Description: Growing up as a child in the 80s had its ups and downs - it's perhaps the one decade that, more than any other, begets groans of, oh, what were you thinking? Those 10 years saw some huge changes - pop music went electronic, yuppies ruled the financial world, and fashion was never the same again. Neither was the car. Yes, despite some four-wheeled disasters, the 80s still had plenty of cool cars. The petrol heads of the time lusted after Magnum P. I.s Ferrari 308; they salivated over the Ferrari Daytona and Testarossa from Miami Vice, they watched Back to the Future in cinemas across the country, mesmerised at the sight of the Docs De Lorean (surely the ultimate in customisation?). Other 80s supercars included Porsches peerless 911, the original Audi Quattro (a car resurrected on current U. K. television in the show Ashes to Ashes) and the Ford Capri SLE 71 R driven by Terry Mc Cann in Minder...the list goes on. Now, ' The Best of Car' takes you back to the days when cars were flash, angular and mean. Its time to don the shades and head out for a cool cruise down the strip. Flick through the glossy pages of what became the bible for aspiring car enthusiasts in the 80s - the only motoring magazine that reflected the true age of excess, and relive those long-forgotten dreams.
Description: NEW IN PAPERBACK. Conceived by Colin Chapman, the Lotus 72 is one of the most successful Formula 1 cars ever made. This innovative car - with its wedge-shaped profile, side-mounted radiators and inboard front brakes - was driven during 1970 by Jochen Rindt, Formula 1's posthumous World Champion, and also gave Emerson Fittipaldi the World Champion's crown in 1972. Here, in this new Haynes Manual, is a unique perspective on what it takes to restore, maintain and race a Lotus 72, as well as an insight into the design and engineering of this legendary racing car.
Description: NEW IN PAPERBACK. The Routemaster bus - instantly recognisable as the classic red double-decker London Transport bus - is a British icon, and a symbol unmistakably associated with London. Now the Routemaster receives the famous Haynes Manual treatment. This book provides a unique perspective on owning, restoring and operating a Routemaster, as well as an insight into the design, development and anatomy of this remarkably resilient machine, which saw continuous service in London for over 45 years.
Description: Fiat's 500 and 600 models are amongst the smallest cars in the world, yet for all their diminutive proportions they are chic, fun to drive and capable of travelling marathon distances. Both cars follow in the tradition of the 1936 Topolino, the original miniature Fiat that helped put Italy on wheels, and have allowed millions of families worldwide to experience the enjoyment and independence the motorcar affords. The water-cooled 600, along with its smaller sibling the air-cooled Nuova 500, were engineered and built to withstand the hard wear and tear they were subjected to by Italian drivers. Happily, many examples of the Fiat 500 and 600 have survived to provide exemplary use. The Essential Buyer's Guide to the Fiat 500 & 600 is like having expert advice, pocket size! Intended for marque owners and novice enthusiasts alike, Malcolm Bobbitt's practical and easy to follow book will allow the potential purchaser of one of these highly practical cars to confidently and quickly assess a vehicle's true condition. The guide enables the buyer to take a professional approach when viewing a car, and to decide within fifteen minutes whether it is worth taking a longer and more detailed examination. This guide provides all the information and advice necessary to embark upon an hour-long appraisal of the car, and to judge whether it is the right vehicle at the right price. It features specially selected illustrations to help properly evaluate a potential purchase. Information on the Fiat community, such as marque specialists and clubs, is given, along with all the cars' vital statistics. This book covers all models in the Fiat 500 & 600 range, including the unique Multipla and the 500's latter-day successor, the 126. Not only will it guide buyers in making the right choice of car, the information imparted will ensure enjoyable motoring and satisfying Fiat ownership. Packed with 100 new detail pictures and with a unique points system to score a possible purchase, this book is a must for any potential small Fiat owner.
