Veteran and vintage automobiles take us on a journey down the roads of history to the birth, infancy, and development of today's indispensable, stylish and efficient automobile. In the early days, automobiles were little more than carriages propelled by sputtering internal combustion engines rather than drawn by horses (frequently needed to pull broken-down automobiles to the nearest workshop). Back then the mechanical parts and the passengers were protected by what to us today look like cookie tins (usually black), though these later took on rounded, even sculptural forms. After the automobile made the transition from the cookie tin to the recognizable modern automobile the journey speeds up and concentrates on the most important models produced in terms of social, aesthetic and technological advances, which usually occurred in combination. At the end of this text-and-illustrations journey, there is a peek into the future to see what types of vehicles will be sitting outside our homes in the years to come. From dream cars to road cars, this book brings together pictures and descriptions of the most stirring blends of technology, art, beauty and adventure. It is a photographic journey through the history of the world's most beautiful automobiles.