There are two kinds of classic car buffs: those who have restored an old car, and those who want to. For anyone who has looked at a rusty heap in a field and seen only the gleaming new machine it once was, the urge is powerful, but also intimidating. Restoration can be a difficult, expensive, and--especially for the novice--mysterious undertaking. Dave Floyd, an enthusiast with a lifelong love for the great cars on the road in his youth, is one who answered the call. In this book he traces every step of restoring a long-neglected 1948 Chrysler New Yorker to its original glory, all on a real-world budget and in the spare hours left by a full-time job. Every task, every discovery, every obstacle, every triumph and frustration comes through in a detailed account that is part diary, part practical guide, part love story. Told with great charm, his story is inspiring to any prospective old-car hobbyist, and a special treat for Chrysler devotees.

A history of the design, marketing, and uses of Chrysler's F-body cars, the 1976-1980 Dodge Aspens and Plymouth Volares. Lots of photographs (many in color) and data tables. This book has had highly favorable reviews in MOPAR COLLECTORS GUIDE and HEMMINGS CLASSIC CAR magazines.

The first comprehensive history of the Chrysler Corporation, this book is intended for readers interested in the history of automobiles and of American business, and for fans and critics of Chrysler’s products. From the Chrysler Six of 1924 to the front-wheel-drive vehicles of the 70s and 80s to the minivan, Chrysler boasts an impressive list of technological "firsts." But even though the company has catered well to a variety of consumers, it has come to the brink of financial ruin more than once in its seventy-five-year history. How Chrysler has achieved monumental success and then managed colossal failure and sharp recovery is explained in Riding the Roller Coaster, a lively, unprecedented look at a major force in the American automobile industry since 1925. Charles Hyde tells the intriguing story behind Chrysler-its products, people, and performance over time-with particular focus on the company's management. He offers a lens through which the reader can view the U.S. auto industry from the perspective of the smallest of the automakers who, along with Ford and General Motors, make up the "Big Three." The book covers Walter P. Chrysler's life and automotive career before 1925, when he founded the Chrysler Corporation, to 1998, when it merged with Daimler-Benz. Chrysler made a late entrance into the industry in 1925 when it emerged from Chalmers and Maxwell, and further grew when it absorbed Dodge Brothers and American Motors Corporation. The author traces this journey, explaining the company's leadership in automotive engineering, its styling successes and failures, its changing management, and its activities from auto racing to defense production to real estate. Throughout, the colorful personalities of its leaders-including Chrysler himself and Lee Iacocca-emerge as strong forces in the company's development, imparting a risk-taking mentality that gave the company its verve.