Veteran Cars - Amazing New Zealand Collections By Steve Reid
Harper Collins, $44.99
In essence this is a book about how dedicated vintage car restorers saved some of the rarest cars from oblivion.
To be perfectly correct, any car made before 1918 is actually deemed a veteran car and there are some great stories in this book about how some were found.
The radiator of an Albion (there are only three such cars left in the world) was found in a ditch with the mudguards in a nearby creek.
A farmer stumbled over a Cadillac on his farm and possibly the oldest restored Chevrolet was initially found beside a river in the Catlins.
The book also chats about the folk who painstakingly returned the cars to their former glory and the skills required to hand-fabricate many parts.
The book is in part homage to the people who realise that preserving motoring history is a gift to the future.