Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Trucks and vans of our childhood



... for those who lived in continental Europe at least. In New Zealand, with Peter Shirtcliffe types in charge of the country's trade policies, "good British" vehicles were preferred over any others with cheaper tarrifs and more liberal import licenses, this despite the fact France was actually an important market for New Zealand's exports too during the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1966 it ranked third after the "Mother Country" and the USA.

These two companion volumes thus present what the scene on our streets and roads could have looked like if trade had been more liberal. The book on camionnettes deals mainly with French vans, but those from other countries get a chapter, while the one on camions is a collaboration with a German publisher and German and American coverage is wider. Nowadays it isn't unusual to see marques like MAN and Mercedes, Scania and Volvo, Mack, Chevrolet on our roads. Each book is full of historic photos, advertising and memorabilia from the period, all reproduced in colour. Each is 188 pages in 200 x 260 mm, soft cover with flaps.

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