Auto Review Books from Oxford Diecast

Auto Review is a series of A5 32-page monographs on subjects related to transport, collecting and popular culture, which began publication in 1996. First, a little about how it all started: We began to publish the Auto Review series in early 1996, after deciding on the subject matter, size and presentation of this series of compact, concise, affordable monographs on subjects related to transport, collecting and popular culture.

The first six titles included 32 A5 size pages, all in mono (black and white) plus stiff card outer covers in colour, and they were priced at only £2.95 each. Those titles are still that price today. Over the next two years the range grew, and the price increased to £3.95 each. The authors of the early books were in a network of friends and co-contributors to Model Auto Review magazine.

You may notice that 19 numbers are missing from the early sequence of Auto Review titles. 16 of them were issues of avia mini, a publication for collectors of model and toy aircraft. All of the old avia mini issues are still available, but they are not listed in this catalogue.

After publication of Auto Review 17: Vehicles of the RAC, personal circumstances forced us to suspend publication of three titles which were planned for release at that time (on motor coaches, Ford Thunderbirds and taxicabs), and their numbers were abandoned.

We considered re-launching Auto Review at various times, but it was almost ten years before we did so, encouraged by a friend who needed two publications for his own commercial purposes. We therefore re-designed the format, introducing eight pages of full colour into the 32 A5 pages, now at a cover price of £5.95. Those two publications were on Mini and Spitfire (Auto Review 31 and 32), making us look again at some of the titles suspended a decade earlier. The revived series was so well-received that a production programme was soon put under way, the rate of release increasing to one per month. Some are written by world-renowned experts on their subject, such as Paul Nieuwenhuis (DAF) and C David Conway (Citroen), but most of the others carry my name on the cover. Don’t be misled, however; every Auto Review title is a joint effort by a wide-ranging group of enthusiasts from all over the world. Some of them provide considerable amounts of text, others offer snippets and anecdotes. Illustrations are sourced from archives of photographs, sales catalogues and other ephemera belonging to our team of contributors.

Oxford Diecast has supported Auto Review for many years and distributes the range of titles.