The automobile has changed American society forever, altering our city plans, shopping habits, national economy and sexual behavior. Therefore, a collection of writings about the automobile has a wealth of subject matter from which to draw—and could conceivably have wide-reaching appeal. Sadly, this isn't the case with Road Trips. Almost every piece here is written by car people for car people, and has been reprinted from an enthusiast magazine or sporting journal. Not that the material isn't generally of high quality: Readers who are already car buffs will enjoy the life story of legendary French carmaker Ettore Bugatti, and race fans will love the story of good ol' boy and stock-car champion Cale Yarborough competing in France's snootiest race, the 24 Heures Du LeMans. The books that editor Jean Lindamood chooses to excerpt are perhaps the only questionable inclusions here: Why include bits from On The Road or Travels With Charley when serious readers will know them already? And why excerpt anything at all from Stand On It!, an oafish pulp that was eventually adapted into the oafish movie Stroker Ace? The answer is probably that Lindamood is an editor at Automobile magazine, and might therefore be a bit too close to her subject. Folks who enjoy that mag or others like it will doubtless enjoy Road Trips. Non-gearheads probably just won't get it.