That Marcello Gandini is one of the greatest of automobile designers ever has never been disputed, and whether he is the greatest ever, only time and the directions automobile design takes, will tell. But there is no doubting Marcello Gandini’s immense impact on automobile design in the last four decades of the 20th century that still remains valid well into the 21st century. From the Lamborghini Miura to the Maserati Quattroporte IV, from the humble Innocenti Mini to the epic Cizeta V16T, Marcello Gandini has designed some of the most epochal of all automobiles. Iconic cars like the first-generation BMW 5 Series, the Audi 50/VW Polo, the Fiat X1/9, the Lamborghini Countach and the Diablo, the Lancia Stratos, the Renault Magnum super truck, and many others have all flowed from his stylistic pen.

Designing automobiles that really defined the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, even the 1990s, Marcello Gandini is, arguably, the one man who had the greatest impact, the one who changed automotive design the most. A book on him and his design is long overdue. Finally, one is here…

The Kindle Edition of my latest book is out! And no, it is not (one bit) technical, and yes, it is quite a light read, about India's automotive past and present, with a very positive look at the future too. It’s all about the very first cars that came to India; the early beginnings of the industry; the nascent history of the automobile across nations, and, believe you me, it’s all narrated with authority, charm, simplicity, but from the viewpoint of the quest for the ultimate people’s car.

PS: Please note that you don't need Kindle to access the book. The Kindle app can be downloaded from Google Play Store (for Android) and from the App Store/ itunes (for iOS). So you can also get it on your tablet (iPad, Samsung tab etc) or on your Smartphones..

It is indeed incredible that this most unusual experimental car emanated from the drawing boards of Rolls-Royce Limited, a conservative carmaker if ever there was one. No, the Rolls-Royce Phantom I 17EX wasn't the flamboyant flight of fancy of an eccentric client, but a project commissioned by Mr Conservative himself, Sir Henry Royce. Why did Royce want such a special car made? What became of it since? What intriguing journeys it undertook? And how it found its present abode? This book is about all that, and about the tales and anecdotes from the life and times of Rolls-Royce's most special, its association with Indian royalty, celebrities and enthusiasts. Rolls-Royce 17EX A Fabulous Destiny is about the raison d'être of this car with Indian provenance, the 'making of' it and the fabulous destiny that awaited it.

Acknowledged today as an intrinsic part of the fascinating history of the automobile, several thousands of wonderful and exotic machines found their way to the 500-odd very wealthy Indian rajas and maharajas during the first half of the 20th century. Of these only a few hundred or so survive, some with collectors and museums in Europe and America, some more with collectors in India and a few remarkable pieces with the aging and declining Indian royal families of yesteryear. This book is about the most remarkable of these cars – some 70-odd of the finest that are still around. 384 pages and 550 photos in colour and black & white.

For most of the last century, the symbiotic relation that car design has had with modern society goes beyond being a barometer of human conditions: it has been a catalyst for economic change and a reflection of ‘human’ industrial history. This book is all about that: the history of car design and how it has changed over the decades; coachbuilders, who as scalpel wielders, have shaped the design evolution of the automobile; the star designers who have played a very significant role in influencing the world of design, both automotive and otherwise, and finally, the cars themselves: the bold, the beautiful, the intriguing. Plus, the stuff made of dreams: the dream cars and concept cars that are a fascinating window to the future, a periscope to a life beyond the here and now. 136 pages with almost 400 photos!

Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler were not only the progenitors of the automobile era, but were also the very names that eventually merged to become the greatest marque of the automobile age. After the Daimler moniker was replaced by Mercedes, and with their merger in 1926, Mercedes-Benz has been the best selling prestige car through history. This book, for the first time, traces the history of this great marque in India. I look into the brand's Indian history in the book 'The Story of the Star in India', a book that has been co-edited with Auto India colleague, Bob Rupani.