Daydreams in the Wind may be the ultimate fact book for fans of sporting convertibles from the classic 1955-75 era. A few models up through 1990 have been included, specifically depending upon their history within the U.S. market. The direct bloodlines of the models have been followed as appropriate. Some models began well before 1955 and others had barely been born in time to be included. All the cars in the book are legally considered antiques in most states. The extensive bibliography represents a massive degree of referenced data. With over 300 B&W photos with detailed captions and over a hundred tables of figures the eccentric author refers to as charts, you will return to the pages of this book for reference again and again. The familiar historical perspective of the special period sandwiched between World War II and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency by President Nixon has been repeatedly published. Servicemen returned from Europe with excitement inspired by fast motoring in the open air in their spindly MG sports cars-- yada, yada, yada. It all came crashing down, no pun intended, with big, ugly safety bumpers and rotten-egg pooting catalytic converters. Open sports car enthusiasm would not fully return until near the end of the Eighties with the arrival of the reinstated Mustang Convertible and the Mazda Miata. As in the other books in Floyd M. Orr's Nonfiction in a Fictional Style Series, Daydreams in the Wind is an explosion of detailed nostalgia and opinion intended to entertain the reader. Established rules and parameters are stated in the beginning and then stretched and contorted as the story unfolds. Intermediate-sized muscle cars, pony car coupes, and imported sports coupes are not included, even though these are obvious variants of the topless cars in the book. Inclusion of these would have made this volume as large as a big city phone book. Remember those? However, you will find many of the domestic pony hardtops and imported coupes listed in the production and test performance tables for comparison purposes. This is a volume devoted entirely to two-seat and 2+2 models with open roof styles. No coupes with sunroof options need apply. If a model offers significant comfort in the rear seat for multiple adult passengers, do not bother to open the garage door. Take a scenic drive through the very essence of what made America such a wondrous place in The Sixties. Prices for these fantastically fun machines began at only $2000 when they were new. National corporate auctions have launched current values of some models into the stratosphere. With few exceptions, most collector car enthusiasts in the USA value high performance open models with manual transmissions. Daydreams in the Wind is directly targeted at these enthusiasts. Perhaps you want advice on which models are most likely to retain or increase value in the future. Maybe you are considering the purchase of a model you most desired in an earlier time. You could be hankering for a new garage project to start up your emotional engine. You might envision cruises on occasional summer evenings with stars overhead and your favorite companion in the passenger seat. You could be evaluating the cost effectiveness of a potential new toy that has already been restored. Or you could just wallow in the dreamy, nostalgic experience with more facts, figures, and specifications in one volume than you can imagine for only the price of this book!
About the Author: Floyd M. Orr has been an obsessive fan of open sports cars for more than fifty years. He is neither a mechanic nor restorer of classic cars. He has never worked in the automobile business as a journalist or in any other capacity. He is retired from the financial services industry. His interests have always been in psychology, sociology, and studies of American pop culture and history. His specialty is research. This is his eighth book in a series he calls Nonfiction in a Fictional Style.