- History's Greatest Automotive Mysteries, by Preston Lerner and Matt Stone, Motorbooks, 256 pages, $29.95.
PLENTY of stories circulate the car world, from tales of racetrack exploits to unusual inventions that never became popular.
Authors Lerner and Stone have investigated many of the popular myths and mysteries and created an entertaining book from what they discovered.
Did Steve McQueen really do the famous driving sequence in Bullitt? There is some truth to that myth in that McQueen was behind the wheel when they started filming but after nearly crashing the Mustang into a camera setup the director pulled him out and put stunt driver Bud Ekins in. The live action chase scene through the steep San Francisco streets is still considered to be one of the best car chase segments in a movie.
A letter in the Henry Ford museum simply states that Fords are the best cars to outrun other cars. What makes the letter so fascinating is it was written by Clyde Barrows of Bonnie and Clyde fame and is referring to the bank robber's ability to out run pursuing law officers. Historical and handwriting analysis has determined that the letter is genuine while another letter in the museum, reportedly from another gangster, John Dillinger, also praising the performance of Fords, has been proven to be a fake.
Stories of urban legends, crime, film, racing, and the auto industry are all examined with the authors sharing their discoveries.
