The Cars You Always Promised Yourself 

By Steve Saxty

ISBN: 978 1 907085 76 5

£44.95 (Standard edition; £79.95 Collectors edition)

Porter Press International

One of my favourite book publishers is Tenbury Wells-based Porter Press. Its subjects are always fascinating and the quality of the books, whether they be ‘coffee table’, or of a more conventional type, is always at the highest level. If we accept that Ford is one of the most important car brands in the world and the UK’s most popular seller, a 304pp large-format book that details the past 50 years of Ford Motor Company’s coupes, ST, XR and RS models should make good reading. There is no disappointment in this superb tome. As its author, Steve Saxty, was one of Ford’s designers during the 1980s and 1990s and was given unparalleled access to the behind-the-scenes’ stories and facts, you might also appreciate that it provides an important record of a company experiencing enormous changes over the past half-century. Naturally, Mr Saxty does accord his former employer, Ford of Europe, a large amount of respect but his sometimes critical comments highlight that he was not afraid of delving deeper than some other Ford authors, in order to form fresher views. The title of the book arises from the Ford Capri advertising ‘strapline’ used during its late-1960s’ model introduction. However, there is no denying the fact that most of the vehicles covered so comprehensively in this book, complete with hundreds of pertinent and never-seen-before photographs, are mostly modern-day European classics, all of which have been generating increasing values in the collectors’ market. The artistic renderings, designers’ sketches and photographs of clay and complete models, many of which never made production, provide a fascinating backdrop to the several interviews with former and current senior Ford personnel. The content is marvellous and highlights the trends and styles evident and influential since the 1960s. 

Driven – The Men Who Made Formula One 

By Kevin Eason

ISBN: 978 1 473 68453 9

£20.00 (audiobook also available)

Hodder & Stoughton

Written by the motor racing correspondent for The Times (formerly) and The Sunday Times, Kevin Eason possesses more than two decades’ worth of ‘insider’ information on the F1 scene. Rather acerbically, he delves into the often florid peaks and suicidal troughs of what has developed into a multi-billion Pounds sporting endeavour that some of its exponents would love to nominate as ‘The Best Sport in the World’. Without an axe to grind, unlike many of its operatives, he refers to the protective and introverted nature of the sport’s senior management as a ‘circus’, controlled with a razor-sharp whip, until only a couple of years ago, by the short-in-height, massive-in-influence Grand Ringmaster, Bernie Ecclestone. Rightly, he is frank but respectful about the former North London bike salesman, who became a billionaire on the back of a sport that he altered and manipulated to the ‘endth’ degree. The intrigue that fills the 408pp of this hardback book would do justice to a fictional, edge-of-the-seat, televised mega-drama. Yet, amazingly, every comment, every interview, every snippet, however contrived, is true! It is well-constructed and Mr Eason controls the sometimes scattergun elements inherent to F1, with the ease of a seasoned scribe. Eminently readable and difficult to put down, I cannot help but feel that the author is vindicated in some way by the fact that Bernie is no longer ‘in charge’…although he does keep popping-up alongside Putin, Trump and the Saudi ruling princes…and, thus, could still launch one of his infamous legal suits. Great fun. Great reading. Of all the books written about Formula One and its history, this one is packed with engaging nitty-gritty!

Bikes, Cars and Thoughts From Mars 

By Michael W J Wilgar

ISBN: 978 171 780 7977 

£4.99 (paperback; £3.02 through Amazon)

Amazon Fullfilment

In a single word, charming! In the author’s description, it is ‘an adventure book like no other’ and I sort of agree with Mr Wilgar. From its brief yet colourful pre-pubescent days of discovery, through pimply youth and its associated horrors, to getting work for a pal, Gordon Bennet (if only the author appreciated that my last dog was named ‘Gordon Bennett’, or even understood the esteemed Mr Bennett’s connection to motoring derring-do). A builder by trade, the very trade that had brought the author from his Belfast ‘troubled’ backdrop to the golden streets of London, it is a voyage of happenstance and being in the right place at mostly the right times. In his heart, which is a mighty place to reside, the man is a two-wheeled fanatic, from his first BMX to his subsequent motorbiking treks and these tales pepper the 148pp paperback. However, so do the car stories, most of which involve poor planning and disastrous, if immensely amusing incidents. It is amazing that the younger Wilgar survived. Through a soundtrack of 1970s, 1980s and 1990s pop music, this wonderfully entertaining, Blarney-packed, semi-autobiographical work could be produced as a charming, Mike Leigh, ‘kitchen-sink’ comedy. The author is a man after my own heart, even though our growing-up processes were somewhat different. It just goes to prove that some of the least expensive ‘novelettes’ can also be in that pantheon of the greatest.