Description: Here is a book packed with good advice on how to find and maintain a Ducati Desmodue twin. From running costs, through paperwork, vital statistics, valuation - this book shows you exactly what to look for when examining a potential Ducati Desmodue purchase. Along with a detailed description of all the individual models, there is a comprehensive condition checklist and guide, photos of key areas to check, and foibles to be aware of. Includes key specifications and details of useful upgrades that will enable one of these classic machines to be used on a regular basis, and a guide to the market and values.
Description: The V7 introduced Moto Guzzi to a completely new clientele. With car-like reliability and shaft drive, it proved to be the ideal machine for long distance touring. Eventually, the V7 evolved into larger capacity sporting and cruising models. Moto Guzzi 2-valve big twins provides a guide to all these models, their attributes, and their pitfalls. Detailed descriptions, along with photos showing the key areas to check and foibles to be aware of, help to show what to look for when examining a potential purchase. With a condition checklist and guide, key specifications, and in-depth analysis of strengths and weaknesses, this book is packed with helpful advice. From running costs, through paperwork, vital statistics, valuation, and upgrades that will enhance a Moto Guzzi and enable it be used on a regular basis - as well as modifications to avoid - this book is is like having a marque expert by your side. Moto Guzzi big twins provided exceptional reliability and overall performance, and they still can.
Description: When Canadian brothers Colin and Ryan Pyle finished their record-breaking motorcycle adventure around China in 2010, they promised themselves that it would be their last such venture. Of course, they were wrong. Back in the saddle again, Colin and Ryan have set out to tackle the diverse country of India, and they had no idea what to expect! Whether it was monsoon rains, crashes in Mumbai, the claustrophobic roads of Kerla or even a brutal paragliding landing in Manali; nothing could stop these two adventurers as they triumphantly completed a 54 day -- 14,000 km -- motorcycle circumnavigation of India. In an Indian expedition of unforeseen extremes, Colin and Ryan battled the Rohtang Pass in a rainstorm, made a pilgrimage to the most visited holy site on earth in Amritsar; they also jumped off a perfectly good mountain and learned how to make the perfect cup of Indian tea in Darjeeling. If that seems like a lot, all of this was done while traversing over isolated mountain passes, blazing a trail through the roasting hot deserts and battling the insane traffic of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In this book Colin and Ryan take us with them as they make their way through the remarkable and stunning landscapes of India. In the end, the brothers had learned what it takes to succeed as a team as they had circumnavigated a billion people, pushed themselves to new limits, and shared in an adventure that most of us will only ever dream of.
Description: The first generation ' Sportlich, Leight und Kurz' - or SLK - was Mercedes- Benz' take on the compact roadster format. Hugely successful from launch, and selling well over 300,000 models, it rapidly became the main competitor to the models of other major German marques. Offering a wealth of options, including a unique ' Vario-roof' folding hard-top, supercharged four-cylinder engines, a 3.2-litre V6 version, and a high-performance AMG version, the SLK is one of Mercedes- Benz' best known, and most sought-after, models.
Description: Eastern Coach Works, known as ECW, was based in Lowestoft in Suffolk. The history of ECW goes back over a decade, though in this book we pay tribute to buses and coaches bodied during the sixties, seventies and eighties. Originally formed by United Automobile Services, the Lowestoft operation was passed on to the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company in 1931. By 1969 ECW was jointly owned by The National Bus Company and British Leyland, with the latter taking full control in 1982. ECW bodies were most common on chassis built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles, of which The National Bus Company was certainly their biggest customer, and the stylish bodies graced the likes of the Bristol Lodekka, LH, RE and VR, of which the latter was a common sight still in service across England in to the twenty-first century, some twenty-five years after the factory closed. ECW was closed in 1987. In this evocative and lavishly illustrated tribute, Peter Horex offers a wonderfully nostalgic view of an iconic British company.
