Author: David

Excellent book on Czech motoring history in english: The Automobile in the Czech Lands

 

Book The Automobile in the Czech Lands
The Automobile in the Czech Lands

There is an excellent book on the Czech motoring history. It is based on a selection of the exhibits of the collection of the National Technical Museum in Prague (NTM). From there ist covers much more – you will learn about the main Czech automobile brands of each era. The text is thoroughly researched and very interesting to read. It is on an exceptionally high level in terms of pictures and text. You will hardly be disappointed by this book. It covers a topic that is not widely known, some very interesting stories about exceptional cars. The often difficult political context of the country is well put into perspective. There were only 500 copies of the book, so hurry up to order yours! It is available directly on the website of the museum: eshop.ntm.cz

It’s over 300 pages and well illustrated.

Interesting for:

  • Car enthusiasts that are interested in the following brands: Skoda, Laurin & Klement, Tatra, Praga, Aero, Wikov, Walter, Z (Zbrojovka) but also Bugatti and Mercedes-Benz
  • historians looking for examples that link social history with industrial activity
  • everybody interested in the context of industrial history of Central Europe

 

2011: plans by Sergio Marchionne to launch the Chrysler 200 Sedan as Lancia Flavia Berlina in Europe

Lancia Flavia Berlina Chrysler 200 Sebring

This brochure picture shows the Lancia Flavia Berlina – a project that did nor reach the market. In 2011 Fiat-CEO Sergio Marchionne announced plans to launch the Chrysler 200 Sedan in Europe rebadged as Lancia Flavia Berlina – along the convertible version. However only the convertible was retained, launched in its definitive version at the Geneva Motorshow 2012 and sold subsequently in Europe between 2012 and 2014. Sales were very limited. The major points of criticism were its uninspired engine and the confusing heritage – for Chrysler customers it did not represent the American machine they longed for and for Lancisti it did not have enough links to its famous predecessor, the original Lancia Flavia of the 1960s.

Maserati MC12

Brochure Maserati MC12 Stradale 2004

This is a prestige brochure with slipcase of a car that was produced in 2004 and 2005 by Maserati in a very limited production run. The Maserati MC12 (or Tipo M144S, the internal project name) was a two-seater car that was conceived to compete in the FIA GT Championships.

In 2004 and 2005 some 50 cars were produced to be sold as a Stradale-version to the public. The car was based on the Ferrari Enzo. This heritage is far from obvious, because the Maserati is longer and wider than the Enzo.

The brochure is a great example of Italian design. The white book is carefully crafted and includes superb photography. The blue slipcase boasts a three dimensional Maserati-logo. The makes the owner of the brochure feel a little bit like an owner of the real car.

General Motors Epic

General Motors Epic

Today I have received this charming Canadian brochure. It’s the Vauxhall Viva 1st generation that was built from 1963 to 1966. It has been sold in Canada through GM-dealers as the General Motors EPIC. This gave those dealerships an alternative to the Volkswagen Beetle that sold in big numbers at that time.

Renault Fuego Argentina

Renault Fuego Argentina

This is a brochure of the Renault Fuego by Renault Argentina.

South American car brochures are difficult to get in Europe. The interesting thing about the Argentinian Renault Fuego is, that its production continued many years after the production in Europe has been phased out. While European production ended in 1986, it continued to leave the factory in Argentina until 1992. It even got a mild facelift for the last two modelyears. A brochure of the Fuego by Renault Argentina is currently for sale within my offer on Ricardo: https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/prospekt-renault-argentina-fuego-1145211806/

QUATTRORUOTE Yearbooks

Quattroruote Speciale 1965

So far I have mostly used the annual catalogue of the Swiss AUTOMOBIL-REVUE if I needed information on cars in production of a specific year. Recently I discovered the annual books by QUATTRORUOTE of Italy. Similar to the series of Automobil-Revue, they also have the claim to cover global production. Nevertheless, the focus is not quite the same and you will find some different brands. They are a great addition to my collection of Automobil-Revue catalogues. I can warmly recommend them!