Among the hardest core of American automotive enthusiasts there always exists a desire to press styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor -- to truly craft an automobile of one's own. This photographic and cultural history examines the evolution of American custom cars from the 1930s to present, covering touchstone trends, influential builders (Barris, Roth, Coddington et al), custom shows, enthusiast magazines and regional styles. An expensive collection of rare period photography and exclusive modern shots help illustrate how Detroit informed the styling of customs (and vice versa), the explosion of the custom car scene after World War II and the factors that led to the custom's near-death in the 1960s and its resurgence in the '80s. But most of all, this chronicle is a showcase of the great cars and people who influenced the movement through the years.

DieCast X covers the entire spectrum of automotive diecast from customizing to collecting. it takes an insider's look at the history behind popular diecast cars and trucks, as well as how each model has helped shape the automotive industry and motor sports

George Barris created some of the best-known, most iconic cars of the 20th century, including the original TV Batmobile, the Munsters Koach, Hirohata Merc, Ala Kart and countless other made-to-order vehicles for movies, TV and for the private use of his celebrity clients. This is the definitive collection of his work, with nearly 500 pages jam-packed with photos, design sketches and more.

I DRAW Cars is the ultimate tool for practicing the basics of car design, including proportion and perspective. We've designed the ultimate Automotive Design field guide by pairing commonly used industry reference materials with a ubiquitous and iconic sketchbook format. Contents include industry reference materials, commonly used perspective and proportions guides, step-by-step tutorials, and 100+ pages of templates to practice with.

People are as interesting in painting and customizing now, as they were when this material was first created, in the 1950s. Everyone wants to know how to do a flame job, or how to run a pair of pinstripes straight down the side of their car. In this book George Barris explains how he and brother Sam did their custom painting and early flame jobs in the 1950s. No one can tell this story as well as George Barris, a fine photographer and the man who built many of the cars shown in the book. This particular book, Volume 4, contains more than just the photos and words of George Barris. This volume contains first-person side-bars by legendary painters and builders like Dean Jeffries and Larry Watson, describing how they developed their talents and what it was like to customize cars in those days.