Description: This is an illustrated A- Z guide to all the major tractor and truck manufacturers around the world. It offers a comprehensive history of tractors and trucks, tracing their evolution from the early pioneers to today's state-of-the-art farming and road machines. It features tractors, farm machinery, military vehicles, general load carriers and dump trucks, and includes historical examples and many lesser-known makes. From farming and cultivation to road transportation and furniture removal, tractors and trucks perform a huge variety of tasks. This magnificent encyclopedia charts the complete evolution of these vehicles and features extensive A- Z guides to each manufacturer. All of the most successful makes are included, each including a history of the company and the decisions that shaped their successes or failures. This definitive reference book has been written by two transport enthusiasts, and with its highly engaging text as well as over 1,500 stunning photographs, it is an exciting reference source for everyone who has an interest in farming and trucking.
Description: When Holden signalled that it would close its Adelaide factory, it struck at the very heart of Australian identity. Holden is our car made on our shores. It's the choice of patriotic rev heads and suburban drivers alike. How could a car that was so beloved - and so popular - be so unprofitable to make? The story of the collapse of Holden is about the people who make and drive the cars; it's about sustaining industry in Australia; it's about communities of workers and what happens when the work dries up. And if it's not quite about the death of an icon - because Holdens will remain on Australian roads for a long time to come - then it's about what happens when an icon falls to its knees in front of a whole nation..
Description: Long before Stagecoach, Arriva or First Bus, Ayrshire Independents fought it out with Western SMT on the local and long-distance routes within the county. Ayrshire was unusual in the fact that many small bus operators formed themselves into associations to compete against a much larger company. They not only survived, but prospered for the best part of eighty years. This book shows many of these operators from the 1960s through till the 1990s and looks back at a way of life that has changed out of all recognition today. David Devoy uses but a few of his 40,000 images of Scottish buses to illustrate the changing buses and operators found in Ayrshire. There are many fine views of buses from the fleets of A1 Service, AA Motor Services and Clyde Coast Services taken over many years that record the scene for future generations to enjoy.
Description: The book will cover the history of the Sunbeam Alpine from its Designer and design history and process to the development, testing and production of the car. It will also cover the various hybrids and variants of the Alpine. The history of its racing and rallying will also be included. Modern day ownership of an Alpine will also be covered and the opportunities for contemporary use and competition. This will be first book dedicated to the history of the Sunbeam Alpine for over twenty years. It will not only cover the detailed history of the car and its past racing and a rallying history but will cover modern day racing and competition in Britain, America and other countries as well as general modern day ownership. This will be the first book on this subject with such a wide range of both historic, historical and modern photographs.
Description: In 1928, Edinburgh Corporation Transport was formed as the Corporation increasingly began to run buses as well as trams in the city. Edinburgh Corporation Transport continued to run Edinburgh's buses until 1975, when Lothian Regional Transport was set up. In this book, George Fairbairn, who grew up in Edinburgh in the 1960s and 1970s and who was a keen amateur photographer of the city's buses, documents the change-over. This book provides a wonderful colour portrait of Scotland's capital city and its buses in the 1960s and 1970s, a period of great change in Britain.
Description: This comprehensive book provides the full history and specifications of the groundbreaking Kawasaki Z1. The author describes how the motorcycle became a sensation after its launch in 1972, with its incredible performance coupled with convenience, reliability and practicality. Although pipped to the post as the first 'superbike' by the 1969 Honda CB750 Four, the Z1 came roaring back with extra power and 130mph top speed to knock the opposition into second place. The most powerful Japanese 4-cylinder 4-stroke motorcycle of its time, the Z1 also had excellent handling characteristics and received rave reviews in the motorcycle press. Rod Ker describes the various makeovers that the model received later in its production life and how it was re-born as the fuel-injected GPz1100. Although later superceded by lighter and more efficient designs, based on the all-new water-cooled GPZ900, the Z1 had already become established as a classic and was also an appreciating asset.
