It was brash and it was loud – the 1980s put paid to the glumness of the ’70s and nowhere was that more obvious than in the cars we drove, which took a quantum leap in durability, performance, equipment and style. They had to: Japanese quality and European design were luring away ever more customers. Features such as fuel injection, turbochargers, computer-controlled systems and four-wheel drive became commonplace. This was also the decade that brought us the people-carrier and the off-roader, new classes of car that radically reshaped family transport. Meanwhile, seatbelt-wearing became law, the M25 opened, speed cameras appeared and ram-raiding was the new motoring nemesis. Relive everything car-related in Britain in the 1980s with Giles Chapman.

It was brash and it was loud – the 1980s put paid to the glumness of the '70s and nowhere was that more obvious than in the cars we drove, which took a quantum leap in durability, performance, equipment and style. They had to: Japanese quality and European design were luring away ever more customers. Features such as fuel injection, turbochargers, computer-controlled systems and four-wheel drive became commonplace. This was also the decade that brought us the people-carrier and the off-roader, new classes of car that radically reshaped family transport. Meanwhile, seatbelt-wearing became law, the M25 opened, speed cameras appeared and ram-raiding was the new motoring nemesis. Relive everything car-related in Britain in the 1980s with Giles Chapman.

Growing up as a child in the ''80s had its ups and downs - it's perhaps the one decade that, more than any other, begets groans of, ''oh, what were you thinking?'' Those 10 years saw some huge changes - pop music went electronic, yuppies ruled the financial world, and fashion was never the same again. Neither was the car. Yes, despite some four-wheeled disasters, the ''80s still had plenty of cool cars. The petrol heads of the time lusted after Magnum P.I.''s Ferrari 308; they salivated over the Ferrari Daytona and Testarossa from Miami Vice, they watched ''Back to the Future'' in cinemas across the country, mesmerised at the sight of the Doc''s De Lorean (surely the ultimate in customisation?). Other 80s supercars included Porsche''s peerless 911, the original Audi Quattro (a car resurrected on current U.K. television in the show Ashes to Ashes) and the Ford Capri SLE 71R driven by Terry McCann in Minder... the list goes on. Now, 'The Best of Car' takes you back to the days when cars were flash, angular and mean. It''s time to don the shades and head out for a cool cruise down the strip. Flick through the glossy pages of what became the bible for aspiring car enthusiasts in the 80s - the only motoring magazine that reflected the true age of excess, and relive those long-forgotten dreams.

What it was like to grow up in 1980s Britain, from the Cold War to Duran Duran. This book combines memories, original documents and photos from that time.

For fifty years, Britain made the best toy cars in the world, expertly shrinking every kind of reallife vehicle and producing them in their countless, die-cast millions. Dinky Toys were the 1930s pioneers, then in the 1950s came the pocket-money Matchbox series, followed by Corgi Toys bristling with ingenious features and movie stardust. But who were the driving forces behind this phenomenon? And how did they keep putting the latest, most exciting cars into the palm of your hand year after year? In this illustrated and expanded edition of Britain's Toy Car Wars, Giles Chapman reveals the extraordinary battle to dominate Britain's toy car industry, and the dramas and disasters that finally saw the tiny wheels come off ...

During his sixty years as a motoring journalist, Stuart Bladon test drove almost every car on the road. Working for Autocar, and later as a freelance writer, he was granted access to some of the oddest vehicles off the road as well, including the three-wheeled Bond Minicar, in which he was very nearly killed. The best part of any car test, however, was finding out how fast they would go. In 1970, he set what was for a long time Autocar's fastest road test maximum speed, at 172mph. Going back to the days when the only speed limit was the 30mph restriction in built-up areas, each chapter of this book brings a motoring story of travel, testing and adventure. Since a fond aunt began teaching him to drive at the age of 7, Stuart Bladon has enjoyed a lifelong passion for cars. This book recounts the many motors and the colourful escapades of a life spent very near – if not over – the speed limit.

From the foreword: ". . . these cars aren't rare or unique, but they have other things going for them. Sometimes they were the subject of amazing restorations or rescue efforts. Sometimes, against all odds, they remained in one family for generations, or were babied to extremes and today have ridiculously low totals on their odometers. These are the cars that have stories. They might not have been amazing when they were new, but they are unique now because of the lives they've lived and the owners who have sat in their driver's seats. They've got history, and if they could talk, what amazing tales they could tell us!"