“The Big Book of Car Culture:
An Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana”
By Jim Hinckley and Jon G. Robinson
Review by Gregg Leary

“The Big Book of Car Culture…for readers who love cars and the open road, here’s the ultimate armchair compendium to automotive Americana-a whimsical collection whose subjects range from the old chestnuts to the off-beat but no less fascinating:

Road Trip Must-Sees
Style on Wheels
Drive-thru Culture
Automobilia
Pit Stops
Highways and Byways.”

“Illustrated with hundreds of photos, period ads, postcards, gas station giveaways, and more, this whimsical collection of nearly 150 roadside icons features diners, drive in restaurants and movie theaters, service stations, Route 66…the Weinermobile, AMC Gremlin, breathalyzer and Earl Scheib.”

The Introduction echoes the book’s mission: “This book is in essence a scrapbook containing a series of time capsules that chronicle the evolution of our national obsession with all things automotive. As such, it is also a trip down memory lane for a few and a peek into the past for those who are too young to remember.”

The photographs on the cover are a time machine for me. A 1959 Rambler is like the one my Grandma drove. The view of Mount Rushmore takes me back to a family vacation in our 1962 Ford Galaxie. The Truck Stop on the back is one I’ve driven by in rural Ohio. The AMC Gremlin looks like a tennis shoe in profile and transports me to my days of selling cars. The Airstream trailer reminds me of scores of them I saw in Yellowstone campgrounds.

139 “Chapters” fill Six Sections in this 320 page delight. Some examples:

1: Only Twenty Miles To…
“The Thing”
Area 51
Lucy the Elephant
Cadillac Ranch
Pedro’s South of the Border
Graceland
Mount Rushmore
Wall Drug
See Rock City

2: Safety, Comfort and Style: The Evolution of Automotive Essentials
Crashes and Survival: The Modern Era of Automotive Safety
Radio: Theme Songs for the Road
Whose Idea Was That? Unsung Heroes of the Automotive Culture
CB: Reach Out and Touch Someone
Advertisements and Jingles: Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak
Hood Ornaments: Icons, Mascots and Flights of Fancy
Earl Scheib: “I’ll paint any car any color for only $29.95.”
Tail Fins: Monument to an Era of Dreams

3: The Ride
Airflow: The end of the stagecoaches
Airstream: Roughing it in style
Ambulance: A brief history of portable hospitals
The Last Ride: Going out in style
Checker: An urban legend
Corvette: America’s sports car
Edsel: Lemon or lemonade?

4: The Culture of the Road
Bates Motel
Billboards and Burma Shave: Signs of the times
Postcards and Bumper Stickers: Wish you were here
Coffee Shops and Diners: Eating with the locals
Drive In Theatre: Passion pits and family fun
Miniature Golf:
Easy Rider: “You know what, Billy? We blew it.”
Route 66
American Graffiti

5: Gasoline Alley
AAA: A century of service
Gas Pumps
The Stations
Giveaways
Restrooms: Some things just can’t wait
Mini-Mart

6: The Open Road
Alcan Highway
Breathalyzer: The public got MADD
U.S. 99 and U.S. 101
The Bridges
Ferries
Interstate Highways
Parking Meters
The Lincoln Tunnel
Route 66
Tollbooth
Pennsylvania Turnpike

If you are a baby boomer like me, chances are you’ll uncover a memory on nearly every page. The Pennsylvania Turnpike chapter brought a tear to my eye when I remembered our family trips from Western Pennsylvania to Glen Burnie, Maryland…Zelienople to Breezewood. My brothers and I were asleep in the back seat of our 1948 Chevy and my parents always woke us up when we got to the tunnels. Why? There really wasn’t much to see…please just let me sleep! I’d give almost anything to get a chance to relive those wonderful days.

Our Yellowstone trip in the mid-sixties in our 1962 Ford Galaxie pulling a popup camper
took us through many memories preserved in “The Big Book of Car Culture.” Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, Burma Shave Signs, Corvettes, Edsels, Billboards, Postcards, Bumper stickers, Miniature Golf, Gas Pumps, Restrooms, McDonalds, Neon, Howard Johnson’s, Dairy Queen, U-Haul, Neon, AAA, Phillips 66 and Esso.

“The Big Book of Car Culture” rates four out of five lug nuts and is available at SPEEDtv.com, Keyword “Books.” Enter “Americana Gift Set” in the search and get a set of four wonderful books at a substantial discount.