Wheels

by Arthur Hailey

Vintage paperback

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Novels, Suspense, Crime, Drama, Adventure

501 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Arthur Hailey was a British/Canadian novelist. After working at a number of jobs and writing part-time, he became a writer full-time during 1956, encouraged by the success of the CBC television drama, Flight into Danger (in print as Runway Zero Eight ). Following the success of Hotel in 1965, he moved to California; followed by a permanent move to the Bahamas in 1969.

Each of his novels has a different industrial or commercial setting and includes, in addition to dramatic human conflict, carefully researched information about the way that particular environment and system functions and how these affect society and its inhabitants.

Critics often dismissed Hailey's success as the result of a formulaic "potboiler" style, in which he caused an ordinary character to become involved in a crisis, then increased the suspense by switching among multiple related plot lines.

Hailey would spend approximately one year researching a subject, followed by six months reviewing his notes and, finally, about 18 months writing the book.

Many of his books reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and more than 170 million copies have been sold worldwide in 40 languages. Many have been made into movies and Hotel was made into a long-running television series. Airport became a successful film with dramatic visual effects.

A Canadian citizen whose children live in Canada and California, Hailey made his home in Lyford Cay, an exclusive residential resort on New Providence Island in the Bahamas with his second wife Sheila.

In 2002, Hailey told John Marquis, editor of the Bahamas' principal daily newspaper The Tribune, that he was lucky in having supportive parents who encouraged him to believe in himself. Brought up in a working-class home, Hailey never lost the common touch following his phenomenal success. 'I have worked hard, but I have also been very lucky,' he said.

Reviews

[W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur Hailey takes the reader to Detroit,inside the auto industry in the early 1970s.Hailey takes an in-depth look at the process of the development of a new car,before it enters the market.But the book isn't just about cars.It is also about the lives of the people working in the industry,and the drama of their lives.
My favourite part of the book deals with the relentless pressure of the assembly line.The story of Rollie Knight,the young black assembly line worker is compelling.
The mafia,powerful trade unions,shady car dealers and Detroit executives are part of the cast of characters.I like Hailey,and I enjoyed Wheels.

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2021-01-24 This book came out in 1971 and I remember my uncle Harry II being really hot on it and recommending it. He lived in Detroit and had many connections in the automotive industry, as did my other uncle Chuck. Our family had moved to the Chicago area 6 years earlier, but my dad still had many connections with the auto business too, so it was a pretty hot book for us.

The book was not quite as good as Hailey's previous best seller, Airport, and the movie based on it was even less good. Not terrible, but not great at all.

I remember being very disappointed at the author taking the perspective that it was the automotive industry's job to solve (or at least partially alleviate) the poverty and racial tensions issues in Detroit (remember 1967 was the BIG Detroit riots) with their employment policies. Since I was studying economics, history and sociology, this made the book of extra interest, but I was not pleased with the lack of understanding by Hailey, that the problems were mostly caused by government policies: welfare, minimum wage, government schools, etc. - NOT the car companies.

But Hailey was apparently appealing to the increasing trend that later became known as political correctness, (government can/should solve, or mandate a "solution" for most any problem) and that is a big negative in my mind.

Aside from that, there were some fairly standard, but enlightening notes that the book highlighted about the industry - such as the absentee rate on/around the opening day of deer hunting season, and how car assembly quality typically went down quite a bit as a result for those days. Soooo many workers "on the line" took off for the annual hunt. Can't remember much else this many years later, but I do remember it was a good, gripping read.

[Bungi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading the book I thought I was going to give it only 3 stars. Well, it seemed decently written and all that. However, I am not much of a car person, and I thought it was going to be one of those impersonal stories that involved some corporate espionage kind of thing. However, I was in for a surprise.

I must give to Arthur Hailey. Not only did he cover the working of auto industry - which was interesting - but also revealed how it affected the lives the people involved in the industry. Set in the 1960s, this book tells the intertwining stories of a number of people touched by the auto industry, including those employed by it at various levels, their families, car dealers and racers. While on the surface it is a story about automobiles, this book explores with deeper humanistic threads like racism, economic disparity and poverty, poverty induced crimes, the effects of industrialization - the good and the bad, marital relationships, and a lot other subtle issues. While i felt that some of the views on a couple of the above issues were still colonial, i guess it was new and revolutionary at the time they were written, and it is still relevant today.

