New Book Celebrates the Marketing of the American Automobile

01_vw_1961Designed as toss-asides, the humble marketing brochures have been lauded in a new must-have book for anyone with a penchant for cars, marketing and stunning design.

The history of the marketing materials behind the American automobile is the subject of a stunning new book from Taschen Books titled “Automobile Design Graphics.”

“The enormous bulk of this hefty hardcover belies the relatively modest scale of its subject: the marketing brochure,” notes  Michael Dooley in Print. “Typically, they were designed to toss aside once they served their sole product-pushing purpose, so as to make room for next year’s models. Despite their ephemeral nature, Taschen’s indomitable editor Jim Heimann has done due diligence in accumulating a massive number of top-notch examples, often breathtaking in their stylish sophistication.”

“Lavishly produced, luxuriously designed with stunning full-color gatefolds, tipped-in colored paint chips, and plush upholstery swatches, automotive sales brochures were the V-8s of printing,” reads the book’s introduction. “Designed to spark primal urges, they combined movie-star magazine fantasy with business prospectus functionality. They sold unbridled ingenuity, innovative engineering, and the American dream.”

It’s not only a beautiful history lesson in the automotive industry, it’s a rare inside look at the evolution of marketing the four-wheeled American Dream. You can order directly from Taschen Books; the design buffs and car lovers in your life will thank you.