This is quite an amusing little hard backed edition that would make a good present for anyone who is mad about cars.

This is a book that features what the author refers to as Automotive Lemons, a term he uses to describe 101 cars that we all love to hate, and which the manufactures who built them would rather like to us forget they were ever made.

Available from Amazon at £6.59, and other Internet stockists, as well as high street retail outlets, under ISBN No. 978-1-846-05064-2, it predictably features models such as the Austin Allegro, Morris Marina and Triumph TR7, but also contains details of some lesser-known vehicles, and some that you may not have thought to find within these pages, such as the Jaguar XJ220.

Vehicles that were not available for sale in the UK are given space, which most UK readers may wish to overlook, as who in this country can really relate to the Ford Edsel of the US, the Ford Capri from the same country (don’t worry, this car is nothing like the Ford Capri that we had) and the Austin Freeway of Australia? Despite appearing in this book, some of the cars here are actually sought-after classics.

The style of writing is light and entertaining, with the author thankfully not going in to too much technical detail, with such anecdotes as,

“ aimed squarely at the US market, which was then grabbing every British Sports car it could get its hands on, Daimler’s new roadster was launched as the Dart at the 1959 New York Motor Show.  Chrysler had already registered the name Dart and demanded that the Daimler name be withdrawn.  It could have performed a bigger service for humanity by demanding that the whole car be withdrawn”

there is plenty here to keep you amused.

With 271 page in an almost pocket sized hard cover, there really are some automotive gems here.

The verdict - well worth buying a copy, as it is one of those books you will keep picking up over the years, and use to illustrate the automotive conversations that take place in your home.

Julian Smith

Ride Drive Limited