Those of you that are avoiding this book because you feel it is just about cars and automobile industry and the corruption in it, well, this one will surprise you.

[Lammoth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Преди няколко седмици изгледах филма на BBC - "Das Auto: The Germans,Their Cars And Us". Забавен и много любопитен британски филм, който показва причините за доминацията, която немците налагат в автомобилостроенето. Това е инструментът, който ги превръща в най-голямата и мощна европейска икономика. Автомобилостроенето е индустрия, която е показателна за могъществото на всяка държава - когато тази индустрия ти е работеща, това означава че се развиват десетки други отрасли, тясно свързани с автомобилостроенето, a това показва един затворен, гигантски технически работен цикъл, който генерира високоинтелектуална и доходоносна работа за населението. Огледайте се из улиците и забележете как всяка втора кола е германска. Германците днес дори притежават "Мини Купър"-а - един от символите на британската икономика и култура въобще. Немците изнасят за чужбина 8 от 10 произведени коли. Ето как те завладяха Европа - не с блицкриг или СС, ами с Фолксваген, Опел, Ауди, БМВ и Мерцедес...



Това ме накара да потърся и прочета книгата на Артът Хейли - "Колела". В нея Хейли разкрива света на американското автомобилостроене в трите водещи компании: Форд, Крайслер и Дженеръл моторс. Той следва стриктно своята формула за успех: 1,5+0,5+1 = бестселър.
Тоест, за всеки негов роман, Хейли е провеждал година и половина проучвания, половин година е планирал поект-книгата и година я е писал.

Вярно е, че "Колела" излиза преди повече от 40 години, но въпреки това голяма част от проблемите тогава си остават и днес. Огромният труд, хвърлен по тази книга, се вижда и с предвижданията за нововъведения в автомобилостроенето. Хейли "пророкува" налагането и използването на инжекцион, т.е. системата за електронно впръскване на горивото под контрола на компютър, която заменя архаичния карбуратор. Още много въведения се дискутират - въвеждането на бордови компютър, който да съдържа нещо като днешните GPS, непрекъснатото подобряване на сплавите и използване на нови по-леки и по-здрави материали и т.н.

Хейли ни разкрива и малките елементи на този микросвят - представя ни неща от кухнята, като т.нар. "гаджето на майстора" - това е автомобил, който някой от майсторите е обещал на негов приятел или на служител в компанията, и на който "скришом" от шефовете се добавят допълнителни екстри, като това да бъде боядисан два пъти за по-голяма издържливост на покритието. Още един любопитен факт - автомобилите, произведени в понеделник и петък има по-голяма вероятност да са с дефекти, защото работниците обикновено получават седмичните си надници в четвъртък или неделя, след което задължително се натряскват в някое кръчме. Да не говорим за автомобилите, произведени по време на финалните серии по американски футбол...

Хейли ни предлага да проследим развиването на "Орион", нова кола, един нов продукт, с нов революционен дизайн. Около дейностите, които кипят при разработването на този нов автомобил, ни се разкрива ролята на дизайнерите, на маркетинговия отдел, който започва да избира пласмента и мотото на своя продукт, вижда се огромната конкуренция между компаниите и опитите да се привлекат най-талантливите младежи от университетите, шпионажа и ударите под кръста, забелязват се и междуособиците сред работници, разкриват се и редица социални проблеми: проявите на расизъм, семейните трудности, изключително тежката работа за всеки един служител в компанията, напрежението, което витае около всички, проблемите със застраховки и застрахователни агенти и спортните състезания и т.н.

За съжаление някъде след средата на романа нещата стават леко скучновати, материята суха, появяват се излишни неща, разточва се излишно историята, характерите стават съвсем статични, поради което в даден момент четенето става трудно и се губи ритъма.

Все пак "Колела" наистина е важна книга и се надявам да излезе нещо подобно, което да разкрива съвременните тенденции в модерното автомобилостроене. Защото тази индустрия всички други владее...

[Gerard · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK, it's a 40-year-old book. One that even hardcore Arthur Hailey fans, if such a thing exists, have forgotten that he wrote. But it isn't very good.

