trinket in the University of North Texas Miniature Book Collection: it's a minitature (8cm high!) book on the life of the famed Belgian racing driver that could be earned by turning in stamps collected from packages of Franco-Suisse cheese. It's super-neat, and it also begs the question, how did Texas allow anything so small into its collection? Unless it's a mighty big collection of diminutive volumes. That must be it. More »
holiday gift guide
Jalopnik Holiday Gift Guide: The Hot Rod World of Robt. Williams
Hot rods and customs were not always as awful as the worst of them are today. If the latest from the hot rodding or custom car world leaves a sickly paint-by-numbers feeling in your gut then this book is for you. Gearhead Magazine Publisher Mike LaVella, Motorbooks, and Robt. Williams himself have teamed up to create the first book to examine not just the art of Robt. Williams, but also the events and people such as Von Dutch and Ed Roth that helped forge William's tenured position of artist and hot rodder. The book is chock full of color illustrations of Robt. Williams artwork and his hot rods, along with never before published photos from a period in American history that well deserves a chronicle. A steal from 27 to 40 bucks. More »
holiday gift guide
With the D1GP World Championship and World All Star events rolling out at Irwindale Speedway this Saturday and Sunday, it seems only fitting to have Team Orange drivers Kumakubo and Tanaka along with Antonio Alvendia himself wish you all a jingle bells. Antonio's book Drifting: Sideways from Japan to America is available at three different levels of amusement - 19.95 for the book itself, 22.95 for the book signed by Antonio, and 24.95 for a special edition book with a signature customized for you. The book can also picked up this weekend along with a pair of slightly used tires for that special someone out at Irwindale Speedway. More »
Jalopnik Holiday Gift Guide: Kumakubo and Tanaka Endorse Antonio's Drifting Book
With the D1GP World Championship and World All Star events rolling out at Irwindale Speedway this Saturday and Sunday, it seems only fitting to have Team Orange drivers Kumakubo and Tanaka along with Antonio Alvendia himself wish you all a jingle bells. Antonio's book Drifting: Sideways from Japan to America is available at three different levels of amusement - 19.95 for the book itself, 22.95 for the book signed by Antonio, and 24.95 for a special edition book with a signature customized for you. The book can also picked up this weekend along with a pair of slightly used tires for that special someone out at Irwindale Speedway. More »
news
Essential Reading From One B. Yates
Brock Yates runs down his favorite automotive books for the Wall Street Journal. Topics? Henry Ford, Harry Miller, Moss, Dan Gurney and Daytona, but to name a few. Say what you will about Yates, and many have said plenty, but the man knows his history, so when dude drops science on the past of motor racing, it might behoove you to listen up. More »
celebrities
Ah How-How-How: Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top to Publish Autobiography
The guy with the beard in ZZ Top who isn't named Hill, Billy F. Gibbons is nearly as well-known for his cars as his amped-up Texas boogie. Gibbons tells his tale this fall in Rock 'n' Roll Gearhead (Motorbooks). With accompanying photographs by the mighty David Perry, Gibbons will reportedly spill the beans about life on the road, his amazing collection of cars (we've heard he drives an Aspire when he wants to roll incognito, although "Cruisin' down the road in my inline four," just doesn't quite have the same ring to it), and his astounding plethora of guitars. He's bad, he's nationwide, and the book drops October 15th. More »
books
Jalopnik Read of the Week: Six Men Who Built The Modern Auto Industry
Automotive News Managing Editor Richard A. Johnson's new book is a fascinating look inside the incestuous world of the auto industry. Focusing on Henry Ford II, Soichiro Honda, Lee Iaccoca, Bob Lutz, Ferdinand Pi ch and Eberhard von Kuenheim, Johnson tells the tale of the postwar auto industry through the stories of these men, with a nod to Wolfgang Reitzle as well. We learned a lot we didn't know; for example, we had no clue Mr. Honda was such a poon hound. Lutz seems to get the most sympathy from Johnson here, although he's also remarkably sympathetic to Pi ch as well; a man who's probably the least well-liked of the six. The book also features the only interview with Pi ch since he stepped down as head of VW. While Johnson has a penchant for repeating anecdotes in attempts to tie things together, it's a small flaw in a book that tells an incredible story.
-Davey G. Johnson More »
