What Not to Drive

One positive if belated aspect of 'Cool Britannia' is that British-originated cars have become (again?) among the coolest on the planet. Range Rover, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin - especially the Aston Martin - these are names not only of historic significance but have a new resonance in the contemporary world too. But what of the not so cool cars, the cars you shouldn't opt to buy - and those you shouldn't even be seen in or alongside? No, not the Skoda or station wagon, which have a heroic anti-car coolness of their own, but the Golf or Astra or professional footballer's Ferrari.

This is a book that jumps from an enormous height on personalised number plates, but celebrates Jarvis Cocker's decision to drive a station wagon and Roger Moore a Renault 5. It questions what happens to the status of your car after you have seen Bernard Manning or Jade Goodie posing next to a model of it in the newspaper.

So there is a 'Showroom Questionnaire' for car manufacturers to check out their customers before they deign to sell them a car that might become irrevocably uncool as a result. As funny as it is cool and aspirational, WHAT NOT TO DRIVE will entertain all who love the information, banter and humour of BBC TV's Top Gear.