Go Faster: The Graphic Design of Racing Cars

As a graphic designer and a race fan I got very excited when I heard of this book, so much so that I ordered it immediately. At first pass it is a very clean and artful presentation that seems to cover the topic well. Unfortunately after spending an evening with the book I am left wanting so much more. While the author does offer more insight to the topic than any other published piece that I am aware of, he stops shy of giving us a good and thoughtful overview. Only 14 written pages occupy this 144 page book. Even then many of these pages are only a quarter to half page full. With such a rich topic I wish that the author had explored the subject with much greater depth. There are two pages that are left unexplainably blank which only added to my growing frustration. I would not be so critical if the book were under $20.Presenting the topic in a chronological format would have also helped me to understand the evolution and role of graphic communication in the sport. The book is somewhat random in it's presentation. Maybe even a comparison on the good versus bad design in relationship to art as a form of communication. The author as a graphic designer and would have been able to express his opinion on that. Yes, the author does explain how design was used to create a sense of speed but he stops short of the multi-faceted role color, shape, and text play on the undulating canvas of the automotive form. With exception of a couple of pictures of GT3 Porsche the last decade of racecars are not covered. NASCAR offers some graphically rich images and why no mention or pictures of the great Benetton F1 cars?I was also disappointed that so many "toy" cars were used as illustrations. Many of the toys used are not very faithful to the real car thus water down the exercise. Some higher quality Minichamps models were used. I understand the creativity the author was trying to exercise but unfortunately the presentation suffered. The toys also dilute the representation of any serious attempt. I do like the "blank canvas" effect of the white car form to compare against. More photography or illustrations might have served him better. Even employing Photoshop to correct the flaws would have improved the presentation. Kevin Cameron's, The Grand Prix Motorcycle: The Official Technical History is a masterful example of how to artfully present such a topic.All that said I would encourage a second edition of this book to improve upon, in my opinion the shortcomings that keep this book for being exceptional look at a worthy topic.

Book attempts to emphasize the dichotomy and relationship between graphics and graphic design as applied to race cars. Seeing how the two dimensional and three dimensional aspects interrelate and work together (or sometimes in opposition) is somewhat interesting. I could understand what the author was trying to achieve, but felt the execution was sometimes lacking. In particular, the using of non-representational/realistic models (Hot Wheels/Matchbox and plastic slot car bodies) instead of more detailed versions (i.e., metal diecasts or other scale models). At least there are some nice color photos of lots of 1960 - 1980's race cars with associated liveries in the book.

This book is a photographer's art experiment. The author first photographed toy cars in color before coloring them all white to show the two photos side-by-side. There is an introduction that covers about 10% of the pages that does have photos of real cars, but bulk is just toys. I bought this expecting reference photos of actual race cars and maybe a little insight into race car graphic design. Pictures of toys are worthless to me, at least it was relatively cheap. The book's description is very misleading. I should have paid better attention to the reviews.

This is my first review after buying literally hundreds of books over the years. This book is so poorly done that I feel sorry for anyone who bought it unseen.Of 140 pages, only 40 have any useful content, and even that is of little value.The "models" are poor diecast, no consistency in size or accuracy, etc, etc. I wish I had seen the other reviews prior to purchasing.Overall the book looks like a high school level project. (Freshman year!)

This is a rip-off! The author has painted small matchbox size models white and then hand painted them to look like race cars. Fully 1/2 of the pages are full of these models painted white. I do not need to pay money to see white toy cars. The quality of the paint jobs is relatively poor and there is VERY LITTLE actual information about REAL CARS in this ridiculous book. I used to work for a major company that created the largest quantity of quality toy cars and their work was exceptional. Hint: buy Hot Wheels, they are at least painted well.Buy a subscription to RACER magazine or go ta a real race if you want to use your money to see race car graphics.This book is a joke!

Like others, I ordered this book immediately upon reading about its release. While I have enjoyed leafing through it a couple of times over the past few months, I too am left wanting more.This topic is intriguing, and while this is the only example of a book that I've seen that addresses it, this particular book feels much like a rough draft of what the author intends to do at a later date. Perhaps it is an undergraduate art history project? That very well may explain the complete lack of real automobiles being compared in white and with graphics.I could have grabbed my camera and a big can of talcum powder and done this myself. Of course I didn't think of it first, so some credit is due to the author.

