This review of The Million Dollar Car Detective is based on a paperback “uncorrected advance reading copy” that I received, so any structural criticism you read below may be corrected in the final published copy. The book will be released on August 26, 2025 and this review is being published shortly before that date. You can pre-order a copy of the book now on Amazon.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Isn’t it fun getting older?” is really a terrible fallacy. That’s like saying I prefer driving an old car with a flat tire.—Katharine Hepburn
“The great joy of fiction is that no matter how problematic, the journey, the resolution is somehow inevitable.”—Anthony Horowitz, Marble Hall Murders
Today’s Book Club post consists of a review of one book. It’s the longest book review I’ve ever written partially because it meanders around including some background material for those people who may not be familiar with some of the book’s content related to the collector car and automotive enthusiast market place and my opinionated views on this subject. That said, I enjoyed the book and enjoyed writing this review.
Despite what this book’s title sounds like, The Million Dollar Car Detective by Slayton Bonner is a non-fiction book. While it’s ostensibly about the world of collector cars, it’s really the tale of two men: One is the protagonist; the other is his friend and later nemesis, one of which or maybe both of them appear to be lying their asses off. (In my opinion; that statement covers everything else I’ve written here)
This is the fascinating story about the kind of deception, cheating and stealing that sometimes occurs in the rarefied world of buying and selling high-end automobiles. Anyone who’s been around cars and car people for any length of time, will recognize the kind of double-dealing and backstabbing on display in this book. For most of us, the biggest difference between what transpires in this book and our personal experiences is the large amount of money involved. The cars you’ll read about in this book are in the seven figures, hence its title, so the stakes are bigger.
The protagonist is the appropriately-named Joe Ford and the book tells the story of this architect (and somehow later in the book either is a lawyer or maybe not) and how he got into the world of collector cars starting with his foray into selling “grey market” European cars, which was a thing in the eighties. European automobile manufacturer’s American arms, especially Mercedes-Benz, lobbied the hell out of the US Congress to pass a law that foreign cars must be at least 25 years old before they would be eligible for private import and street-legal for use on American roads. Canada has a similar law but their age requirement is15 years. For more on grey market cars and the 25-year rule, you might want to read this fascinating article.
How It All Played Out
As happened to many automobile enthusiasts, the 25-year rule changed the trajectory of Ford’s involvement with cars and when his mentor—soon-to-be enemy—asks Joe to find a missing, maybe stolen Aston Martin, Ford embarks on his career as a car detective. Along the way he gets involved in the case of a stolen, seven figure Talbot-Lago that was owned by an eccentric scientist who just happened to work on the Manhattan Project. The book is full of these kinds of interesting twists and if they appeared in a novel you might think “that’s not realistic.” But here it’s true, all of which contributes to making this book a page turner, which is the first time I’ve ever said that about any non-fiction book.
Most people have never heard of the Talbot-Lago automobile but the author helps by taking you on a brief historical ride to give you just a taste of what this car was and is. Automobile enthusiasts know it as one of the most beautiful cars ever built. I had a chance—and so can you—to get up close and personal with a 1948 Talbot-Lago Grand Sport (at left) that’s in the Cussler Museum north of Denver that showcases cars that were owned by the late Clive Cussler.
The initial description of the heist of the Talbot-Lago seems almost cinematic but when you get to the actual facts later in the book you realize that these thieves are “the gang that couldn’t shoot straight” and the actual heist feels like the one that cold have appeared in Peter Seller’s 1955 film The Ladykillers, This theft is described in detail by the chief henchman, not the guy allegedly behind it, who later claims he had nothing to do with the theft but bought the car fair and square, although the owner and his heirs claim otherwise.
The author is a former senior editor at Rolling Stone and his skill and talent contribute to making this is an immensely readable book. My wife picked it up and while flipping through the pages started reading it in earnest and was mesmerized by the story and the author’s prose. I agree to some extent but all too often he’ll write that he reached out for comment from one of the people mentioned in the book who may or may not be involved in possible questionable activities only to report they did not respond. This was not true for Ford’s Voldemort, who usually did respond with statements such as “Ford’s lying” and other negative comments about Joe Ford’s character. I think many of the statements from non-responders, which became somewhat redundant, could have been included in an explanatory Forward, although the books does have a Prologue (and Epilogue) and like the rest of the book makes for illuminating reading.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to know how this plays out… With Joe’s nemesis in prison (for two years) on Federal and state charges, we move onto the final series of trials and litigation that make Jarndyce v Jarndyce look like an HOA dispute. At one point in the legal proceedings, the gentleman who inherited the Talbot-Lago and was Joe’s partner in the court cases passes away. The FBI then chooses to drop the case and the accused walks out of prison a free man. The text then shines a spotlight on how some evidence exists showing how the accused was (or maybe not) out of the country at the time of the Talbot-Lago’s theft. Thus begins a series of finger pointing from various witnesses and police, all of whom contradict one another. The denouement of the story only proves that in legal cases such as this the Golden Rule prevails: “Whoever holds the gold makes the rules.”
So all’s well that ends well? Joe’s daughter who was going blind and was the reason he took on the Talbot-Lago case to start with, gets married to a loving man who wants to take care of her. Joe’s still engaged to a beautiful woman. The wealthy dentist who fought Ford tooth-and-nail and who bought the car got to keep it but not with the correct engine. And I’m guessing the other rich guy who was cast as the villain of the story lived happily ever after in his Swiss chalet. PS. There’s an epilogue about the theft of one of the two James Bond Aston Martin cars that were used in the film Goldfinger being stolen with some speculation tossed around about what might have happened and who may have stolen the car but that’s just the cherry on this saga’s sundae.
As someone who was hoping to buy a 30-year old semi-collectible car before the end of this year this book was a how-to guide for me—or anyone else—when car shopping on what to avoid when looking for a dream car. Me? After reading The Million Dollar Car Detective, I’m thinking I am going drive my wife’s 2016 VW Beetle until its wheels fall off.
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
- Hardcover: 304 pages
- ISBN-10: 1982650680
- ISBN-13: 978-1982650681
- Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
- Weight: 4.0 lbs
- Price: $27.89 (Prime members), Kindle is $9.99, as I write this.