If you're looking for a cool Christmas present, heres an option. These are a couple of books I wrote last year, published by David Bateman Publishing, called Ford - A Kiwi Obsession and Holden - A Kiwi obsession.

They focus on the histories of each brand and the roles Ford and Holden cars have played in the lives of Kiwis. They include several feature cars, but are also full of fantastic old racing photos, old personal photos donated by a huge number of people who've owned Fords or Holdens in the past, plus old sales brochures etc. Essentially, they're a bit like large glossy scrapbooks. Most of the single photos are captioned, using quotes by those who supplied the photos.

I decided to focus on the vehicles either assembled in NZ, or sold new in NZ, and there is also a strong Australian influence. I left out imported US exotics such as Mustangs etc, as these really weren't the cars Kiwis grew up around.

The books were a huge amount of fun to put together, and showcase the importance of these two brands to the NZ market.

Anyway, they are available at most bookstores, and can also be purchased online if you live outside NZ. Most retailers have them at $39.99, which is an amazing price for a large hardcover book of approx 200 pages.

I have a limited stock of copies of each book also, which you can purchase direct from me if you'd like a sighed copy. There will obviously be a shipping charge on the books ordered direct from me. Email me at: theroaringseason@gmail.com

But here are some photos capturing the pages from each book.