Kings of the Road, Toby Hagon and Bruce Newton, Macmillian,RRP $49.99

THE immediate impression this large format and finely produced book gives is that it is a celebration of cars and more specifically, Australian cars.

THE immediate impression this large format and finely produced book gives is that it is a celebration of cars and more specifically, Australian cars. Many are iconic and many are well entrenched into the national car consciousness.

You do not have to be a revhead to enjoy it either as it’s the kind of book that deserves to be on any bookshelf that reflects and interest in Australia. The reason is easy to see. Cars have in large part defined travel for many in this wide brown land.

While the book gives a rich selection of cars that are significant in the Australian car story, it is not intended to be an absolute list. Readers will likely have their own favourites and wonder what they are not included. Still this is part of the book’s significance. It is likely to start a debate with car enthusiasts.

The structure of the book is astute. The first section, ‘The Countdown’, gives timely recognition to historically important cars. The Falcon XM is there, arguably the first “truly Australian Falcon”. The range is considerable and will have many readers nodding their heads in recollection of the fever pitch excitement of the 1971 Holden SSV8.

Beyond the survey of cars that in some ways defined Australian family travel, work vehicles and off road adventuring, there is some perspective given to the imaginative design that went into futuristic concept cars. The Holden Hurricane, while perhaps unfamiliar was a significant leap in technology and vision of the future.

Other sections look at such things as ‘Movie Cars’ and ‘Sports Cars that Made a Difference’. Still if there are two cars that in some ways were envied for their capacity to be game changers then it is the Holden Monaro and the Falcon GT and GTHO. Both are covered extensively.

The book has outstanding black and while and sumptuous colour photographs throughout and the text is knowledgeably and accessibly written.