Review of Gregory A. Cagle's Scenes from an Automotive Wonderland: Remarkable Cars Spotted in Postwar Europe

Gregory A. Cagle, Scenes from an Automotive Wonderland: Remarkable Cars Spotted in Postwar Europe.Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2018. pISBN 978-1-4766-7178-9. eISBN 978-1-4766-3053-3. 245 pp., Bibliography and Index. $39.95.

I didn’t know what to expect when I first opened the pages to Gregory Cagle’s Scenes from an Automotive Wonderland.  I found a gamut of wonderfully rare and unusual photographs of European car that spanned from the 1920s to 1950s.  As it turns out, the author, as a 10-15 year old kid, took these images between 1956 and 1961. Cagle’s father, a U.S. Army civil servant with a five-year appointment, travelled far and wide in post-war Europe while on business. His son came along for the ride in the backseat of a 1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner Coupe, snapping pictures of cars at every opportunity. Only recently – after 55 years -- did the author, prodded by car collector friend Jeff Trepel, take these images out of hibernation for us to enjoy.

The result of all of this is a book with so many unusual cars and scenes that it boggles the mind. And despite the fact that young Cagle took these photos with a $19 Iloca camera, the results are sharp and striking. With German cities often under reconstruction as a background, the images are grouped in six chapters: Survivors,pre-WWII automobiles that somehow escaped destruction; Lilliputia, a myriad of micro-cars that filled the streets of Europe during the 1950s; Mundania, everyday cars in urban surroundings and people of interest; Exotica,Alfas, Aston Martin, Fiat, Lagonda, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and the like; Built for Speed, competition cars of the day; and finally Mysteries-- you go figure them out! 

With each automobile featured the author has written a two-to-three paragraph description including the date and place associated with the photograph and a brief description of the car and its historical significance. Included are cars that I have never seen or heard of before, and I am confident you will also be tested for your car spotting knowledge. There is a bibliography, but I found it overly reliant on Internet sources and not definitive. But in fairness some of the cars depicted have left us few sources in the English language to refer to.

If you are interested in European cars this is a must read, not only for the knowledge that is gained, but for the fun time spent in an automotive wonderland.