I bought this book for my car mad son but found myself also enjoying these tales or misadventure and amazing finds.

I learned a lot about classic cars and car collecting. My favorite was the Moxie Horsemobile -- I never imagined that such a car even existed!

This book was extremely interesting, though it did lose me in a few spots, as while I appreciate beautiful cars, I couldn't tell a Ferrari from an Aston Martin from a Pinto. I'm also not a grease monkey, so when they went into the engines and all of that other stuff, my eyes kind of glazed over.

However, if you are into cars or know someone who is, this book will make them salivate, and cry. The second part of the book is incredibly SAD. It's all about people who don't take care of nice things, like expensive cars and how the cars deteriorate. It's vehicular abuse I tell you!

Other than that part, which was depressing to read, the other stories were interesting and I really liked the bit about Steve McQueen and his cars. I was introduced to him via a friend and the movie "Bullitt" and that car chase scene was AMAZING! So reading a little about him and his personal cars was fascinating.

Also, the "barn finds" was sooooo cool. Makes me wonder what else is out there, just waiting to be found and brought back to life and usefulness. Who doesn't like a good treasure hunting, and finding, story?

My only complaint would be that there weren't enough pictures. A book like this, detailing high-end cars, you want lots of "car porn". Well, I did anyway, since all of the technical stuff zoomed right over my little head. I would have like to see more of what they were describing, rather than try to imagine it. Especially since I have no idea what most cars that aren't something I have owned or a Mustang look like!

A solid 3 stars from me. Not completely my wheel house, but worth looking at if you like perdy cars like me and DEFINITELY worth it if you are INTO cars. Five stars for "gear-heads". :)

My thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Motorbooks for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I’ve grown up in a car family, currently own a classic car and a preserved bus with my partner, so thought this was a perfect book to read! I regularly mix with bus enthusiasts but we don’t tend to show our car, possibility until now that is!

The book is packed full of tales (33 to be exact) from the world of car collectors, written by a collection of people in the know. Striking images make the stories come alive, we are able to the gloss of brand new cars to the rust and deterioration of some classic vehicles.

While there is no need to have any knowledge of cars before reading the book, there are a few detailed stories, these don’t seem to take away any enjoyment should you not understand it (engine types, size and so on) as it’s only a few stories with that much details.

It’s a shame to see some of the states the cars are currently in, it so frustrating to see the state of some of the beautiful cars of the past, with bodies and engines we just can’t replicate today being left. One of the tales regarding a fifty-year-old time capsule really stuck with me, I found myself telling anyone who would listen about it!

It is a book that is easy to dip in and out of, you can read it at your leisure as very few of the tales are linked. I will defiantly be purchasing the book for my father and my father-in-law as I know they both get hours of enjoyment from the book!

This was a pure delight to read. I loved reading the stories of how some of the worlds most rare cars were found, restored and brought back to life.
As the title says some of these stories are strange but true. Very enjoyable book! If you love cars, rare cars and great stories that go with them then you will love this book.

I was born into a family of motor heads that are car/racing enthusiast. And, most people I know recognize that rust buckets were once something much more than ...well...rust buckets.

Yes, fully restored might cost a pretty penny but it sure would gleam. And there's nothing better than a car that gleams unless it would be a car that...runs.

The first car I owned was red with black racing stripes but it was not a Ferrari Testarossa.

Over the years, I have attended countless car shows and, I, along with thousands of other bystanders spent our July's at the Grand Lake Festival watching 30-40 Amphicars participate in a “swim-in'. We all experienced a fleeting moment of joy, as these amphibious cars enter the water.

What's better than a car that can swim?

Perhaps, a magical car that can swim and fly.

I admit it. I love the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Partly because of Dick Van Dyke but mostly because of the car.

I'm fortunate in that I currently live close to the Classic Car Capital of the World. Yes, Auburn is the birthplace of the greatest car show on earth and simply stated, the luxurious Duesenberg uncovered by Jay Leno is smashing.

In all honesty, this is a 5 star read for me. I thoroughly enjoyed studying the details in this book. I'm fond of them all and the Moxie mobile and the Bubble-Screened Boondoggle stood out as the most intriguing.

Entertaining and eclectic mix of true car tales. Will appeal to collectors and appreciators of interesting stories.

While obviously written by and for people who are already super into cars -- for the technical details are plentiful and made my eyes glaze over -- this book has plenty of entertaining stories for those of us who are more interested in history, sociology, and archaeology than in engines and racing. It's extremely light reading, and I'd have probably gotten just as much out of looking these stories up on the internet (indeed, I remember reading about some of these stories on the internet when they were in the news), but it's kind of neat to have them collected in one volume. And the byproduct? I now know a lot more about cars, too.

A fun book. Can you imagine, inheriting some property from a relative, opening the garage door and finding an old car worth millions of dollars? This book has that story, plus many, many others that are just plain fun to read.
I would suggest this book for serious car buffs. There is a lot of detail that just plain went over my head.
My only complaint on the book is the lack of good photographs. Perhaps it is because I received it as an ebook from NetGalley, and future hard copies of the actual book will have them?

I believe this is a reprint, but it remains a very interesting book. There are a wide range of chapters on famous cars, rare cars, and plain cars found in unusual circumstances or owned by unusual people.

An excellent read for any classic car enthusiast with lots of very interesting and almost unbelievable stories about car collectors and their cars. Obviously I enjoyed some stories more than others but they all held my interest and I'm now looking forward to re-telling the tales to my grandson and impressing him.

I really enjoyed this book. So many fun facts, even if your not a car fanatic. The stories were interesting and some of them hard to believe.
Thanks to author, Quarto publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.