Book Review: ‘Cars: Freedom, Style, Sex, Power, Motion, Colour, Everything’

The ‘59 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz is best known in pink. Pink! Can you believe it? A symbol of hope and change, the color of lipstick. It would be like dressing Obama in chiffon for his inauguration: it was audacious. That was the dawn of microwaves and the space-race, ambition fuelled by Madison Avenue when the optimism of a nation could be read in the handle of a refrigerator. Cadillac stood for dignity, grace and beauty, and the Eldorado was their most extraordinary sum yet. No doubt GM designers now have some clearer, more tangible description, but pink is unlikely to be one of their key words.

'Cars' is photographed and printed entirely in black and white. Despite author and design critic Stephen Bayley mentioning his views on the psychology of color and the importance of it to Harley Earl, the book remains handsomely monochrome. It begins with an articulate stroll through the history of cars and design, revealing Bayley's admiration for Earl, Bertone and Citroën. This silken introduction seems at odds with those recently written for CAR magazine, for whom he has written for more than 25 years; it is graceful and respectful, performing floral bows to the artistry of the past - and revealing the ideals he prickly judges by.

The exquisite photography by Tif Hunter of over 80 significant cars, from the Model T onwards, is accompanied by a studied ration of text from Bayley. Elegant, informative and occasionally anecdotal, Bayley tends to find just the right angle for his descriptions, even if limited column inches sometimes leave them feeling like a string of bullet points that have yet to be expanded - frustrating given the number of insights too swiftly aborted. Nevertheless, Bayley neatly cements his comments within societal observations and cultural nuances that provide a rich context that so many books overlook or undervalue, and the lack of specifications and performance figures satisfyingly distances 'Cars' from drier tomes.

The models themselves are well chosen, and 'Cars' benefits from Bayley's bias towards enclosed bodies rather than clambering around horseless carriages and wheeled cigars, revealing his deeper appreciation for styling rather than coach-making. As such the book feels quite personal, and looking through his eyes the camera often captures just the right details, especially for post-war Italian and American metal, which looks superb.

It is more modern machines that falter, however, and one feels that the book would have benefited from greater designer input. The Oldsmobile Toronado, for example, is praised for prominent wheelarches that ‘create a motif in their own right', but none of the six photographs illustrate them. And unless Bayley snuck the Twingo from a Parisian suburb as a wry paradox to his comment of 'radical design appealing to the middle aged', it is unforgivable that such an important car should have custom alloys and what appears to be grass growing from its window seals. The Nissan Cube, too, is marred by muddy rural reflections, while the chin spoiler and aftermarket grille is similarly out of place.

In some ways it is disappointing that a perfectionist like Bayley should overlook these details, but they are relatively minor and do not detract too much from the book's overall appeal. 'Cars' strikes an extremely attractive balance of thoughtful text and beautiful, bespoke photography, and it is worth shelling out for the full-sized version rather than the recession-spec miniature one presumably created for Father's Day gifts.

'Cars: Freedom, Style, Sex, Power, Motion, Colour, Everything' by Stephen Bayley, published by Conran Octopus, is now available pocket-sized from $17.49.

By Takeshi Sato