Drive On!: A Social History of the Motor Car

Setright's book is a must read, not only for car enthusiasts, but also for anyone interested in the social history of the last 150 years. It is full of wit and insight, and is vastly entertaining and enlightening. This hardbook version stimulated me to read it all over again. It is every bit as good as I remembered it. I have only one gripe. It was described as the illustrated edition, but has no more pictures in it than the paper back version I purchased a couple of years ago.

As an automotive journalist, I've read my share of histories of the motorcar, but none captured my interest like Setright's fresh look at the interaction between car and society. Instead of opining on how the car has impacted on society, he writes about how society has transformed automotive technology and styling over the last 100 years. Be prepared for strong opinions and a decidedly Eurocentric point of view, but also enjoy a tale of heroes and charlatans and some of the best writing ever on the subject. It's also beautifully illustrated, and the layout is worthy of the best coffee tables. Give it to someone who thinks he knows the subject and watch how he keeps telling you about interesting stuff he reads in this great book.

The good: Setright will teach most people more about cars and technology in this book, than one could learn from reading 100 others. He uses his unique skill to focus on what is truly important technology and to ignore the waste.Setright's many opinions are worth as much as his technical details are. His impressions of things like all wheel steering and automatic transmissions are a true breath of fresh air.The bad: Those who have read Setright will know his writing is top notch. This book though is sometimes repetitive and disorganized. It feels like he may have tried to be too broad for once.