ARVID LINDE
Introduction
PART ONE
The dreamers
John Delorean
Preston Tucker
Felix Wankel
Gabriel Voisin
Carl Borgward
Gerald Wiegert
Roumen Antonov
Guy Negre
PART TWO
Times and countries
Panhard & Levassor
The last romantics
The end of the royal fleet
Under the red seal
PART THREE
There is nothing new about a car
The greatest inventions in motoring history
Index
Features
A unique look at automotive history
Touching, real-life stories about Preston Tucker's dream & about other innovators, too
Details some of the rarest and most inspiring cars ever built
Chronological details of brilliant inventions that changed motoring forever
Over 150 illustrations
Little-known facts about the corporate kitchen of car manufacturing
The bitter truth about the end of British car manufacturing
Strange ideas for the new era of car manufacturing
Description
Although the history of the car stretches for a period only slightly longer than 100 years, it is nevertheless an area with many little-known gems waiting to be uncovered or rediscovered. This book is an alternative look at automotive history, a celebration of the non-conformist spirit and radical approaches to designing cars.
Based on documented facts, this book also contains dialogues and personal details from some of the most innovative engineers of the last century, helping the reader understand how passion and restlessness drive progress in car manufacturing.
Many inventions that we tend to attribute to the contemporary car giants were in fact made many years ago, but few can remember the names of those talented people who created them. This book gives them due credit, and proves that a dream often becomes reality.
Synopsis
Can you imagine a world where people drive beautiful and unusual cars, created by designers prodigiously endowed with talent and imagination?
Names like Preston Tucker, Carl Borgward and John DeLorean are hardly known today. Nevertheless, todays cars would be a lot different without their contributions to automotive engineering. Although the car is a technological and rational affair, its the dreamers and eccentrics like these who have made the biggest contribution to the development of the industry; those who have had the ability to think beyond their time and conventions. Money doesnt drive progress in the car business it is a passion for speed, and an obsession with mechanisms. Yet for many a dreamer, this passion has ended in fiasco. Misunderstood and pushed aside by their contemporaries, they have been forced to watch their dreams trampled underfoot.
This book takes a look at the history of the car from a different angle,avoiding the mainstream moguls and telling a story about a man and his dream, and the like-minded people that came before and after him. Lavishly illustrated and intensively researched, it documents the making of some of the strangest and greatest cars of the past century. The main section is devoted to the unsung heroes of motoring, and the rest of the book shines a light on the many ingenious inventions we now take for granted.
Lets show some respect to the dreamers. Our world wouldnt be so exciting without them.