Eight Books Every Auto Enthusiast Should Read, and One for the Kids (2024)

It would be sacrilegious not to include at least one book by enigmatic former C/D editor Brock Yates. Told with Yates's characteristic irreverence and wit, interspersed with the words of others who were there, Cannonball! tells the full story of how the legendary (and illegal) Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash from New York City to Los Angeles went down. The book animates the culture that inspired the dangerous cross-country sprint and helps explain why the race has endured in the minds of car enthusiasts for decades.

Some of you will think we're crazy for putting a four-volume marque history book on this list, but we wouldn't feel right excluding it; we use it all the time. Our go-to guide for all things Porsche, this collection by automotive historian and former C/D editor Karl Ludvigsen covers it all, from the brand's prewar genesis to its foray into electric vehicles with the 2020 Taycan. We'd recommend it to anyone, but especially Porschephiles.

Pulitzer-winning journalist Paul Ingrassia covered the auto industry for decades, and his passion for cars and ability to tell captivating stories are at the heart of this book. Engines of Change isn't about the biggest or fastest cars on the road. Instead, it details what made vehicles such as the Volkswagen Beetle, Chrysler's first minivan, and the Toyota Prius so important. It's a must-read for any enthusiast.

Journalist Mary Walton goes behind the scenes in this deeply reported book about redesigning the Ford Taurus for 1996, when it was already the bestselling vehicle in the country. It serves as a case study of the work that goes into the development of a mass-produced vehicle. It's also a reminder, against the backdrop of today's truck-happy world, that the industry once revolved around cars. To the masses, the Taurus may have seemed like a cookie-cutter sedan, but Walton proves that couldn't have been further from the truth.

An undeniable car guy, Bob Lutz held senior executive positions at BMW, Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. In Car Guys vs. Bean Counters, he shares what he thinks went wrong at GM, and for American automakers as a group, in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis. His main point: The bean counters took precedence over the car guys. Lutz, in typical fashion, puts himself front and center while sporting his pride in the American automaker. He argues that car guys made American cars great and that they can do so again.

One of the most influential leaders in the Ameri­can auto industry, Lee Iacocca helped bring the Ford Mustang to fruition and, later, saved Chrysler from bankruptcy. In his autobiography, he speaks with the authority and insight of a man who held top positions at more than one of the Big Three, a rarity. He concludes his book with thoughts on the future of the industry, thoughts that remain relevant even though he published this 36 years ago.

Through this series of essays, Tom Wolfe delves into the counterculture of the 1960s, from the custom-car scene in California to the rise of stock-car racing in the South. It's not your traditional car book, but Wolfe's outsider perspective provides an interesting look at the era that inextricably linked the automobile with American pop culture. His first book, The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby brought Wolfe literary fame and introduced the world to a new style of journalism.

In the 1920s, Henry Ford was looking for a new source of rubber. He turned to Brazil and bought large swaths of land on which to start a rubber farm as well as an American-style town where his workers would live. Greg Grandin uncovers the history of the town's development and the ensuing clashes between the company and the Brazilian people tasked with working there. As Ford imposed more American customs on the locals, the clashes escalated, ultimately spelling the end of Fordlandia.

If you're looking to foster a love of cars in the next generation, there's no better place to start than with Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. It's an illustration-heavy book that features vehicles ranging from a sports coupe to a passenger jet to a cheese car carrying a half-dozen mice. Scarry's story follows a family of pigs on their way to a picnic, but the illustrations are so plentiful and whimsical that kids can love this book even if they're too young to understand the narrative.