Description: The Bristol Tramways Company started operating buses in 1906 to feed traffic into their tram services from beyond Bristol's city boundaries. In 1910, a branch of the company was opened in Weston-super- Mare, and the company would go on to open its first bus station on the sea front there in the 1930s. Following the Second World War, other bus stations would be built at Wells and Bath. Following the war, the Bristol Omnibus Company, as it was re-named, was under state control and it became part of the National Bus Company on 1 January 1969. In September 1983, Bristol operations outside the city of Bristol itself became known as Badgerline, extending as far as Chippenham, Calne, Gloucester, Salisbury, Taunton and Yeovil. In 1995, Badgerline became part of First Group. In this profusely illustrated book, Mike Walker, author of Bristol City Buses, tells the story of the Bristol country services.
Description: This book traces the design, development and production history of the iconic Classic Saab 900 model, manufactured from 1978 to 1993, looking at every variant from the basic single carburetter Saab 900 GL to the blisteringly fast turbocharged Saab 900 Turbo 16 S. This unique car accelerated Saab into the global executive car market, and was its most successful model ever, with more than 900,000 sold across the world. A combination of attractive Swedish styling, reliability, balanced handling, safety and performance endeared the Saab 900 to loyal owners who kept coming back for more over its long production run. Today, the model that enthusiasts and casual observers immediately identify as the Saab is fast becoming a collector's car, and deservedly so, with good examples fetching premium prices. This book is an essential reference for all the Classic Saab 900s produced. The book covers the design, manufacture and launch of the Saab 900 and traces the various developments, including re-styling and engine modifications as well as the convertible and special edition models from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. The book also includes detailed tables with production breakdowns and engine specifications. There is currently no single reference-style lavishly illustrated book dedicated to the Classic Saab 900 and this book fills that gap. There is growing interest in this modern-day classic from enthusiasts and investors, and prices for the best survivors are steadily rising. This book will act as useful, concise and attractive single reference point to this audience.
Description: The very first motor bus services in East Anglia were operated by the Great Eastern Railway Company, and although these started in Suffolk, services were soon provided within Norfolk as well. In 1931, the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company was formed from four existing small bus companies. With its head office at Thorpe Road, Norwich, the company ran services in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Becoming part of Tilling Motor Services in 1942, and then coming into public ownership in 1948, Eastern Counties continued to grow and to expand the services it operated in Norfolk. In this book, transport enthusiast and photographer John Law takes a look at these companies and their operations and tells the story of Norfolk Buses with a collection of images that will bring back memories of the county from times past.
Description: This book tells the story of the famous James ML military motorcycle which had originally been developed as a utility machine for the working man and was then modified for the military during World War II. The James ML was used for carrying messages on the beaches of Normandy during the D- Day landings, earning it lasting respect and affection. The book covers the various military roles for the motorcycle, including airborne use and its various deployments. The author also describes ML production after the end of the war when the reliability and ruggedness that it had displayed as a military machine proved effective in off-road competitions. The author also presents a brief history of the James and Villiers companies and provides a background to the military decision to purchase lightweight motorcycles. He describes the evaluations and tests and compares the James ML with other motorcycles in the running. The book includes a full list of specifications as well as colour schemes for both military and civilian models. Illustrated with colour and black and white illustrations from contemporary magazines such as Motor Cycling and The Motor Cycle, this book tells you all you need to know about this iconic motorcycle.
Description: John Law has been photographing Britain's buses since the early 1970s. In this book, he takes us through the buses of Cambridgeshire, run by the National Bus Company, which had absorbed the services run in the area by Tilling & British Automobile Traction (who themselves had taken over Eastern Counties Omnibuses). In preparation for bus deregulation, National Bus Company's Cambridgeshire operations were transferred to Cambus Ltd, which was sold and eventually absorbed into First Group. Throughout these turbulent years, John Law travelled extensively throughout Cambridgeshire, including to Ely, St Ives and St Neots as well as Cambridge itself. The best of his images of those times are to be found within this book, telling the fascinating story of the county's bus services.
