carfind-cc: Motorbooks titles perfect for summer reading

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The Summer Edition

July 2011

Dear ASD,

Remember your first car? Mine was a 1972 Ford Mustang II, dark green with a lime green vinyl roof. Bucket seats. A V-8 engine. Fast. The kind of car you wouldn't let your teenager buy unless he got a really good deal from a neighbor. I got a great deal.

Today I drive a much more conservative Nissan Altima. But, like a first love, I'll never forget that Mustang.

What Was Your First Car?

I'm not alone. My First Car captures those wonderful moments of automotive initiation as they were lived by such luminaries as Jay Leno, Mario Andretti, Patrick Dempsey, Danica Patrick, Sir Stirling Moss, Gregg Allman, and more.

Maybe your first car was like Tony Stewart's, one of the many famous car owners featured in the book. "Every two-hour trip to see my girlfriend used up one quart of oil. So I had to carry two quarts of oil with me - one for the outbound trip and one for the return trip. The good thing was, I don't think I ever washed it. It wasn't even worth the money to spend washing it. But it was a good car. It was safe and solid and it ran fine."

Accompanying many of these stories are photographs of the neophyte drivers with their first cars. For anyone who ever slid behind the wheel and tooled down the road for the first time, this wonderful book awakens memories of what it was like.

We'd love to see pictures of your first car. Was it a teenager's dream, or just a set of wheels to get you where you had to go? Tell us about it and share a photo on our Facebook page.

Drive American This Independence Day

While gas prices have made driving any car more expensive this year than last, a little dip in prices recently will make this holiday weekend a great time to take the old road hog out for a spin.

If you don't have a classic luxury car of your own, you can drive American with Road Hogs. The caress of fine Corinthian leather. The sight of a gigantic dashboard filled with esoteric dials and gauges that you could never hope to understand. The feeling of that throbbing power burbling beneath an accelerator pedal that is bigger than Grandpa's size 12 boot.

Vinny at CadillacCountryClub.com couldn't put the book down. "I'm very impressed," he wrote. "Although the book isn't all about Cadillacs ... there are over 165 color images of these big cars, with many of them Cadillac. Needless to say, I was very happy."

Vman, who's a Chrysler fan, agrees. "Great analysis of larger-than-life land yachts! Eric (Peters, the author) breaks down the decadence of the two-door Chrysler Imperial with 3/4-in. pad under the vinyl roof. Sweet car. You could have an orgy in the back seat! Ooooh La La!"

Cadillacs and Chryslers are but two of the manufacturers featured in this ode to Detroit's big cars. Also celebrated are the Buick Electra, Chevy Monte Carlo, Buick Riviera and many more.

Put Your Top Down

With summer finally here, wouldn't it be great to put the top down and hit the road? For many of us, the closest we'll get to a convertible is this book.

Convertibles is a celebration of the classic drop-top, from the earliest of coach cars where convertible style was the norm, to the high-end sports cars of today. The book profiles more than 60 cars in wonderful photographic detail. To drop the top and feel the wind and sun and to be able to cover up again in rain and cold represents the ultimate automotive luxury. From Ford's Model T to sporty Jaguar roadsters, from classic Chevys to modern Miatas, the convertible is a body style that never goes out of style.

Each car profile includes its history, performance specs, trivia, and a color photo gallery. For the dedicated auto enthusiast or the casual or budding fan, this book is an entertaining survey of the greatest convertibles ever made.

Change Out Your Engine

Looking to soup up your Chevy this summer? Our GM LS-Series Engines: The Complete Swap Manual can help.

Variants of GM's groundbreaking family of LSX engines are installed in everything from its most mundane panel vans to its earth-shaking Corvette ZR1. First seeing the light of day in the 1997 Corvette, the LS1 and its successors have proven powerful, reliable, and amazingly fuel-efficient.

Performance enthusiasts have embraced this remarkable V-8, and it has quickly become a favorite subject for engine swaps. Why? Because the versatile engine offers fantastic power, a compact design, and is lightweight. Even better, it responds very well to modification. It's everything the high-performance enthusiast could want.

The book details all of the steps necessary to swap out your engine, including fabrication and installation of motor mounts, wiring, fuel system, and drive line considerations. This really is the ultimate guide to installing the LSX in your GM muscle car!

Wheels and Wings Is Just Around the Corner

The 31st annual Wheels and Wings Show will bring together the widest assortment of cars, bikes and small planes you're likely to see anywhere. The one-day show is set for Sept. 10 in Osceola, WI, and will be held at the Osceola airport. With more than 1,000 cars and bikes on display, it will feature everything from street rods and euros to rare cars and vintage bikes. The expo is sponsored by Motorbooks.

If you have an artistic bent, why not help us design a logo for this year's event. Check out the rules here. Winner of the logo contest will receive $500 in books from Motorbooks.com. But hurry. Deadline for submitting a logo is July 13.

E-Books Too

Many of our books are now available as E-Books. If we have an E-Book for your favorite title, there will be a series of "Buy the E-Book" links on the product page, so you can choose your preferred E-Book format. If the book you want isn't available as an E-Book, check back often. We're converting more titles to E-Book formats every day.

Tell Your Friends

Find books for any interest at Qbookshop.com. From car maintenance, auto racing, home improvement and gardening to cooking, crafts and graphic design ... whatever your hobby, we have a book for you!