CORVETTE 70 YEARS: The One and Only, apt title indeed

CORVETTE 70 YEARS: The One and Only
RICHARD PRICE
Motorbooks International (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$60.00 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: The richly illustrated Corvette 70 Years is a complete history of America’s only sports car, detailing engineering, design, and key players.

There’s something for every enthusiast in Corvette 70 Years, from the classic early-generation models, to the legendary race cars, to the latest stunning mid-engine C8. Climb in and fasten your seat belt.

Chevrolet’s Corvette is one of the most influential and iconic American automobiles in history, holding the mantle of America’s sports car across seven decades. In Corvette 70 Years: The One and Only, author Richard Prince offers a richly illustrated and detailed book that captures the full story of one of these legendary automobiles. Beautiful, contemporary photos and rare historical images accompany in-depth analyses of milestone cars and events. Notably, the story is told through the lens of the three dozen most influential Corvettes representing all eight generations, including the:

The 1953 car that started it all

New performance heights in 1957 with fuel-injected V8

Early design and engineering specials , including the 1957 SS, CERV I, Mako Shark II

Landmark 1963 split-window coupe

The first of the revolutionary styled C3s

All-new 1984 C4 and powerful Callaway twin-turbos and ZR1s

World-class 1997 C5

Ultra-high-performance C5, C6, and C7 Z06 and ZR1

Revolutionary mid-engine C8 Corvette introduced in 2020

Corvette racecars

Created with the cooperation of General Motors, the book brings to light the engineering and design stories behind one of GM's most famous cars, as well as its key players. Comprising a unique perspective on a motoring legend, Corvette 70 Years truly is the one and only.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: The C6 buyers' guide is specific and it's practical. This piece of drool-inducing art photography and luxe design is the opposite: it's a browser's book, meant to elicit sighs of pleasure, tinged with twinges of envy for the designers and owners of these extraordinary machines.

The US has no other car like the Corvette in any of its particulars. There are, in these machines, the astonishing heights of technology, design, and performace achieved by Koenigsegg of Sweden, Bugatti, Maserati, Ferrari...but those are extraordinary dream machines that the very very few can afford to buy and maintain as toys. The Corvette is a practical automobile, usable on regular roads, and while expensive, is not utterky stratospherically out of mortal reach.

It's the reason Chevrolet keeps building them in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

all the places we'll go in the 'Vette

The images provided for publicity give the impression that the photos are mosty of the great icon of the development into the modern car, the 1963-1967 era of design gratness; this is not accurate, the entire development process gets its turns. But good heavens, it is not hard to see why they made this choice:

the way a car becomes an icon of design, performance, and style

Your 'Vette fancier will batten on the beauty of this photo essay on his object of obsession. But remember that it's about the entire car line's history!

He won't be disappointed if he likes other eras more, or to the exclusion of, the '63-'67 era.

If you're not sure which one's his favorite, you needn't worry. They're all here, and it all looks gorgeous.

DESIGNING DREAMS: Essays on the inside story of GM, Harley Earl and America's Golden Automotive Age, for your car guy

DESIGNING DREAMS: Essays on the inside story of GM, Harley Earl and America's Golden Automotive Age
DICK RUZZIN
Veloce (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$29.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Explore the artistry of the Golden Age of American cars with Dick Ruzzin, one of the designers of the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado. Discover General Motors' legacy, Harley Earl's vision, and the creative process behind automotive art. Featuring essays, sketches, and photos, Designing Dreams celebrates the passion and enduring impact of car design.

A design book, an art book and an automotive history book. If you love car design you must have this book. It describes in detail automobile creation, the design of the iconic Oldsmobile Toronado and the people who created it. The Toronado is now seen as the most significant design representation of the Golden Age of the American Automobile.

Step into the world where cars became dreams on wheels. In Designing Dreams, Dick Ruzzin unveils the untold story of General Motors, Harley Earl’s groundbreaking vision, and the artistry that defined America’s Golden Automotive Age.

At the centre of this compelling collection of essays is the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado—a revolutionary front-wheel-drive luxury car that remains an icon of design and innovation. As one of its designers, Ruzzin provides an insider’s perspective on its creation, offering a rare glimpse into the radical ideas and creative energy behind this automotive masterpiece.

After 40 years at General Motors Design, Ruzzin reflects on the profound influence of Harley Earl, the pioneer car designer who elevated automobiles into works of art. Earl’s creativity and design philosophies reshaped the industry, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire.

Illustrated with over one hundred sketches and General Motors Design’s archival images, this book explores the passion, artistry, and precision behind automotive design. It captures the essence of a unique profession that combines function with beauty, producing cars that are both practical and beautiful.

Designing Dreams is more than a history of car design—it’s a celebration of the people, ideas, and innovations that made the automobile a defining symbol of American ingenuity. Perfect for car enthusiasts and design lovers alike, this is a journey into the heart of creativity and the Golden Age of the American Automobile.

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My Review: What a ride! The Toronado, whose design and development feature in this book of course, but really the Wayback Machine ride into the era when early September was the moment the 196{x} cars arrived in dealerships with soaped windows that had little, teasy gaps; the car magazines (Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Autoweek) hit the newsstand for us car freaks...all male...to grab, drool and dream over the latest iteration of a logo, use of a name from the past or rename a model range, displacement of block (409! 429! 350! all cubic inches, all with their own stories, details, merits)....

Every woman I've ever known, and any of you reading this now, are rolling your eyes and sighing impatiently, or just about to interrupt to change the subject to something *you* care about.

So get him this book. He'll be easily led to pick it up even after he's read it:

contents; preface spread

...because there are photos even you won't mind looking at:

the car itself; a design study fancifully executed (it's art!)

The stories of the whos, hows, and whys of the industrial design revolution represented by the Toronado and its era-defining looks will keep many, if not most, car guys enrapt. These were human beings with human stories, but they had godlike powers...the wealth and might of the most powerful corporation in the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world was at their command! Of course skulduggery and stupidity were on prominent display because hubris (cf, Harley Earl)!

...and here are faces to put with names

So yeah, maybe you are bored rigid by Granddad's nostalgic interest, maybe you're contemplating viricide to stop the engineering talk, or maybe you just don't want to be more unpleasant than necessary. It's easy, and cheap, to get the kind of book he's going to enjoy (quietly, in a corner), likely more than once.

They really had all the coolest toys.