Description: Starting in 1965, when Swift found success with its early models, this book follows the development of Swift Caravans to the present day, where it has grown into a multi-brand leisure vehicle producer. The author describes the early models, which became popular with distinctive features such as the tri-front window. By the early 1970s, the Swift name had become established and the company started to move into the upper clubman market with the introduction of the Corniche range. Continuing into the 1980s with a spirit of innovation, Swift improved its designs with wind-tunnel technology and produced lighter tourers alongside the manufacture of coachbuilt motorhomes. The company continued to expand with the acquisition of Cotswold Coachcraft and later Sprite Leisure, Bessacarr, Ace, Award and Autocruise, plus a tie up with US Airstream travel trailers. The author also covers the latest developments in what has now become the Swift Group, including further brand acquisitions and expansion abroad. Written by an acknowledged expert in caravans, motorhomes and holiday static caravans, this book is an essential guide to a great British manufacturing success story.
Description: Large companies operated services within the city of Aberdeen and within the surrounding countryside of Aberdeenshire and further afield. However, they were not the only ones to do so and smaller independent bus and coach operators were and are to be found in the area. Following on from his successful Buses of Northern Scottish, author Peter Findlay looks at the independent bus and coach operators of north-eastern Scotland.
Description: In a fascinating road trip along the Norfolk coast, Edward Couzens- Lake covers the ninety miles of the A149 from Kings Lynn to Great Yarmouth. It's a journey through historical and social events that have shaped the county and had truly international impact. From the Romans to today's royal family; from the birth of modern agriculture to the wrecking of ships on this deceptively benign coastline, this book explores the timeline of the towns and villages of North Norfolk. Each landmark along the way is accompanied by a brief but detailed description of its history, origins and use along with any other information about both it and this captivating piece of British coastline that you might have thought you knew well - at least until now! With 100 original colour photographs included, A149 Landmarks is not only an essential companion for those visiting Norfolk but a revelation to the Norfolk native; a thoroughly absorbing investigation of a fascinating thoroughfare.
Description: Andrew Meads offers a pictorial history of the Grey- Green company, who operated vehicles from the First World War until 2000. The company was formed by the Ewer family at the end of the nineteenth century in the east-end of London as a haulage carrier. Coaches were introduced after the First World War and the company steadily grew in size over the following years. Many smaller coach companies were acquired, including the well-known Orange Luxury Coaches. In 1980, Sunderland motor dealer Cowie acquired the Ewer Group and, during the mid-1980s, bid to run many of London's bus routes. They won several, including the central London route 24 that passes Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament. The major success of bus operation led the company to purchase some of the country's major bus firms. A decision was made in the late 1990s to rebrand all companies in the Cowie Group to Arriva and so the Grey- Green name was lost. Utilising a range of rare colour and monochrome images, as well as period leaflets and timetables, this is an essential document of one of Britiain's most iconic bus and coach operators.
Description: Dumfries and Galloway is a unitary council area of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It comprises the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and Wigtownshire, the latter two being known as Galloway. The administrative centre is the town of Dumfries. To the north it borders East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire, in the east the Borders, and to the south the county of Cumbria in England and the Solway Firth. To the west lies the Irish Sea. The main operator in the area since the 1950s was the nationalised Western SMT company, but a few independents held out and continued to run stage services alongside their coaches. Deregulation allowed many more to register routes in the area, and local authority tenders are often worked by these companies as well. Famous names such a Gibson's, Carruthers, Blue Band, and Leith were later joined by newcomers such as Mac Ewan's, Dickson's, Houston's, and Mc Call's.
