There are two kinds of classic car buffs: those who have restored an old car, and those who want to. For anyone who has looked at a rusty heap in a field and seen only the gleaming new machine it once was, the urge is powerful, but also intimidating. Restoration can be a difficult, expensive, and--especially for the novice--mysterious undertaking. Dave Floyd, an enthusiast with a lifelong love for the great cars on the road in his youth, is one who answered the call. In this book he traces every step of restoring a long-neglected 1948 Chrysler New Yorker to its original glory, all on a real-world budget and in the spare hours left by a full-time job. Every task, every discovery, every obstacle, every triumph and frustration comes through in a detailed account that is part diary, part practical guide, part love story. Told with great charm, his story is inspiring to any prospective old-car hobbyist, and a special treat for Chrysler devotees.
The Rootes Story – The Chrysler Years focuses on the Rootes Group during the 1960s and 70s, the vehicles produced by the company, the people that created them and the events that led to Rootes selling out to Chrysler Corporation of America and eventual acquisition by the French Peugeot company. A valuable backdrop to the events is provided throughout the book by ex- Rootes employees and management. Chronicles the Rootes Group's efforts to survive as a major car and truck manufacturer in Britain's turbulent 1960s and 1970s. From a position as a respected global name in manufacturing, the Rootes Group found itself struggling to compete in a new buyers' market, in which foreign competition was starting to overtake British manufacturers. Despite the challenges that confronted them, Rootes designed and built some of the most popular cars of the period: the Hillman Minx and Super Minx, the Singer Vogue and the Humber Sceptre, and the iconic but ill-fated Hillman Imp, as well as some of the most rugged and well-purposed vans and trucks, built by Commer, Karrier and Dodge. The book highlights the competition pedigree of the Sunbeam Rapier, the Alpine, the Imp and the Ford V8-engined Tiger. Famous names such as Paddy Hopkirk, Rosemary Smith and Peter Procter all give their stories as works drivers for Rootes, while engineers at 'comps' tell the background stories of how races and rallies were won and lost. Andrew Cowan, Rootes' works rally driver and winner of the 1968 London–Sydney Marathon in a Hillman Hunter, shares his story in what was a remarkable and unexpected victory for Rootes. This complex story is told through the eyes of ex-Rootes and Chrysler personnel, giving 'from the horse's mouth' accounts of the company and its exploits. Geoff Carverhill takes you inside the boardroom, into the drawing office and on to the production line to give the reader an insider's view of Rootes, Chrysler and Peugeot.
The first comprehensive history of the Chrysler Corporation, this book is intended for readers interested in the history of automobiles and of American business, and for fans and critics of Chrysler's products.
Once Upon a Car is the brilliantly reported inside-the-boardrooms-and-factories story of Detroit’s fight for survival, going beyond the headlines to chronicle how the country’s Big Three auto companies—General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler—teetered on the brink of collapse during the 2008 financial crisis. In a tale that reads like a corporate thriller, Bill Vlasic, who has covered the auto industry for more than fifteen years, first for the Detroit News and now for the New York Times, takes readers into the executive offices, assembly plants, and union halls to introduce a cast of memorable characters, many of whom are speaking out for the first time, including the executives who struggled to save their companies but in the end had to seek a controversial, last-gasp rescue from the U.S. government. Vlasic goes behind the scenes to portray the men at the top during Detroit’s last stand. Rick Wagoner, the CEO of General Motors, tried to turn around a dying company, only to be forced to resign as a condition of the government bailout. Bill Ford, great-grandson of the legendary Henry Ford, had the will to keep Ford alive but needed the guts to hire an unknown outsider, Alan Mulally, to transform the company before it crashed. At Chrysler, leadership was constantly changing as new owners tried in vain to fix the smallest of the beleaguered Big Three. And through it all, the president of the United Auto Workers union, Ron Gettelfinger, fought to save the jobs of the men and women who build American-made cars and trucks. This tale of an iconic industry in crisis is more than a big business drama and provides a rich, unvarnished portrait of how Detroit’s decline affected tens of thousands of workers and dozens of communities nationwide. The story moves from the gleaming corporate skyscrapers and massive auto plants to the halls of the U.S. Congress and into the Oval Office, where President Obama and his aides wrestled with how to keep General Motors and Chrysler from going out of business. Vlasic shows why the bailout worked, and how Detroit can succeed under new leadership and build automobiles equal to any in the world. Once Upon a Car tells a uniquely American tale of success, failure, and redemption. It is an important and illuminating chapter in an astonishing story that is still unfolding. And no one is more qualified to write it than Bill Vlasic.
This is a great resource book for any Chrysler enthusiast. Huge array of pictures from the beginning of Chrysler Corporation. Good discussions on the development of Chrysler from its origins in the Maxwell/Chalmers car company through the mid 1970's. Year by year commentary of model and engineering developments. Heavy emphasis on the history of the company and the models predating the second world war.
"Dodge 100 is the official, Dodge-licensed complete illustrated history of the legendary American automotive brand. From Horace and John Dodge's dealings with Henry Ford, through the war years, and into the modern age with cars like the Viper and Dodge Dart, Dodge 100 Years is the authoritative history of one of the world's first (and best) automakers"--
