DETROIT, MI -- Coming at you straight out of Detroit is the coffee table book that every car nut absolutely must have -- Rex Roy’s "Motor City Dream Garages,” Roy is the son of a legendary ad guy on the Detroit scene, Ross Roy, whose agency was associated with Chrysler long before there was either a Daimler or a Benz name on any office building in Auburn Hills.
Rex has been able to use his name and long time contacts to gain exclusive access into some of the most private and fun collections in the metro Detroit area, but he starts with Henry Ford's Power House, the only garage profiled that is open to the public.
Roy begins with the Power House because he believes that it was the first purpose built garage designed to house a collection of automobiles. Ford designed the building with help from pal Thomas A Edison who shared weekend auto trips with him in the very early days of motoring. This was a time when roads were mostly dirt and a 30-mile trip to the Detroit suburbs required a weekend excursion and overnight camping.
After the Power House, we are treated to a wide range of adventures from the garages of Bob Lutz to those of lesser known and totally unknown, who all share a passion for fine and unique autos displayed in caring and often unique settings.
Lutz, the current Vice Chair of GM, formerly with Chrysler, is one of the most influential guys in the car biz, and we are given the opportunity to see his private collection of 16 cars and trucks in his Ann Arbor garage. Featured is the 1952 Aston Martin DB2 Vantage once owned by his father, which he located and restored 50 years after his father had owned the car.
The cover shot of the book features the garage of Don Soenen, and his 2006 Ford GT. Inside that garage is a super realist mural depicting a complete, life size, but imaginary Mobilgas service station with an actual vintage red and white Coca Cola machine outside the "door' of the two dimensional "building". Anyone over forty will wax nostalgically over the vintage station, but will also do a double take at the image trying to determine what is real and what is an illusion.
We are given a tour of the inside of the Big Red Barn in Hadley, Michigan, owned by Chuck and Diane Schneider, that houses a 1934 Chrysler Airflow, a 1935 Delage, and a collection of over 90 tractors, all of which share the influence of the Art Deco movement. We also go inside a converted Baptist church in Auburn Hills owned by Jim Holden, former President and CEO of DaimlerChrysler, which naturally contains a collection limited to Chrysler products.
We meet Greg Ornazian, a tool and die shop owner who made good, and is now able to afford the dream cars from his youth. The name Ornazian may be unknown to all except his family and friends, but he has 12 cars to die for in his garage that run the gamut from a 1955 Chevy Nomad to a 1937 Cord, with several important Corvettes and a Lambo Murcielago thrown in.
The name Richard Kughn is however known to many collectors, both for his car collection, and for his collection of model trains. Kughn was such a model train enthusiast he purchased the Lionel train company, which he owned and operated for several years. Kughn at one time maintained 45,000 square feet to house his collection of over 250 classic cars, but he has since "pared down" his collection to a mere 35 superb examples, which are lovingly displayed and photographed for our viewing pleasure.
This a book that can be enjoyed in small bites, one chapter at a time, or all in one sitting like a Thanksgiving feast. Those with voracious appetites won't be able to put it down until digested, but this holiday treat should not be missed.
“Motor City Dream Garages” by Rex Roy ($34.95, published by Motorbooks)
www.motorbooks.com
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