Best of
Cars

2006

Cars


Elizabeth Hurchalla - 2006
    But on the way to the race, Lightning's impatience causes him to get separated from his driver. In his struggle to find the interstate, Lightning tears through the forgotten Route 66 town of Radiator Springs, demolishing its main street in the process. With the race just days away, Lightning is arrested and forced to slow down for the first time in his life. As he gets to know the town's offbeat residents, he learns the importance of teamwork and friendship--and discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line.

Driving Buddies


Apple Jordan - 2006
    Buckle up and get set for an awesome ride with Disney/Pixar’s newest film Cars! When a hot-shot rookie race car named Lightning McQueen gets lost on his way to the big race, he finds some friends in a small town—and learns some big lessons!

Old, New, Red, Blue!


Melissa Lagonegro - 2006
    But when he gets stuck in a slow little town called Radiator Springs, McQueen must learn a valuable lesson about friendship—fast. This beautifully illustrated Read-Aloud Storybook is the complete retelling of Disney presentation of a Pixar film latest computer-animated film, Cars.From the Hardcover edition.

Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR


Neal Thompson - 2006
    Lose on the track and you go home. Lose with a load of whiskey and you go to jail.” —Junior Johnson, NASCAR legend and one-time whiskey runnerToday’s NASCAR is a family sport with 75 million loyal fans, which is growing bigger and more mainstream by the day. Part Disney, part Vegas, part Barnum & Bailey, NASCAR is also a multibillion-dollar business and a cultural phenomenon that transcends geography, class, and gender. But dark secrets lurk in NASCAR’s past. Driving with the Devil uncovers for the first time the true story behind NASCAR’s distant, moonshine-fueled origins and paints a rich portrait of the colorful men who created it. Long before the sport of stock-car racing even existed, young men in the rural, Depression-wracked South had figured out that cars and speed were tickets to a better life. With few options beyond the farm or factory, the best chance of escape was running moonshine. Bootlegging offered speed, adventure, and wads of cash—if the drivers survived. Driving with the Devil is the story of bootleggers whose empires grew during Prohibition and continued to thrive well after Repeal, and of drivers who thundered down dusty back roads with moonshine deliveries, deftly outrunning federal agents. The car of choice was the Ford V-8, the hottest car of the 1930s, and ace mechanics tinkered with them until they could fly across mountain roads at 100 miles an hour. After fighting in World War II, moonshiners transferred their skills to the rough, red-dirt racetracks of Dixie, and a national sport was born. In this dynamic era (1930s and ’40s), three men with a passion for Ford V-8s—convicted criminal Ray Parks, foul-mouthed mechanic Red Vogt, and crippled war veteran Red Byron, NASCAR’s first champion—emerged as the first stock car “team.” Theirs is the violent, poignant story of how moonshine and fast cars merged to create a new sport for the South to call its own. Driving with the Devil is a fascinating look at the well-hidden historical connection between whiskey running and stock-car racing. NASCAR histories will tell you who led every lap of every race since the first official race in 1948. Driving with the Devil goes deeper to bring you the excitement, passion, crime, and death-defying feats of the wild, early days that NASCAR has carefully hidden from public view. In the tradition of Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit, this tale not only reveals a bygone era of a beloved sport, but also the character of the country at a moment in time.

Supercars: Masterpieces of Design and Engineering


Richard Dredge - 2006
    It profiles 75 of the most famous and coveted vehicles from Europe, Japan and America, providing a unique and exciting glimpse at these glorious machines. Detailed coverage of all the most famous marques, past and present, including Lotus, Jaguar, Corvette, Mercedes and others are included.Each supercar is presented in a stunning double-page spread with detailed annotations and fascinating text detailing its design, development, innovations, and handling. Gearheads will salivate over the comprehensive specifications panels providing key technical data in this gorgeously designed book that features more than 220 stunning color photographs. Supercars captures these marvels of the motorway in all their glory.

