Road and Track, July 2007
“So you’ve got the checkered-flag floor tiles. The NASCAR worthy aluminum jack and a gleaming set of Snap-On Tools. But chances are that your garage pales in comparison to the automotive shrines expertly detailed in this book. The cars, personalities and endless garage wall memorabilia come to life in the excellent color photos printed in thick stock. It is truly a satisfying read.”
Classic & Sports Car (UK), December 2006
“What makes this book a winner: any hardcore enthusiast can relate to it. It’s funny, too, and beautifully photographed. In fact, it’s worth the cash for Peter Egan’s forward alone, which beautifully sums up our fanaticism.”
Edmonds.com, May 2007 "You’ll be in awe of the garages with collections of emblems, memorabilia and model cars.”
Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car, February 2007
“Don’t let the title fool you: This is no more a book about garages than Bon Appetit is about casserole dishes … It’s what goes inside that counts, and Dream Garages does not disappoint … This is a lavishly illustrated book that gets at why collectors collect what they collect – or why they collect anything in the first place … When it’s not inducing a five-alarm case of envy, Dream Garages can provide inspiration and escape in equal measure.”
San Jose Mercury News (CA), Nov. 24, 2006
Holiday Gift Guide
“One of the prettiest car books I’ve ever seen. Hundreds of photographs reflect the tastes and passions of hard-core enthusiasts who own 20 well-stocked garages in California, Europe and elsewhere … It’s the diversity that makes each collection a treat.”
Product Description
Book Description
Dream Garages takes us into over 20 garages where car and motorcycle enthusiasts park their passions. From the fantastic to the funky, the beautifully conceived automotive shrine to the grease-monkey’s paradise, each of these gearhead havens--and their owners--merits a full profile and a plethora of fabulous images from top automotive photographers including Peter Vincent, Robert Genat, David Newhardt, James Mann, and David Gooley.
From the Inside Flap
A garage is a special place—not home, not office, not rec room. It may combine elements of all of these reference points, yet it remains unique. Dreams are born, housed, revived, and realized within the walls and beneath the rafters of an enthusiast’s garage. It is his haven from life’s broader concerns, where work is not really work, and virtually anything seems possible.
Dream Garages explores this hallowed space, where enthusiasts store and work on the objects of their passion. Some of the structures are expansive, some more modest; some are working garages, others near spotless showcases of pristine machines and mechanical artwork and memorabilia. Pervading all the garages are a love of motor vehicles and an appreciations for the structure that allow us to harbor and revive them.
Here, readers will find enthusiasts who collect, preserve, and work on sports cars, race cars, motorcycles, trucks, speed record vehicles, and related machinery and treasures. Dream Garages is not a manual on building a great garage; it’s a look at the ideas and passions that can make any garage great.
From the Back Cover
For garage enthusiasts there is scarcely a more sacred place. This is where it all happens: restoring relics and resurrecting wrecks, polishing tail fins and tall tales, and bolstering friendships formed over a shared passion for speed and style.
Dream Garages takes the reader into 21 amazing spaces. Some are beautifully conceived shrines, others are accidental creations, each is a reflection of its owner’s love of internal combustion.
Author Kris Palmer profiles each garage and its owner accompanied by images created by top automotive photographers, including Peter Vincent, Robert Genat, Peter Martin, James Mann, and David Gooley.
About the Author
Kris Palmer is a gearhead and freelance writer whose work appears regularly in Minneapolis’ Star Tribune automotive section and several enthusiast automotive magazines. Palmer contributed to MBI's highly regarded The Cobra in the Barn and authored The Fast and the Furious: The Official Car Guide. When not racing down a deadline, he logs quality garage time in the company of his modified Triumph TR6. Palmer resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Robert Genat is a veteran automotive author of such titles as Mopar Muscle, hemi: The Ultimate American V-8, and The Birth of Hot Rodding. He and his wife, Robin, own and operate ZoneFivePhoto in Encinitas, California.
Peter Vincent's history with cars started when he was in the 5th grade. He had just moved to Palo Alto, California, from Chicago and discovered hot rods and customs, rock & roll, and Jayne Mansfield in a movie called The Girl Can't Help It. Popular culture has remained an influence to this day, along with formalistic "West Coast straight" photography. Studies and/or associations with Ansel Adams, Duane Michals, Brett Weston, and Peter deLory have further informed his artistic sense.
Peter Vincent's photography has been featured in dozens of galleries, highlighted by the "Real Hot Rods by Vern Tardel" exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Artists Gallery in 2002. Vincent's photography has been published in Rodder's Journal, Hop Up, American Rodder, Street Rodder, and Rod & Custom. He also is the author of Hot Rod: An American Original, published by Motorbooks International in 2001. Vincent lives in Moscow, Idaho.
California-born David Gooley has been a photographer for the past 40 years. After completing studies at Los Angeles Trade Technical College for commercial photography, he worked as a photographer for industrial/commercial accounts. His credits include award-winning still photographic images for commercial and industrial subjects ranging from food, fashion, celebrities, artists and catalogue. David struck out on his own in photography and cinematography bringing his skills to bear in the subjects of motorcycling and auto racing. Once established, it was not unusual for him to have at least 30 motorsports magazine covers internationally in a single month. Working with a staff of writers David would photograph seven days a week, process the film, and market the complete package. While still residing in California, he travels the world seeking interesting automobiles and people.
