Complete Catalogue – serie

The Austin Seven was a hugely important arrival on the British motoring scene in 1922, its low price making car ownership available to a section of the public for whom this had earlier been a cost too far. It was cheap to run thanks to its small engine, and its simplicity did not frighten those new to the mechanics of a car. The Seven heralded the demise of the cheap but flimsy cyclecar, and in the longer term it also attracted buyers away from the motor-cycle-and-sidecar combinations that had been the only way into motorised transport for those of limited means.A century after the Seven’s introduction, the cars have a world-wide following. Part of the attraction is much the same as it always was – simplicity of maintenance and the low cost of ownership. Yet the sheer variety of Sevens produced between 1922 and 1939 as Austin gradually developed the model is also a source of fascination – and of some bewilderment and confusion. This book aims to give easy access to the key features of each variant of Austin Seven. It follows the vehicle’s evolution from its 1922 origins to 1939 when the last Seven was built.Yet the book goes far beyond that, giving details of models built outside Britain, coachbuilt cars, military variants and factory competition and record-breaking cars.

The Citroën 2CV was designed to bring affordable motoring to rural communities in France, but during a production run that spanned more than four decades it achieved far more than that. When already 25 years old, it presented an affordable solution to increasing fuel costs after the first Oil Crisis, and gained a legion of new devotees as a result. To help maintain its sales in this era, Citroën created a number of colourful special editions, which in some cases were specific to just one country, and in others differed between one country and the next.Along the way, the 2CV also became the foundation for a whole family of other small Citroëns, which were known collectively as the A-series models. The Ami, the Dyane and the Méhari provided simple and affordable passenger transport, and both these and the 2CV itself were further developed to provide light commercial vehicles as well. Meanwhile, licensed overseas assembly plants developed their own derivatives, which added further colour and interest to the 2CV story.There were far more varieties of these cheap and cheerful Citroëns than most people realise, and this book aims to catalogue them in an easily accessible format. It begins with an examination of the 2CV’s origins in the 1930s and then follows the evolution of the production cars before going on to look at the Ami, Dyane and Méhari models, in every case detailing the multiple special editions as well as the mainstream types. There are special chapters on the commercial derivatives, on the less well-known variants that were built in Europe, and on those created far from the car’s French home. The book closes with a look at the aftermarket conversions and accessories that became an important part of the 2CV story from the earliest times.

When the LandRover entered production in 1948, its manufacturers had designed it as aversatile platform – a basically-equipped vehicle that could be adapted inmultiple ways to meet the needs of its owners. The very first example displayedon a motor show stand, at Amsterdam in April 1948, was not a “standard” vehicleat all but had been adapted to turn it into a mobile welder. In the yearsthat followed, specialist companies flocked to create all kinds ofspecial-purpose adaptations of the basic vehicle, and before long its makerswere having to make major decisions about whether they could honour thestandard warranty on a Land Rover that had been modified by one of theseaftermarket companies. They solved the problem by introducing a Land RoverApproval scheme, under which they would examine and test an example of aconversion and would then agree to honour the vehicle warranty if theconversion met their standards. Even then, someconversions were put on the market without going through the formal approvalscheme, and buyers simply took the associated risk. Between these unauthorisedconversions and the factory-approved ones, a vast array of different types wascreated, and for enthusiasts today these have a very special appeal of theirown. The aim of thisbook is to catalogue those conversions, to provide both helpful backgroundinformation and to help in their identification. It cannot claim to beexhaustive, but it is certainly the most complete illustrated catalogue yetcompiled on the subject. Illustrated with pictures from the originalmanufacturers and with many others showing modern survivors, it is a colourfuland enjoyable guide to this branch of Land Rover history.