If you'd asked me to rate it when I was about halfway through, I'd have said it was an 8 on a scale of 1–10. Flat, two-dimensional characters and so-so dialogue, but it seemed to make a sincere stab at capturing the zeitgeist of the American auto industry in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Cheesy fun, but a page turner.

Then something went wrong. I can't say exactly when, but it definitely lost its way. Characters that seemed to be natural foils to the automotive titans—like a thinly veiled Ralph Nader doppelgänger named EmersonVale—were introduced on the first page, and then never referred to again after the third chapter. Scenarios rife with drama—the highly anticipated new car has a potentially fatal engineering flaw that can only be fixed by either redesigning the whole thing or by adding a crucial part that adds significantly to the cost of manufacturing each vehicle—were just kind of solved there and then, with no ongoing suspense. (They added the part.)

When you consider the complete overhaul that the American car industry underwent in the 1970s, anyone with an ounce of perspicacity would have seen it coming. Except Hailey. He seemed to see nothing but great things coming for Detroit in the 70s. ("White flight"? What's that?)

Out of 10? 5. And that's probably generous.

Is "Hotel" any better?

[Marjorie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much, when the intrepid reader investigates, is made of Arthur Hailey's "meticulous research" in the writing of his books. I suppose that this persistent comment is intended to assure readers of the veracity and authenticity of his representations: what will happen if a Midwestern blizzard assaults a major metropolitan airport and how will that one plane land safely? What tumult of wheels and deals occurs on a quotidian basis in the high powered world of banking and finance? Who are the real people and power struggles under the roof of a New Orleans hotel?

But the tenor of legitimacy in fiction comes from the depth and dimension of the humans active within the plot architecture. Is it helpful that Hailey researched the ins and outs of a car dealership in order to convey clearly the decisions and management that a fictional dealership's owner would make to achieve sales and solvency in a given month? Sure, but if said owner is a Sly and Greedy cartoon, the reader's takeaway is void.

The problem of authenticity also troubles the narrative voice. At one moment, the narrator postures progressive understanding of why individuals from a segment of the African American poor community might make decisions that white middle class folk deign bad. On the whole, he describes the majority of his named African American characters as duplicitous, conniving and unsavory. And his description of women is no better: they are vapid or childish. One neglected wife of an auto design exec stoops to shoplifting (and affairs) to spite her husband; her police arrest and the chief's tongue lashing are what brings husband and wife back together. The white men in the novel are the innovators, the thinkers, the doers: their dalliances and the brilliance are, apparently, de rigueur.

Best selling novel in 1971? A wooden, clumsy, unfun Mad Men for cars.

[Ренета Кирова · Rating 2 out of 5]

Тази книга е за живота на хората, замесени в автомобилния бизнес в Детройт, САЩ през 1970 г. Работи се на бързи обороти, колите се правят на конвейер, а всяко негово спиране води до парични загуби за собствениците. Там властват алчността, парите, сметките, а личното ти време е ограничено, работи се почти без спиране. Всичко в името на продажбите! Отделно имаме расизъм и обратен расизъм, а престъпността настига обитателите на гетото дори и в завода, дори и когато искрено желаят да се измъкнат от блатото. Всички са родени равни, но едните са по-равни от другите. Богатите жени са толкова отегчени, че крадат от магазините, само за да изпитат някакви чувства и да получат удоволствие. Те масово са пренебрегвани от съпрузите си, които иначе имат време да се съберат по мъжки на някоя вила. Всичко е реклама, добре поднесена опаковка, защото самите коли са имали много дефекти, поради неглижирането и създаването им на конвейер. Търговците при продажбите също лъжат клиентите си. Цялата автомобилна индустрия е изградена от лъжи и измами.
Книгата беше интересна, но героите не ми станаха толкова симпатични. Отделно авторът много подробно се разпростираше върху машинациите в бизнеса, в което няма лошо, но на мен ми дойде твърде много. Хареса ми, че показва живота такъв, какъвто е бил в Америка през 1970 г., истински и неподправен, далеч от лозунга "страна на мечтите".

