Autocar.co.uk - November 2018
'A 50-year tale of Ford’s design, engineering and marketing.
'It features Fords most memorable European cars, from the Capri and Sierra to the Puma and today’s Focus RS. It’s an insider’s story of how cars are designed, engineered and marketed, told through the lens of the more glamorous coupés and interesting RS cars.
'Most of the images in the book have never been published before but the real stars are the secret cars that have, until now, never been seen before. Author and former Ford employee Steve Saxty was granted first-time access to Ford’s design archives and he takes up the story, describing ten automotive unicorns that feature in the book. Enjoy the ride:'
Retro Speed, November 2018
'Fifty per cent of this book is naturally devoted to Capri before Steve moves on to Sierra, Escort and Fiesta (obviously his strong point) and the slow down, via Cougar, Probe, Puma and Focus.
'...profusely illustrated, including many lovely mid-term sketches and drawings, is written by the very experienced Steve Saxty who worked across multifarious and relevant departments at Ford Motor Company during the 1980s, including engineering, design and marketing. Therefore, and above all, this is an important reference book. It is also a good read, weaving myriad story lines with multitudinous personality clashes worthy at times of John le Carre.
Thoroughly recommended.'
Forces Cars Direct, November 15, 2018
'One of my favourite book publishers is Tenbury Wells-based Porter Press. Its subjects are always fascinating and the quality of the books, whether they be ‘coffee table’, or of a more conventional type, is always at the highest level. If we accept that Ford is one of the most important car brands in the world and the UK’s most popular seller, a 304pp large-format book that details the past 50 years of Ford Motor Company’s coupes, ST, XR and RS models should make good reading. There is no disappointment in this superb tome. As its author, Steve Saxty, was one of Ford’s designers during the 1980s and 1990s and was given unparalleled access to the behind-the-scenes’ stories and facts, you might also appreciate that it provides an important record of a company experiencing enormous changes over the past half-century.
'The content is marvellous and highlights the trends and styles evident and influential since the 1960s.'
The Sun, December 6, 2018
'CALLING all Ford fans, Porter Press have launched a new book...
'...it features the inside story on the design, engineering and marketing of Ford's coupes and the high performance ST, XR and RS cars.'
Classic Ford, January 1, 2019
'Written by ex-Ford designer, Steve Saxty, this superb book tells the story of how Ford of Europe designed, developed and sold the cars that we now consider classics. It starts with the way the American Mustang inspired the Capri and covers the most influential cars that followed and their more memorable performance derivatives. It is packed with hundreds of photographs and design sketches that have never been seen before outside Ford. Key images are annotated to show how a design evolved or explain why a particular big model stood out and influenced other cars.'
Fast Ford, January 1, 2019
'It may be slightly too big to slop into your stocking, but this chunky tome from Porter will look great on your coffee table this Christmas. Author Steve Saxty was granted unique archive access to Ford in order to investigate fifty years of design and engineering, and this book is jam-packed with fascinating imagery, most of which has never been seen publicly before, along with detailed and engaging explanations. A must read!'
Octane, February 1, 2019
'It seems we have the digital age to thank for the new book's appearance, as Saxty exploited social media to connect with many people involved with the Ford story throughout the ages. Such a task 20 years ago would have been almost impossible.
'The rich and interesting story of Ford's coupés and performance cars since the '60s deserves a high quality treatment, and Porter Press has certainly lavished Saxty's book with high production standards.
'This is without doubt the most in-depth work ever published on the subject.
'The book's excellent design is also a huge plus point - something all-too-often sadly lacking from automotive books that tackle blue-collar subjects - and there are a huge number of never-before-seen pictures from Ford's archives. Saxty spent many days in the Cologne archives scanning photos, and it was absolutely worth his time.
'Clearly aimed at the informed reader, Saxty's book speaks with authority but remains easy to adsorb, nicely paces and thoroughly enjoyable throughout. Since it's edited by hugely respected automotive journalist and former Car magazine editor Mel Nichols, that's no surprise.'
cardesignnews.com, January 2019
'a wonderful history of some special Ford projects, with massive archival research and visuals. A labour of love, and it shows.'
Retro-Speed, January 14, 2019
'...this is an important reference book. It is also a good read, weaving myriad story lines with multitudinous personality clashes worthy at times of John le Carre. Thoroughly recommended.'
Classic & Sports Car, February 1, 2019
'If our December cover feature on RS Cosworths reignited a passion for Fast Fords, then this superb new book is a must.
'What makes this production special compared to the usual dry history books is the context it delivers - the reasons behind the decisions that were made, in addition to the facts themselves.
'Panels tell the story of key people, key models and design changes, with fascinating annotated studies, and Saxty's style is readable, authoritative and entertaining. He has been supported by Mel Nichols, former editor of Car and editorial director of C&SC, which means that, as well as the main text being impeccably edited, the captioning is superbly logical and informative, too..
Austro Classic, January 2019
Was once the slogan for the successful Ford Capri, but Ford has in the last 50 years, many other 'iconic' models - Ford Sierra Cosworth and XR4i, Puma, Escort RS Turbo, ... - but also show cars - Barchetta or MC4 - who did not make the series.
The author has wisely focused on the sporty models, and yet it has become a magnificent 300 pages, bulging with a wealth of background information and illustrations - straight from the archives of Ford.