Question for Car Enthusiasts

[Ned Weasel]

Can any of the car enthusiasts on this forum recommend some good books about cars?  Not picture books, and not something written for laypeople.  I'm looking for books that go into depth about the design decisions that went into cars over decades of history and the theory behind them. 

[briantroutman]

Are you talking about design from an aesthetic standpoint–styling–or the engineering of the car or both?

It's not a book, but for some interesting insights on car design, I'd recommend checking out Mike Rosa's website Autos of Interest. The author has some decent connections within the alumni ranks of a few automakers' design departments (particularly at GM), and he's conducted some rather in-depth interviews with designers about their work and the influences and pressures that went into individual car designs. Through his contacts, he also gets an impressive volume of design sketches, drawings, and clay and prototype photos showing possible directions that were explored but never used.

His subjects aren't usually the most beautiful or historically significant (like this interview and photo history of the design of the 1980 Chevrolet Citation), but his work makes for interesting reading and provides a revealing look at the design process.

One caveat: I get the impression that this is a hobby for the author, and not having a great deal of time to devote to long form articles, he fills the gaps in between with a lot of one-off stuff–single spy photos, a prototype sketch, etc.–but if you dig in the Design Notes category, you'll find content of greater depth.

[Takumi]

There's a good book about the rise of Honda up to the 1990s, called The Honda Myth. It talks about their early cars, like the 1300, and the beginnings of the Civic and Accord.

[Ned Weasel]

Are you talking about design from an aesthetic standpoint–styling–or the engineering of the car or both?

Both.  I'm interested in the way form relates to function.  I'm also both an "art guy" and a "numbers guy."

His subjects aren't usually the most beautiful or historically significant (like this interview and photo history of the design of the 1980 Chevrolet Citation), but his work makes for interesting reading and provides a revealing look at the design process.

To be honest, cars like the Chevy Citation are often what interest me the most.  Sure, fancy sports cars and luxury cars are great, but I usually find myself most interested in the kind of cars that were intended to be practical for a wide range of consumers to drive on a daily basis.  There are so many variables and so many different possibilities for those kinds of cars when you think about it.  Thanks for the website suggestion--I'm sure I'll spend a lot of time browsing it!

There's a good book about the rise of Honda up to the 1990s, called The Honda Myth. It talks about their early cars, like the 1300, and the beginnings of the Civic and Accord.

That looks like a good one.  Thanks for the suggestion!

[Stratuscaster]

My first recommendation would be - aside from checking out books - is to follow auto designers, stylists, and engineers on social media. Most seem to respond to thoughtful questions regarding what they do. (But note that some questions won't be answered due to NDA and such.)

My second recommendation is the book "Common Sense Not Required: Idiots Designing Cars & Hybrid Vehicles" by Evan Boberg. It's not exactly what you are looking for, but it fits as Boberg does take you behind the curtain into the hows and whys of vehicle design and why some things happen and some don't.
https://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-Not-Required-Designing/dp/1414040776

The third is skewed towards Mopar products, and it's the website Allpar. It's filled with historical articles and interviews with current and past Mopar people talking about the hows and whys of certain models and engines and such. (Full disclosure - I'm the forum admin at Allpar, and I've written an article or two and taken images for them as well.)
http://www.allpar.com

[Henry]

Those Citation sketches sure are interesting, and it was kind of cool to see the Nova nameplate on one of those sketches. However, Phoenix replaced Ventura in 1979 IIRC, so that was sort of a placeholder for the new FWD X-bodies, and it gets bonus points for sharing both the hatchback design of the Citation, and the notchback one that was the only one used by the Skylark and Omega. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks Chrysler ripped off the X-bodies to create the K-car either! The Aries and Reliant look so much like the X-bodies that it's hard to tell them apart, although they did have a wagon body style that was not available to the GM lookalikes.

Getting back on track: There was a book on GMC, which traces its history all the way back to its humble beginnings as a truck company to its then-current lineup of pickups, vans and SUVs. It was produced in the 100th anniversary year (2002-03), IIRC, and that means none of its crossovers were available yet. It's a very good read, with many of its past and present models (including box trucks and big rigs) showcased.

[PHLBOS]

However, Phoenix replaced Ventura in 1979 IIRC

The Phoenix nameplate first rolled out for the 1977 model year as a top level trim to the Ventura line.  For the 1978 model year, the Phoenix nameplate completely replaced the Ventura.

And I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks Chrysler ripped off the X-bodies to create the K-car either! The Aries and Reliant look so much like the X-bodies that it's hard to tell them apart, although they did have a wagon body style that was not available to the GM lookalikes.

A station wagon model was once proposed for the GM X-bodies (Road & Track even showed a sketch for one) but it never materialized.

As far as the K-cars looking like the X-bodies... while one could argue such but it should be noted that many vehicles at the time started to look alike.  Heck, when the first Panther-platformed full-size Fords rolled out; Motor Trend, which tested a '79 LTD Landau against a '79 Caprice Classic, commented on a Ford that looked like a Chevy & a Chevy that looked like a Ford.  Fast-forward to today; one could say that many cars, regardless of make, look even more alike.

[Henry]

Well, in that case, carry on then.

[sparker]

A very insightful book on the decision-making process within U.S. automakers, and the folks who implemented those decisions is "Dream Maker: The Rise & Fall of John Z. DeLorean", by Ivan Fallon and James Srodes.  IIRC, it was first published in 1985 or 1986; I read it about 20 years ago as part of the background research for my dissertation -- particularly in terms of how auto executives perceived the vehicle buying habits and proclivities of the general public -- and how they attempted to satisfy those perceptions without a huge $$ outlay for a complete redesign effort -- i.e., to modify or "tweak" the platforms that they were already using for product.   

[GCrites]

  Fast-forward to today; one could say that many cars, regardless of make, look even more alike.

You got that right, most of them look like pigs or have the Predator mouth.