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Arthur Hailey novel, one that was lying around the house when I was 15. It was not among the first grown up novels that I read, but it was one of the relatively few not set in the distant past. It has interesting characters for the most part, and you learn a lot about how a car is developed. Even 30 years later it still has relevance.

The thing about Hailey is that all of his novels are readable, which sounds a bit trite I know, but it fits. There's not a bad or mediocre one in the bunch, even if there are few that could be considered classic. I gave this one a five star more for nostalgia than anything, but I did love it all three of the times I read it.

[Jānis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stāsts par mašīnu industriju 70-80 gados. Par to, cik grūti bija cilvēkiem pie konveieriem, par cilvēku integrēšanu sabiedrībā, par bandītismu un mīlestību Amerikā tajos laikos.

Ļoti patika tas, ka tik diezgan senā grāmatā ietvertas visas tās nākotnes lietas, ka tagadnē nu jau ir ieviestas un turpina ieviesties. Arī toreiz runāja par elektro mašīnām un par izmešu daudzuma samazināšanu.

Man laikam pietrūka intrigas pašās beigās... Viss kaut kā pārāk vienkārši nonivelējās... Laikam jau autoram bija apnicis rakstīt par mašīnām un par nēģeru slepkavībām.

[Pawan · Rating 3 out of 5]

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As usual by the author, Arthur Hailey, this book is a combination of perfect research, lots of details and a gripping story on automobile industry. He has not written too many books but whatever he has written can provide you inside out information about a particular industry. “Wheels” as the name suggests does the same for automobile industry specifically dealing with the mass production of cars and how it affects the industry as well as people who live in these cities.

I remember a sub-plot where a dealer is trying sell a car and how he uses his convincing powers, acting, fake calls to his bosses to sell a car. At all times he is trying to show to the buyer that he is their friend but is trying to extract as much as possible from them. How dealers make more money from service, insurance as compared to sales of the car. There is information about how the cost of each part is so important. When a company finds a problem with the test drive of car and has to come up with a solution that will cost few dollars more to cost, they go into hyper-drive as each and every dollar matters to them.

There is an interesting description about how the cars manufactured on Monday and Friday have more probability of having defects as compared to something that is made on middle of the week. One of the more moving story was about a worker who suddenly gets a job in auto industry and then gets trapped into loan sharks. What happens when a poor man is suddenly given a power of credit card. He goes and buys whatever is possible without realizing that he will never be able to pay it back.

There were so many of such interesting sub-plots in the book and all of these open your eyes about some aspect of social situation and industry.

[L Y N N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously, this book was way over my head when I initially read it at the ripe old age of 15! I am surprised I didn't recall more details... And. It's a darned good thing my mother didn't know what I was reading! I would have been grounded and the"righteous" lectures would have never ceased! Oh, wait! Those lectures were always "playing" anyway! :)

Seriously, this is such an accurate reflection of the times. Though I'm uncertain the auto industry was "advancing" quite as fast as Hailey states; wishful thinking, perhaps? I would love to think the criminal element in the auto factories was NOT as pervasive, and that the black ex- cons were not as trapped into a life of crime...but I can imagine there wasn't much exaggeration... Just an excellent picture of the times...

Though I have some doubts about an educated black female teacher being included as a "hostess" at an upper-level stag weekend for execs and politicians at that time in the U.S./Michigan. But I applaud his gutsy depiction.

[Светослав Богданов · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудесна книга за индустриализацията на автомобилостроенето, която би била интересен пример за по-новите поколения как е вървял светът на технологиите и за фактът, колко много сме били необходими, като същевременно с това колко много сме пречели, когато сме били неразделна част от този процес. Сега вече не сме, защото огромна част от процесите, описани в книгата са роботизирани и "човешката грешка" е старателно сведена до по-ниска степен.

Артър Хейли ни представя паралелно 6-7 сюжетни линии, като всяка една е брънка от огромното цяло на един автомобилен завод, но не от онези малките, а от Голямата тройка. Персонажите, разбира се, са плътни, живи и до голяма степен интересни. Безапелационна петица за книгата и истината е че ми се иска да прочета осъвременена версия със сегашните бизнес и индустриални модели.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book was written back in the late 60's/early 70's it is amazing how much of the issues with the car industry still exist today. Pollution and safety are still forefront on all consumers' minds as they purchase that beautiful gas hog. Even the new 'ugly is beautiful' can still be seen throughout the parking lots in America. It does make you wonder if we have progressed at all. I say that we have. Our vehicles are more fuel efficient and we now have people waiting in line for hybrids. I believe we are not far from the hydrogen vehicle, but we must accept that this may take us another 30 years.