Description: The Bristol Lodekka derived from a prototype of 1949. It offered the solution to a problem familiar to almost every bus operator: low railway bridges. An ingenious re-design of the transmission in which the propeller shaft was offset to the side and drove a drop-centre, double-reduction rear axle, eliminated the conventional step up from the platform to the lower saloon, allowing a flat floor and reducing the overall height of a double-decker by a foot. The production vehicle, known as the LD-type, began to appear from 1953. All Lodekkas were bodied by Eastern Coach Works of Lowestoft, who embraced the post-war fashion for enclosing the engine in a rounded 'cowl'. The result was rather inelegant, but subsequent refinements of the design and the relaxation of the 'construction and use' regulations to permit buses 30 foot long, made the final form of the Lodekka, the FLF-type, a handsome and imposing vehicle. By the period covered here, the LD was down to a handful of survivors south of the border, but considerable numbers still ran in the fleet of the Eastern Scottish company. Later variants were still to be found in large numbers, but production had ceased in 1968 and even the last examples were approaching the ends of their lives. The author, who was for twenty years a busman, developed a considerable affection for the Lodekka and took pains to build up a collection of photographs which depict the type at a time when it was still, just, a familiar sight the length and breadth of Britain.
Description: The National Bus Company was the creation of the 1968 Transport Act, which merged the bus operations of the Tilling Group and the British Electric Traction Company. In 1970 it was enlarged to include the former country area of London Transport, and the new state-owned company thus provided most of the bus services in England and Wales outside major cities and large towns. Deregulation and privatisation in 1986 led to its dissolution. The National Bus Company in the 1970s gives a portrait of the company in its mature years and covers an interesting period when the industry was in steep decline. It was a time of virtually full employment and driver-only operation was rapidly being introduced to alleviate a shortage of staff and to reduce costs. A corporate identity had been established and, although measures had been put in place to standardise the fleet, the company's subsidiaries still operated an interesting variety of older vehicles serving out their final years. The author, who worked for an NBC subsidiary from shortly after the company's inception until after its demise, presents here a selection from his personal collection of photographs.
Description: Cheltenham Caravans were made by one of the smallest caravan manufacturing companies and are still used across Europe by members of the longest established one-marque caravan owners' clubs, forty years after the company ceased to exist. This is testament to the quality of the research, design and build of each caravan. The family company tested new models extensively overseas, before they went into production, testing new ideas, finding and resolving any problems they encountered. This ensured they could sell the caravans with great confidence. The Cheltenham Caravans were aimed at the more discerning caravanner, being built to a extremely high standard and tailored to each buyers needs with list of 'extras' available. Buyers were, and still are, as enthusiastic about the caravans as the family were and The Cheltenham Owners Club, which was established in 1950, still has a large membership over sixty-five years later. The club members encourage, support and share knowledge with each other, so the caravans stay around for many years to come. This book details the journey from the beginning to the present day, showing photographs and images of the models through the years and the various changes that took place.
Description: Fife is a council area and historic county of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. It is Scotland's third largest local authority area by population, and has a resident population of just under 367,000, almost a third of whom live in the three principal towns of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. It has always been a difficult place to reach and this was especially so before the opening of the Forth and Tay road bridges. Historically most bus services were provided by W. Alexander and Sons after they acquired many small businesses from the 1920s onwards. Independents survived working mainly school and miners contracts, but de-regulation in the 1980's allowed a few to register stage services. Well-known names have included Rennie's, Moffat's, Williamson's, Allison's and more recently Bay Travel. We will be looking at the local bus scene from the 1960s through to the present day.
Description: Commercial Cars Limited was the name of a new company set up in 1906 in south London to build a motor lorry, using what was then known as the Linley gearbox, which had degree of pre-selection in its use. The design was successful enough to require a relocation of the company to Luton and larger premises. Commer Car was the chosen name for the vehicle and a range of lorries and buses were developed at Luton. Over the following decades, Commer produced a wide range of vehicles including lorries, buses, trolleybuses and light vans. The name passed hands on a number of occasions and enjoyed a long and successful period as part of the Rootes group, eventually being dropped in favour of the Dodge name in the 1970s. To the truck enthusiast, the history of Commer has always been of great interest from the beginnings, with the Linley gearbox, development of the 2-stroke engine and the machinations of ownership being a constant cause of fascination over the years. This lavishly illustrated volume explores this history with a wealth of rare and unpublished images.