Product Description

Today’s cars fit a fairly small number of body types—sedan, coupe, station wagon, SUV, hatchback, and a few others. The meanings of even these familiar terms have changed over the decades as automotive design has evolved. Along the way a much greater number of earlier body types have fallen out of use and become historical curiosities. Who today can identify a charabanc, a dos-à-dos, or even a phaeton?

This heavily illustrated dictionary defines all distinct body types ever applied to automobiles anywhere, from the early days when many were closely derived from established types of horse-drawn vehicles ("cars" in their original sense). It explains subtype designations and distinctions between similar types, comments on when and where individual body types were popular, traces how terms have taken on different meanings in different countries or time periods, and clarifies the use or misuse of various terms and designations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1976155 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 175 pages

From Booklist
As the preface states, "Few things have been subject to so many confusing type names and designations as automobile models and body styles." Where did the terms station wagon, sedan, or spider originate, and how have they come to be used? This dictionary is intended for students of automotive history and other car buffs to help them sort out this confusion. Both modern terms (All wheel drive, Flattop, Hatchback) and those inherited from the horse-and-buggy era (Brougham, Cabriolet, Landau) are included. More coverage is given to innovations and developments in auto body styles in the early twentieth century.

Entries include one- or two-paragraph descriptions of the term, including the period of usage, origins and history, variations, and language varieties. American, British, French, German, and Italian varieties are given, but there is no mention of Japanese, Korean, or other designs. Trucks are excluded, but SUVs and minivans are included. Cross-references include backward and forward pointing arrows for earlier and later usages. Terms in all capital letters have their own entries. Some entries illustrate body styles with generic-looking line drawings.

There are many car books, but no other source provides definitions of body styles. Recommended for libraries with specialized automobile collections. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Most important and comprehensive...neat line drawings...a superb reference work...thoroughly researched...excellent and strongly recommended. --SAH Journal

The perfect reference book...comprehensive. --I>The Automobile

Unusual and very useful reference book...a must. --I>Old Autos

About the Author
Lennart W. Haajanen is a retired technical consultant and secretary of the Swedish Bugatti club. He lives in Sweden.

Customer Reviews

A very handy reference guide
This is a most useful book to keep by your side as you read automobile history. The author provides a clear and concise directory of changing body styles through the ages, from coach days through the most modern cars. The drawings are clear line depictions designed to emphasize the varied shapes and features of the many body styls discussed. As different nations apply varied terminology, much of that is included here as well. Some terms (such as "victoria") are given a number of definitions which vary by time and place. Indeed, there are numerous terms that over time have been given a wide variety of applications, and this guide helps to sort them out. Haajanen's book is easy to use given both its alphabetical arrangement and a good index.

Primitive illustrations
Primitive illustrations.
Only for the hard-core auto enthusiast.

Primitive illustrations
Primitive illustrations.
For the hard-core auto enthusiast only.