[Delphine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been written 50years ago and it strikes me how relevant many of the topics he describes really are. The book has many different side stories that are all well described, so it feels like something is always happening somewhere without you feeling lost between the stories or personages. At the end, it is nice how it all blends together.

[John Morton · Rating 2 out of 5]

managed 75% of it but just got bored.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wheels by Arthur Hailey- The Novel is about automobile industry in Detroit USA in early 1970s. The canvas of the novel is vast. It includes corporate executives, middle level managers, automobile dealers, workers who stand in the line of cars, developers of new model of cars, study team for development of new models etc. The novel covers the important human issues of development of car models on steam or electric cars. The issue of pollution of atmosphere by ignition of petrol in the engine which raises the carbon- di -oxide level in the atmosphere. Safety issue while driving an automobile are mentioned. Other important issues raised in the narrative in influence of mob on factories, apartheid and transfer of population from rural to urban creating the problem of residence for all. Main characters Adam Trenton executive in-charge for development of new model of luxury safe car, his second wife Erica, his son Kirk who falls in love with his mistress, Kirk’s brother Greg who was plagued by a blackmailer, the crocked car dealer Smokey Stevenson cooked a sinister deal that threatens to destroy the Company where all worked named National Motors. Other characters Barbara Lipton, Lowel Baxter, Peter Flodenhale, Matt Zaleski, Hub Hewitson, Rusty Horton, Urusla, Jody Horton, Caroline Horton, Leonard Wingate, Rolly Knight help in making the script interesting with their story. The novel has romance and mystery. Mystery unfolds in the end. I am impressed by the research done about the motor industry and well bound story which charms the reader to continue to the end. It is quite a good read book for all.

[Ashima Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The next book on my Arthur Hailey TBR was Wheels and as the name implies, this one takes you into the world of America's #1 business: Automobiles.

Set in Detroit - the hub for the US Auto Industry - Wheels follows a story line that involves the run-up to a new automobile launch in the market and the ensuing production issues that come with trying to manufacture a competitive product. The stress that comes with the job, in the employees' personal and professional lives, adds a fairly dramatic layer to the plot.

When there is talk of automobiles, autocar racing can't be far behind and justly so, the book also covers a little bit about auto sports.

The company which serves as the backdrop for this book is modelled after Ford and it is said many characters could be identified as real people from the industry.

What has caught my attention in Hailey's novels, though, is his research which forms the framework of his writing. He mentions technological advancements that must have sounded way ahead of their time to the people who must have been working on them. To the reader they must have seemed from another world. The fact that those same inventions and advancements have materialised in the last two decades or so, some 30-40years after they were written about, is nothing short of amazing.

I have come to realise that this is one of the key reasons (pun unintended) I find myself picking up an Arthur Hailey novel.

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is reported to be a very loose interpretation of events surrounding Lee Iacocca’s life during the time he was developing the Mustang at Ford.

Set in the 1960s in Michigan, it covers every corner of the automobile industry: the greed, back stabbing, power plays, racial tensions and personal as well as corporate struggles.

The protagonist is married to the daughter of the President of National Motors. He views the potential of the youth market as a veritable goldmine of the future, and so proposes “The Hawk” as the company’s vehicle to capture this new buyer. However, despite the fact that their competitor is also working on a similar project, it seems everything and everybody is against him.

This was one of my first Hailey novels and I was impressed by the in depth research he did to accurately present the inner workings of the auto industry in the late sixties and early seventies.

A light story but an entertaining read.

[Lynette Lark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third novel I've read by this author. The first was "Final Diagnosis," which I loved; and the second was "Hotel," which was really pretty good. But "Wheels" just did not grab me the way the first two did even though there was a lot going on in this book!

Let's see: there's cars, of course, but there's also love, disagreements, affairs, handsome race car drivers, expense accounts, junkets, inner city decay, social injustice, racial inequality, petty crime, murder, the White Mafia in a war with the Black Mafia--in essence: Detroit.