The Honda Myth: The Genius and His Wake


Masaaki Sato - 2006
    Just as the manufacturer's combination of engineering excellence, racing dominance, and risk-taking was driving it into the international spotlight, however its trademark free-spiritedness threatening to take a backseat to bureaucracy and complacency.Honda was the brainchild of two very different men. One, a genius engineer who never went to college but became the face of the company-Soichiro Honda. The other, a shrewd businessman who breezed into management and directed behind the scenes-Takeo Fujisawa. Apart, they may have never met international success, but together they made their mark. Yet, after Honda and Fujisawa's retirement, and decisively after the departure of heir apparent Shoichiro Irimajiri, Honda Motor looks like what it once seemed incapable of becoming-a faceless firm.Overshadowed by the ever-changing competition in areas like F1 racing and low-pollution engine technology that were its pride, the old hothouse of invention is less sexy these days. The Honda Myth argues that the cult worship of Soichiro Honda that Takeo Fujisawa formented, at first to the firm's great benefit, worked against it in subtle ways as well. Though the company's future looks bright, it offers no beaming face.

365 Cars You Must Drive


Matt Stone - 2006
    For many, the thrill of the drive has eclipsed the pure utility of the automobile. And the pursuit of that thrill is the driving force behind 365 Cars You Must Drive. From the Ford Model T to the Porsche Carrera GT, there are certain cars that any self-respecting auto enthusiast just has to know—and experience from the driver’s seat.With homage to the greatest cars and good-natured mockery of the strangest, authors Matt Stone and John Matras detail which cars to drive and why, how to get behind the wheel, where to drive them, and who to invite along for the ride. Each entry contains a colorful spec box noting the car's claim to fame, a Did You Know? factoid, the author's clever suggestions for "The Perfect Passenger" and the "Soundtrack" coming out of the speakers, Behind the Wheel notes, and a "Perfect Drive" for the marque or model covered. Engine details, production information, the price when it debuted and the collectible price now - all of it adds up to at-a-glance fun reading to go with informative essays on each car, archival and full-color photos, and more.See Motorbooks author Matt Stone interviewed by Jay Leno on JayLenosGarage.com: http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/j...

Competition Car Suspension: A Practical Handbook


Allan Staniforth - 2006
    Reformatted to latest 'Competition Car' style and size. Now full color throughout. Most pictures new for this edition.

Awesome Bill from Dawsonville: My Life in NASCAR


Bill Elliott - 2006
    Through Elliott's eyes we meet the colorful cast of old-school characters who built NASCAR: Cale Yarborough, Junior Johnson, the Allisons, Carl Kiekhaefer, and, of course, the France family. We join Bill in the car (and under it) as he sets the all-time record for the fastest official speed ever recorded in a stock car (a record he still holds today).Learn the secret—revealed for the first time—behind the Elliott family's unquestioned mastery of the sport's super speedways. Watch NASCAR grow from a southern diversion into a national phenomenon, and see Bill Elliott grow with it, ultimately becoming one of the sport's most popular heroes. In 1985 Elliott captured the inaugural Winston Million and became the first NASCAR driver ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Three years later he captured the Winston Cup Championship. He went on to be voted NASCAR Driver of the Decade for the 1980s by NASCAR fans. He was also voted Most Popular Driver sixteen times.Elliott also shares his thoughts on the dark side of the racing life: the stresses it can place on relationships, the ever-present physical risks, and the weight of fame. He addresses the racing-related deaths of competitors and friends. He is candid and critical in discussing the intense rivalry between him and the late Dale Earnhardt, and he sheds new light on their storied relationship as well as on Earnhardt's shocking death. Elliott discusses the future of NASCAR with critiques of its management and restrictor plates, and he takes on the controversial issues of track and driver safety.A window into the compelling personality of Bill Elliott, as well as a primer on the ascent of America's fastestgrowing sport, this is the definitive insider's view of the rising NASCAR nation.