Awful book.I can't believe I spent money on this thing.

The use of the author's scruffy model collection to illustrate racing car advertising is pure laziness, not creative as it tries to come across as.Its as if I wanted to write a book on food packaging and simply used the contents of my kitchen cupboards.The scope and coverage falls far short of what might be expected.

Keine Frage, der Detailreichtum von Modellautos ist fasziniered. Aber hier hat jemand eine alte Dachboden-Kiste ausgeleert und den Inhalt photographiert - diesen Eindruck wird man beim Durchblättern nicht los. Die Qualität der z.T. total zerkratzten Exponate ist einfach lausig. Auf Ebay gibt es sowas für ein, zwei Euro.Schwerer wiegt jedoch, daß dem Inhalt jegliche Struktur fehlt: Hier mal ein paar Gulf Autos, da mal ein paar mit Jägermeister Dekor, dazwischen willkürlich ein paar Matchbox-Autos, die es so nie in der Realität gab. Dabei könnte man allein die Entwicklung z.B. der Martini-Livery über die Jahrzehnte sehr schön anhand von Modellautos dokumentieren. Vertane Chance!

Dieses Buch hat eindeutig den falschen Titel. Es sollte heissen:Go Faster: The Graphic Design of Old Toy Cars.Der Einband sagt eigentlich alles, anstatt Racing Cars mit aufregenden Grafiken Finden sich im Buch Fotografien von alten Matchbox Autos.Teilweise sehr alten Modellen bei denen sich die Decals schon auflösen oder ganz offensichtlich nicht mehr alle vorhanden sind.Zwar wurden hier einige nette Rennmodelle zusammengesucht doch sieht man die auf den Miniaturen natürlich stark vereinfachten Grafiken meistens nur von einer Seite was auch irgendwie sinnlos ist.Zwar fängt das Buch recht nett mit Fotografien historischer Rennfahrzeuge, wohlgemerkt die meisten ohne besondere Grafiken, an aber nach ein paar seiten ist dieser Teil vorbei und mann bekommt nur noch Spielzeug zu sehen.Ganz nebenbei frage ich mich auch was der Autor damit bezwecken wollte die Autos alle mit Spraydosen weis zu lackieren und im Buch mindestens genau so viele Bilder dieser Farblosen Modelle zu platzieren wie von den Fahrzeugen mit Grafik? Das ergibt zwar ein schönes Cover geht aber völlig am Buchtitel vorbei.alles in allem, absolut nicht zu empfehlen.Sollte ich irgend wann einmal Kinder haben kann ich das Buch wenigstens als "cooles" Malbuch weiglbuchter geben.Das ist wohl die einzige Verwendung für dieses "Meisterwerk" und ich würde deshalb auch dazu Raten, falls es jemals zu einer zweiten Auflage kommen sollte, es umzubenennen auf:Go Bunter: The Malbuch für Nachwuchsrennfahrer.

Well, the title pretty much says it all. There is almost no discussion of graphic design in this book, just a collection of pictures of toy cars, both as they would normally appear and coated in white chalk dust. Since the collection doesn't include recentish (say last 10 years) F1, Indycar, LMP (open or closed) or NASCAR designs it even fails to demonstrate just how samey recent cars in a series are compared with the 1960s and 1970s designs that feature heavily. In short, it's a picture book, not a reference or a graphic design work like the title suggests.

Nul..sans interet..Je croyais que c'etait une reflexion intelligente sur la signification ou la symbolique des couleurs en mouvement..C'est un type qui a peint ses jouets..SANS AUCUN INTERET..

Im Gegensatz zur Kritik meines Vorgängers finde ich durchaus, dass dieses Buch seinen Reiz auch für einen Rennfan (wie mich) hat: Auch wenn die Fotos ausschliesslich von kleinen Modellen sind, finde ich die neuen Perspektiven trotzdem spannend: natürlich v.a. für das Auge. Details über die einzelnen Wagen erhält man nicht. Und hier kommt mein einziger Negativpunkt: Man erfährt auch nicht, wer das Design gemacht hat... das hätte ich jetzt angebracht gefunden.Was in den Händen bleibt ist DAS andere Rennbuch der 70er, 80er und 90er Rennwagen. Für Rennfans, die sich gleichzeitig für Gestaltung, Fotografie und Illustration interessieren durchaus ein Leckerbissen... und teuer ist es ja auch nicht.