The Cars You Always Promised Yourself

Steve saxty, Porter Press International, £44.95 (Collector’s edition £79.95), IsBN 978 1 907085 76 5

Certain classic European Fords have enjoyed some fairly meteoric price rises over the past 20 years, which is coincidentally the length of time it’s taken for author Steve Saxty to follow-up his first book on the Capri. It seems we have the digital age to thank for the new book’s appearance, as Saxty exploited social media to connect with many of the people involved with the Ford story through the ages. Such a task 20 years ago would have been almost impossible.

The rich and interesting story of Ford’s coupés and performance cars since the ’60s deserves a highquality treatment, and Porter Press has certainly lavished Saxby’s book with high production standards. The first few introductory pages set your mind at ease, as it’s clear from the outset that this book will do justice to these culturally significant cars.

The Capri and Sierra take up a significant proportion of the pages, and those stories frame many of the other models, prototypes and special projects that came and went along the way. With smaller sections on various Ford designers, engineers and other noteworthy characters throughout to break it up, it’s an extremely comprehensive and widereaching book that’s genuinely fascinating in places – even to the casual Ford enthusiast.

Continuing to the more modern coupés such as the Probe and Puma, and the stalled attempt at reviving the Capri that was the Cougar, Saxty ends by looking to the future, examining some stillborn concepts and explaining how Ford is still committed to the coupé with the European-optimised Mustang.

This is without doubt the most in-depth work ever published on the subject. Notable contributions come from former Ford of Europe chairman Bob Lutz, ex-design director Patrick le Quément, and Rod Mansfield, founder of Ford Special Vehicle Engineering. The book’s excellent design is also a huge plus point – something all-too-often sadly lacking from automotive books that tackle blue-collar subjects – and there are a huge number of neverbefore-seen pictures from Ford’s archives. Saxty spent many days in the Cologne archives scanning photos, and it was absolutely worth his time.

Clearly aimed at the informed reader, Saxty’s book speaks with authority but remains easy to absorb, nicely paced and thoroughly enjoyable throughout. Since it’s edited by hugely respected automotive journalist and former Car magazine editor Mel Nichols, that’s no surprise. MH