Every once in awhile I'm reminded that not all reading material comes in a digital form delivered to my eyes via a DSL or fiber-optic line. One such item arrived recently by way of an organization called the U.S. Postal Service (I think they ride horses or something...).
Anyway, the item in question is a new book called Muscle Cars by Mike Mueller, and while the title doesn't get points for originality it does accurately represent the essence of the book.
If you're a fan of muscle cars like me you probably already know everything that's in this book. But even muscle car experts will appreciate the over 350 color photos of 55 different muscle cars, including both the original 1960s and 1970s era models as well as a brief nod to the new Camaro, Challenger and Mustang.
However, the ideal reader for Muscle Cars is the person who has more interest than knowledge in vehicles like the original AMX, Charger, GTO, and Mustang. Author Mike Mueller effectively summarizes the muscle car era in the book's two-page introduction. If you know nothing about these cars and their evolution going in, this intro gives you all the essentials. Memorize it and you could pass yourself off as an aficionado at parties.
The same can be said of the book's other 230 pages. You won't get all the engineering details of the 426 Hemi, or a list of the racing accolades for the original Shelby Mustang, but how many people really want those? Mr. Mueller was clearly going for the mainstream automotive enthusiast who simply wants to enjoy compelling photography accompanied by basic, high-level information (along with some specific trivia presented in "Did You Know?" sidebars).
As an introduction to the era, or maybe as a quick reference guide if you're already an expert, Muscle Cars may be a stretch for the $20 cover price. But it's available for $13.59 at Amazon.com, which seems like a fair deal to me considering things like paper, printing and shipping costs are involved in this form of reading material.
Muscle Cars by Mike Mueller
Published by Motorbooks; Softbound
240 pages, Copyright 2010
Cover price: $19.99
By yankeez
on July 6, 2010
08:24 AM
I've often wondered how the 3 "muscle cars" (or pony cars, whatever) of today (Mustang, Camaro & Challenger) will be recieved in 30-40 years from now, and if they'll be as revered as the originals are today.