Bruno Sacco

When Bruno Sacco walked through the doors on his first day at Mercedes-Benz on 13 January 1958 it is highly unlikely that his Daimler-Benz colleagues could ever imagine that this nervous young man would not only revolutionize design but would change the way design and innovation connected with brand tradition forever. Bruno Sacco is one of the most influential automotive designers of the late twentieth century; many models launched during his era now characterize the Mercedes-Benz brand. When Nik Greene asked Bruno Sacco to assist with this book, he replied humbly 'No-one designs a car alone, and more to the point, I never, for one minute, wanted to. From the moment I became Head of Design, I put down my pens and became a manager of minds.' With over 330 photographs and illustrations, this book includes an overview of the early days of functional vehicle design; the influence of safety on design evolution; protagonists of Daimler-Benz design from Hermann Ahrens to Paul Bracq; design philosophy and innovation under Bruno Sacco; the Sacco-designed cars and, finally, the Bruno Sacco legacy.

The Mercedes 126 S-Class of 1979-1991 remains the most successful premium saloon in the company's history and is considered by many to be one of the best cars in the world. "You don't simply decide to buy an S-Class: it comes to you when fate has ordained that your life should take that course. The door closes with a reassuring clunk - and you have arrived," said the sales brochure of the first real Sonderklasse, the W116. With over 300 colour photos and production histories and specifications for both Generation One and Two models, this is an essential resource for anyone with an interest in this timeless car. The book covers an overview of the key personalities who drove the development of this model; the initial 116 Sonderklasse and its subsequent evolution; the history and personality of each model and finally detailed analysis of the different engines - both petrol and diesel. This essential resource explores both the technical and social sides of how this legend was born and is superbly illustrated with 314 colour photographs.

This volume offers an insight into the lives and works of the most influential designers of this era in one complete guide. Some of the designers included are Kenji Ejuan, frogdesign, Sori Yanagi and Herman Zapf.

The Mercedes-Benz W123 was launched in 1976 and sales quickly surpassed those of its predecessor, the W114. The W123 went on to become the most successful Mercedes, selling 2.7 million cars. Mercedes-Benz W123 - The Complete Story explores the life of this highly regarded executive car from its initial evolution, development and production to the creation of new models and its success in motorsport. The book features the styling, engineering and technical advances introduced over the lifetime of the three series; full technical specifications together with customer options, equipment and interior trim for each model; production numbers and vehicle number sequences and finally there is a section on the little-known details of the manufacture of the car in China.It is superbly illustrated with 240 colour and black & white photographs. James Taylor is a professional motoring writer with over thirty years' experience and Mercedes-Benz is one of his favourite car manufacturers.

This comprehensive new edition of How to Design Cars Like a Pro provides an in-depth look at modern automotive design. Interviews with leading automobile designers from Ford, BMW, GM Jaguar, Nissan and others, analyses of past and present trends, studies of individual models and concepts, and much more combine to reveal the fascinating mix of art and science that goes into creating automobiles. This book is a must-have for professional designers, as well as for automotive enthusiasts.

Nothing is new under the sun and classic cars books come and go. But here, instead of a heavy, large, glossy book of classic car images and details destined to stay on a shelf, is something new. This book is designed to be read as a companion, a book that can go in the car or on a 'plane, and which can be read in full, or dipped into anywhere for a classic car fix. Old stories and new details are presented and cover all eras of our cars. Gathered here is a compilation of the author's published and unpublished adventures and opinions about the design and the driving of some of the greatest cars in motoring history. From 'vintagent' to 'modern classic', pristine to oily-rag, up hill, down dale and across continents, award-winning motoring author, designer and serial classic car owner, Lance Cole, charts the great classic car enthusiasm in a series of engaging essays about cars, car design and the men that made the motor industry. From tales of Malcolm Sayer to Bedelia, and of BMW, Jaguar, Bugatti and Porsche, to tales of old Saabs and rusty Citroens, classic car life is here. Erik Carlsson, Jacques Gerin, Giovanni Michelotti and Innes Ireland are just a few of the names that can be found in these pages. From design to driving, here is a book that is a classic car adventure.