In American Motors Corporation: The Rise and Fall of America's Last Independent Automaker, author Patrick Foster provides the ultimate inside look into an American corporation that rose from the death throes of a once-thriving independent auto industry, putting up a valiant fight for nearly half a century before succumbing to the inexorable will of the corporate machine. Born from the ashes of Hudson and Nash, AMC represented a last, desperate attempt at survival for an independent automobile company. Thanks to the steady, capable leadership of George Romney, the company not only survived, but thrived, riding on the success of the firm's small, economical cars like the Rambler. When competition arose from Ford, Plymouth, and Chevrolet and the market began to shift toward performance and luxury cars, AMC found itself poorly prepared to compete with its bigger rivals. With the fuel crisis of the 1970s, the small cars from AMC once again refilled corporate coffers, and the firm's purchase of the Jeep brand also generated profits--but ultimately, it was too little, too late. Even a partnership with French automaker Renault and the introduction of all-wheel-drive cars couldn't save AMC. In 1987, Chrysler Corporation purchased AMC and the story of the last independent automaker came to an end. This engaging book, from one of America's best-known automotive writers, tells the entire AMC story from its inception to its ultimate demise.

American Motors Corporation: The Rise and Fall of America's Last Independent Automaker

Business & Money

Foster, Patrick R.

Biography & History

Motorbooks

The definitive, fully illustrated celebration of an auto manufacturer that paved its own way by going off-road. Few American vehicles, or vehicles made anywhere else in the world for that matter, are as universally iconic as the Jeep. From olive drab WWII military relics to the beloved Wrangler with its rear-mounted spare tire, open-air design, and telltale roll cage, the Jeep is a true classic. In Jeep: The History of America's Greatest Vehicle, automotive writer Patrick R. Foster chronicles over 70 years of Jeep vehicle design and production. Beginning with the Jeep as a crucial component of the American World War II fleet, Foster expertly recounts the corporate shifts, financial struggles and successes, close calls, and, above all, the enduring machines that have carried Jeep from the early 1940s to its triumphant role as a modern-day embodiment of American perseverance. Three hundred color and black-and-white historical photos complement his expertly written narrative of Jeep's entire history, reminding us that sometimes, the road less traveled was just waiting for the right truck.

Jeep: The History of America's Greatest Vehicle

Engineering & Transportation

Automotive

Get the entire history of the best trucks on the road.
The International Truck and Engine Corporation has built the trucks that have been a staple of both agricultural and industrial trucking for nearly 100 years. International Harvester Trucks: The Complete History tells the complete story of the light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, vans, and station wagons built by International Harvester during over a century of history, starting from the company's early days, through its first truck model in 1907, and right up to the present.
The focus is firmly on the trucks themselves including collectible machines such as the Travelall and Scout. Author Patrick R. Foster is one of the world's premier transportation historians. His accessible writing style, illustrated with hundreds of never-before-seen archival photographs, makes this book the best examination of one of the world's most prolific truck manufacturers.

International Harvester Trucks: The Complete History

History

Americas

2017 Gold Medal and Division Winner of the International Automotive Media Competition! Iconic, aluminum-bodied Airstream trailers have been around for 85 years--get the full story in this photo-rich book.
Airstream is America's best and oldest manufacturer of travel trailers, and those retro silver coaches are iconic on America's highways. Representative of the age-old desire to explore, these trailers are unmistakable in design with distinctive aerodynamic rounded lines and an aluminum outer skin. Airstream: America's World Traveler celebrates the eight decades since the first Airstream graced America's highways.
Airstream chronicles the fascinating history of Airstream trailers through a detailed history, stories, and beautiful photography. Although its roots stretch back to 1926, the first Airstream-brand trailers were introduced in 1936, just as America was emerging from the dark days of the Great Depression. Of the 400 travel-trailer manufacturers of that era, only Airstream survived. Dubbed the "Airstream Clipper" after the first trans-Atlantic seaplane, the 1936 Airstream featured a unique lightweight aluminum body that cut down on wind resistance, improved fuel efficiency, and made for easier towing. It slept four, carried its own water supply, was fitted with electric lights, and cost $1,200. The Airstream provided travelers with a way to see the world at their leisure and in solid comfort. It was the perfect vehicle for a country emerging from a long struggle.
In the eight decades since that first Airstream, the company has produced some of the finest trailers in the world and gained a worldwide reputation as the Rolls-Royce of travel trailers. The Airstream story is one of travel, adventure, and memories that last a lifetime.

Airstream: America's World Traveler

Get Fords complete story in Ford Tough: 100 Years of Ford Trucks and see why they’ve dominated the truck market, selling 1.5 million trucks every year in the US alone. In July 1917 Ford Motor Company introduced a one-ton chassis for commercial trucks, marking what many historians feel was its official entry into the dedicated truck business. Sure, after-market pickup beds could be added to a Model T car to convert it to a pickup, but with the debut of the rugged Model TT truck chassis, Ford was firmly in the truck market. Eight years later, Ford introduced its first factory-produced pickup, a sturdy half-ton job the public loved. During the century that has passed since that first Ford truck chassis, the F-series has become the best-selling truck in the world, and the best-selling vehicle of any type in America. Ford Tough: 100 Years of Ford Trucks tells the entire Ford truck story from the very beginning, when Ford got its start in truck production. This book provides the history of the wide array of models Ford has built over the past century, including the Model A roadster pick-up, stylish 81C pickups, legendary 1948 F-1, Bronco, Courier, Ranchero, and Econoline.

