|
Iconografix |
|
|
Corvette - the Exotic Experimental Cars by Karl Ludvigsen Corvette - Prototypes and Show Cars Photo Album Edited by Wallace A. Wyss |
|
|
Reviewed By Fred Horky, #6390 |
|
|
|
|
|
These two books define photographically the many automotive
experiments, seen from glitzy car show podiums to the gritty race track,
during the half-century evolution of “America’s sports car”…. the
Chevrolet Corvette. They are both slightly dated, with the first
published in 2000 and the second in1997. However, this should not lessen
their appeal to the automotive enthusiast, especially in light of the
excitement accompanying the recent introduction of the sixth generation
(“C6”) Corvette production car. It is impossible to list all the fascinating ‘vettes illustrated in these books; to me the most interesting are the handful of light-weight “Grand Sports” illustrated in the “exotic experimental” book that had been intended to challenge Carroll Shelby’s Cobras in the early 1960’s, but had been prematurely cut off at the knees by another corporate ban on racing. This on-again, off-again policy has become one of the Jekyll-Hyde definitions of G.M. These books cover closely related subject material but do not duplicate each other, and both are recommended in their own right. Both are in a soft cover, 8.5 X 10 inch format of 128 and 112 pages, respectively. All photos are black and white, except for the covers. The photos are extensively captioned, but the books remain essentially photo albums. They serve to complement more in-depth books on the Corvette like Randy Leffingwell’s massive, heavily illustrated and definitive “Corvette - Fifty Years” (MBI Publishing). For an idea of the unseen, intramural fighting which brought the Corvette almost to death’s door within the mega-giant but hardly monolithic General Motors, James Schefter’s “All Corvettes Are Red” describes the prolonged gestation of just one production Corvette, the C5 fifth generation just now ending production. Those interested in post WWII automotive history (as well as Corvette nuts*, of course) will want both these books. Our examples came to the Reviewers’ Corps from their publisher, Iconografix; and are readily available either new or used at standard book sources like Amazon.com with a “new” cover price of $19.95 each. *For those that don’t know me, it’s only fair to add that I am among the Corvette nuts mentioned above. While in college fifty years ago I fell in lust with the first ’53 ‘vette; it was ten years before I could afford one of Chevy’s Plastic Rockets, that being the ’64 roadster still gracing my garage. (See IPMS Journal, V13, #2) Meanwhile, here in Georgia, our warm, beautiful March “convertible weather” has arrived, but that car now must sit patiently waiting alongside the arrest-me-red 1998 C5 roadster purchased six years ago. Both cars have aged much more graciously than their owner, who as this is written is hobbling about on a walker, unable to drive after extensive knee surgery. Life isn’t fair…. |
|
|
Information, images, and all
other items placed electronically on this site |
|
)
)