Russell Hayes

The Big Book of Tiny Cars by Russell Hayes is a fun look at the history of these very small vehicles with an eye toward highlighting the rationale behind each in addition to simply telling us about each one.

From 1900 to the present day most of the noteworthy tiny cars are given a brief write-up along with basic specifications and where available some interesting tidbit, whether popular culture based or little-known facts about the car. There are numerous sidebars throughout that discuss everything from industry responses to regulations and the various almost tiny cars. These help to contextualize the individual write-ups.

While I was certainly familiar with the more recent (in my world, the past 50 years or so) models, I was just barely aware of how many of these vehicles have been made. If your curiosity drives you like mine does me, I will pass on a couple of fun things to supplement this book (aside from visiting a nice car museum like one in Nashville for those in the US). First, thanks to the internet, we have a wealth of images available online. I wanted to see additional images of some of the models and had mostly good luck looking them up. What spurred me toward this was when Hayes mentioned that Paul Arzens' "electric egg" is at the Cite de l'automobile. I enjoyed going back and forth between this book and the internet. My second excursion was to start paying more attention to the small cars in the background of many films. While not all are tiny cars there are a lot of models that are lesser known and, of course, there are some tiny cars in older films that take place mostly in the cities of Europe.

This will be a fun read for both the casual reader with an interest in looking at these wonderful vehicles as well as the reader with a large interest in automotive history. Largely in contextualizing the history, there is even good information for those simply interested in history more broadly.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)

Volkswagen Beetles and Buses: Smaller and Smarter by Russell Hayes is a fascinating look at these iconic vehicles. Full of great information and wonderful pictures, this is a must have for both VW lovers and automobile aficionados.

The history aspect of the book covers both the mechanical/automotive changes as well as the societal and cultural features. From post-war to the 70s the acceptance of the brand among buyers shifted considerably, not to mention the difference between reception in the UK versus reception in the USA.

A fun and informative book that will be a splendid addition to any automobile enthusiast's library.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)