Ford Tough: 100 Years of Ford Trucks

The definitive, fully illustrated celebration of an auto manufacturer that paved its own way by going off-road is now updated to celebrate Jeep’s 80th anniversary. Few American vehicles, or vehicles made anywhere else in the world for that matter, are as universally iconic as the Jeep. From olive drab WWII military relics to the beloved Wrangler with its rear-mounted spare tire, open-air design, and telltale roll cage, the Jeep is a true classic. In Jeep: Eight Decades from Willys to Wrangler, automotive writer Patrick R. Foster chronicles Jeep vehicle design and production from the beginning of World War II to present. Beginning with the Jeep as a crucial component of the American war fleet, Foster expertly recounts the corporate shifts, financial struggles and successes, close calls, and, above all, the enduring machines that have carried Jeep from the early 1940s to its triumphant role as a modern-day embodiment of American perseverance. More than 200 color and black-and-white historical photos and period advertisements complement his expertly written narrative of Jeep's entire history, now updated to include five years of new model editions and prototypes, its return to the pickup market, and recent stunning marketplace successes. The resulting book reminds us that sometimes the road less traveled was just waiting for the right truck.

Jeep: Eight Decades from Willys to Wrangler

Vintage Campers, Trailers & Teardrops is an entertaining photographic history of classic camper culture and travel from the 1930s to the present.

Vintage Campers, Trailers & Teardrops

Get an inside look at the American automaker that rose from the decline of a once-thriving independent auto industry to put up a valiant fight against Detroit's Big Three automakers. In&nbsp;The Complete Book of AMC Cars: American Motors Corporation 1954-1988, authors Patrick Foster and Tom Glatch&nbsp;provide a thorough and fully illustrated review of all the production cars offered by AMC from its founding in 1954 to its demise in 1988, including: &nbsp; <ul> <li>Rambler</li> <li>Metropolitan</li> <li>Ambassador</li> <li>Rebel</li> <li>Marlin</li> <li>Gremlin</li> <li>Hornet</li> <li>Matador</li> <li>AMX/Javelin</li> <li>Pacer</li> <li>Eagle</li> <li>Jeep</li> </ul> Born from the ashes of Hudson and Nash, AMC represented a last attempt at survival for an independent automobile company. Thanks to the capable leadership of CEO George Romney, the company not only survived but thrived, riding on the success of the firm's small, economical cars like the Rambler. As the market began to shift more toward performance and luxury cars in the 1960s, AMC found itself challenged to compete with the output from Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors. &nbsp; The fuel crisis of the 1970s positioned AMC's smaller cars to refill corporate coffers. The firm's purchase of the Jeep brand also generated profits, but ultimately it was too little, too late. Even a partnership with French automaker Renault and the introduction of the all-wheel-drive Eagle couldn't save AMC. In 1987, Chrysler Corporation purchased AMC and the story of the last independent automaker came to an end. Marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of AMC, Foster and Glatch's engaging book covers all of the AMC models, as well as racing exploits, from its inception to its ultimate demise. Whether you are an AMC enthusiast or are simply intrigued by cars and the stories behind them, this volume is a must-have for your bookshelf.

The Complete Book of AMC Cars: American Motors Corporation 1954-1988

Glatch, Tom

The Studebaker history is a short one, and a sad one at that, but inside Studebaker, you'll find a meticulously crafted history of the early automobile. Studebaker began business as a builder of covered wagons. By 1921 they were the number four automaker in the nation. By 1932 they were bankrupt. And for Studebaker, one of the most remarkable stories in American automotive history, that was only the beginning. Studebaker: America's Most Successful Independent Automaker tells the full and fabulously colorful history of this icon of the American automotive scene. Rife with triumph and tragedy, brilliant moves and boneheaded decisions, Studebaker's decades of building cars makes for a tempestuous saga featuring some of the more interesting characters in the twentieth-century business world.
 Above all, the story features cars that, for countless Americans, truly defined driving: not just the Champion, which rocketed the company back to the top in 1939, or the 1950s Raymond Loewy-designed Starliner, deemed a "work of art" by the Museum of Modern Art, but also the Hawks and Larks that so many drivers loved. As the book traces Studebaker's fortunes from success to crisis to merger and back, it also dwells with loving photographic attention on the vehicles, from the first electric car to the last Avanti.

Studebaker: The Complete History

Crestline Books

Jeep is the definitive, fully illustrated celebration of an auto manufacturer that paved its own way by going off-road. Few American vehicles, or vehicles made anywhere else in the world for that matter, are as universally iconic as the Jeep. From olive drab WWII military relics to the beloved Wrangler with its rear-mounted spare tire, open-air design, and telltale roll cage, the Jeep is a true classic. In Jeep: The History of America's Greatest Vehicle, automotive writer Patrick R Foster chronicles over 70 years of Jeep vehicle design and production. Beginning with the Jeep as a crucial component of the American World War II fleet, Foster expertly recounts the corporate shifts, financial struggles and successes, close calls, and, above all, the enduring machines that have carried Jeep from the early 1940s to its triumphant role as a modern-day embodiment of American perseverance. Three hundred color and black-and-white historical photos complement his expertly written narrative of Jeep's entire history, reminding us that sometimes, the road less traveled was just waiting for the right truck.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Foster, Patrick R.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Foster, Patrick R.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Foster, Patrick R.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

American Motors Corporation: The Rise and Fall of America's Last Independent Automaker

Jeep: The History of America's Greatest Vehicle

International Harvester Trucks: The Complete History

Airstream: America's World Traveler

Ford Tough: 100 Years of Ford Trucks

Jeep: Eight Decades from Willys to Wrangler

Vintage Campers, Trailers & Teardrops

The Complete Book of AMC Cars: American Motors Corporation 1954-1988

Studebaker: The Complete History

Jeep: The History of America's Greatest Vehicle