HolidayGiftGuide2022

‘DETROIT STEEL ARTISTS’

“Detroit Steel Artists” is one of those rare coffee table books that pairs thorough, engaging research with beautiful historic and modern imagery. The research studies the art of the automobile in the years before Harley Earl of General Motors is often erroneously credited with inventing automobile design; after acknowledging the styling efforts of Studebaker and Locomobile in the 1910s, author Matthew Kilkenny studies the automobile design figures who made great strides towards beautifying the automobile in the early 1920s and beyond: Edsel Ford, Raymond Dietrich, Thomas Hibbard and Ralph Roberts. “Detroit Steel Artists” concentrates on these men through written and recorded interviews capturing the men’s own words, often in reference to their years at Le Baron and Dietrich, Inc., two of the preeminent coachbuilders of the 1920s and 1930s.

Kilkenny masterfully blends his appreciation for fine artwork and fine Classic Era automobile design to weave the words of Le Baron and Dietrich, Inc., designers, giving a wonderful perspective to the now-treasured cars from these coachbuilders. The text is further enhanced by the large vintage photos of the men and the cars, as well as period coachbuilder catalog pages and beautiful modern studio images from renowned photographers.

Connoisseurs of elegant, coachbuilt automobiles from the prewar era, especially those from Le Baron and Dietrich, Inc., will treasure this thoroughly researched and illustrated work on the fine Classics that came before the war. “Detroit Steel Artists” not only big and beautiful on the outside, the information inside is big and lives up to the book’s physical presentation.

Order a copy of the hardbound, 274-page book — which features a foreword by Jay

Leno — at amazon.com for $95.

SMITH-MILLER P.I.E. TRUCK

Smith-Miller, a builder of quality scale model trucks, hauls in the holiday season with its new 1950s LF Mack Conventional Cab Dromedary truck and trailer in Pacific Intermountain Express (P.I.E.) livery. This scale red 18-wheeler has real rubber tires and is built from painted and polished, high-grade aluminum. Inside, the truck is fitted with an interior, and the exterior detail even includes sand boxes for traction in front of the drive wheels, a spare tire and toolbox. Overall, the truck measures 40-inches long, 6 inches wide and 9 inches tall. Production is limited to just 100 trucks, with the ID number stamped on the frame.

The truck lists for $1,895, but order from the factory and save $500 by paying $1,395. To order, go to www.smittytoy trucks.com or call 818-703-8588.

OLD CARS GIFT SUBSCRIPTION

Stop sharing and start keeping your past issues of Old Cars by ordering a gift subscription for an old car pal or relative. Each gift subscription includes a card to let the recipient know the source of the generous giver — you! Have Old Cars delivered to a friend or relative by calling 877300-0243, or going to https://oldcars.secure.darwin.cx/I**DG6O.