Car Design Europe [Gebundene Ausgabe]

"Car Design Europe" is a fascinating and well researched look into the history and evolution of European automobile production. Having spent a lot of time in England on business, I was fortunate to make friends with a car collector that delighted in showing a "Yank" what set a finely made classic European car apart from an American car of the same period (even so, I still like "fins"), so was thrilled to be offered a copy of the book to review.

This is a comprehensive work presented in side by side English, German, and French text (almost a Rosetta Stone) that covers both major and lesser known manufactures and designers, and has many photographs to highlight the design points being discussed but also includes a selection of fun "eye candy" shots of classic autos.

The academic aspect of the book is fascinating since the author includes vehicles and designers that few people outside the avid collector circles may be familiar with, but none the less had an impact on later designs and advancements. It would have been easier to focus on the most popular autos, but it would have made this less of a real history lesson.

This is a fun book to flip through to enjoy looking at the photo evolution of the cars or to take the time to appreciate the scholarly elements. My son (who starts driving this week and is infatuated with cars) actually used this book as a reference for reports in his German and European History classes.

Highly Recommended!

CFH

'Car Design Europe' starts in earnest with the designs of the 1920s -- the period when car makers moved beyond the purely functional -- and continues through recent efforts such as the Audi A7 and revised 2011 VW Beetle. It does this in three languages in under 400 pages, meaning it packs a lot of text and photos into a relatively small space. With nearly all of the significant designers and design houses being European, author Tumminelli has chosen a fertile area to explore the evolution of the car as art and social artifact.

The strength of Car Design Europe is quite simply its scope. Rather than cherrypicking only the usual legends and narrating centerfold photos of them, Tumminelli delves into a broad array of the cars of each decade, focusing on major designers (Pinin Farina, Sacco, Michelotti, Bertone, Ghia and many others) and significant trends. There is a certain design language to cars of the 1960s, for example, and he explores that not just through the supercars like the Miura and Iso Grifo, but through the more prolific offerings of Fiat, Alfa, Citroen, etc. Where the author opts for two-page spreads or full page photos, they are beautifully presented and -- importantly -- contemporary, complete with visual cues of the era. (A Ferrari 400 SA Superfast is especially eye popping in blue, suitably parked in front of a midcentury architectural gem; the Miura is posed with a fetching model in '60s fashions -- tasteful and evocative.)

Likewise Tumminelli is very knowledgeable about his subject, and this comes across in much of his commentary. For example Bruno Sacco's design for the initial Mercedes E-Class is often regarded as plain, but as photographed and described the author makes it come alive as something more special than a casual look might suggest. It is still more of a photo tour than an exhaustive text. He is restrained in his praise and evaluation, more the historian than the critic.

The weakness of Car Design Europe is the flipside of its strength. This is an ambitious book, covering a lot of ground, and with numerous thumbnail photos to support the text. While the larger photos and spreads are a pleasure, the thumbnails are more functional than anything, almost visual footnotes so the reader can remember what a Morris 1800 Saloon, for example, looks like. Likewise, the narrative moves at a good clip, without lingering on epochal designs in the way one might prefer (a la Robert Cumberford). The Porsche 356 Speedster, for example, is widely regarded as one of the legendary cars of its era, one that put Porsche on the map in America. Yet, it does not appear and receives only a passing reference, while the somewhat unloved Porsche 914 receives a beautiful two-page spread. Similarly, we miss the legendary Jaguar D-Type yet have the awkward '80s XJS in full color. The small photos are very much meant to support the text (and usually do). One might want to see Sean Connery and the DB5 standing more than an inch and half tall, considering the importance of the car, cinema and product placement.

For readers expecting an overview of the trends driving car design over the past 90 years, this is an enjoyable and informative read. It is slightly 'democratic', reminding us not just of the glamour cars but of the Renaults and Innocentis remembered by no one, and the stodgy Volvo 140. If you're looking for six pages on the 540K, E-Type, 250 GTO, Speedster, Countach and such, this isn't that kind of book. But, there are hundreds of books that do that already. I've always had a fascination for the great marques of Europe, and Tumminelli is clearly one who could teach a university course on the topic. A well-conceived book, nicely packaged, and in many ways a unique window into the artistic presence of the automobile.