Geez, if we thought it was bad in the 1960s, I wonder what it's like today? But I'll tell you that money is the root of all evil. And America is not a "super power" anymore.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a lifelong "Car Guy". Author Arthur Hailey captures the American Auto Industry in the late 60s, early 70s in the hustle and blue collar town of Detroit, Michigan. All the nuiances, drama, of disigning a car, bringing it into production, approval from the auto company's "fat cats", is all here. This book is well written. My Hailey brings all of the characters to life in "WHEELS", many you will never forget. A true old fashioned "page turner", while teaching you just what the auto indistry was all about during this time in America.

[Lessidisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai fini par accrocher à force d’avancer dans ma lecture. On suit la naissance d'une voiture à travers plusieurs personnages. Voici les aspects abordés (okay yen a qui n'ont rien à voir 😂) :

· Conferences de presse, critique de l'industrie automobile
· Réunions publicitaires
· Tests techniques
· Conception, design
· Usine de fabrication
· Adultère
· Réalisation de documentaire
· Courses de formule 1
· Gang
· Attaque cardiaque

[Azharshaheen s · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when i was doing my BE(Mech), this books make u to know when a production house is,, how thing work in there, the hierarchy, the R & D, product development, politics involved, passing the leisure time, & many more things,,,

After reading this book i decided never ever to join a Production house in my life, ha ha ha,, However i started my career in a production house.

[Clyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting story. Very dated now.

[Sharyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read - not surprised made into mini series - very 70's - loved it

[Jak Krumholtz · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I hadn't been interested in the well researched late sixties/early seventies auto industry details I would have gave up on this book full of stereotypes and empty story lines pretty early on.

[Veronika Cizkova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm having a really hard time rating this and this review is gonna be torute idk what my opinion is on this book. 3.5 ish star.

Četla jsem to v češtině takže taky to ohodnotím v češtině. Tady to nevím jestli je 4* nebo 3*, má to pocity a tak čtyř hvězdička y knihy ale zároveň to bylo dost těžký se dostat skrz celou tu knihu a trvalo mi to asi několik týdnů.

Líbilo se mi kolik různých postav sledujeme v této knize. Moje oblíbení z nich byli asi Brett DeLossanto a potom Barbara Zaleská. Dal o nich nemám moc co říct, líbilo se mi jak se chovali a to že je Brett umělec. Nebyla žádná postava co se mi výslovně nelíbila.
Hrozný mi přišlo že se každý náhodně podváděl dokonce i Brett. Části mi to ničilo mou důvěru v lásku.
S Rolliem to bylo jasný od začátku že to neskončí dobře. Je to jako když jses na lodi co míří do pekla, a nemá záchrany člun. Nechceš tam dorazit, ale jedina jiná možnost je skočit z paluby a pak se utopíš a stejně skončíš přesně tam. Nedalo se nic udělat co by zachránilo Rollieho od začátku do konce. A to že bylo ještě o hodně víc takových případů je hrozný.

Byla jsem šokovaná, mírně tedy, že Arthur Hailey je bílí muž, tak jako věděla jsem to, ale on zvlandul tak perfektně napsat pocity jak jsou doopravdy. On se jakoby stal Rolliem, neboli kriminálním černochem, ale taky se zvládnu žít do smutný ženy, Eriky. Technici vzato nemůžu svědčit za to že ty pocity co privlastnil černochů jsou správné, mně přišlo, že to tak rozhodně vypadalo.

Když už jsem se zmínila o Erice, tak o ní můžu pokračovat. Bylo to hrozný ji pozorovat. Měla jsem pochopeni pro to, co dělala, ale zároveň jsem věděla že to jsou mizerný volby. Popravdě to že podváděla Adama, není tak velký problém, vzadem k tomu, že on podváděl i ní, a stejně zakončili šťastný. S tou krádeži to bylo jasný že ji v nějakou chvíli chytej, stejně to bylo stresující. Celou dobu jsem se modlila, že ona bude nakonci šťastná a že jsi to nějak vyřešej s Adamem, což zvládli, takže jsem spokojená.

Bylo mi hrozně líto Matta Zaleského. Ale aspoň se doufejme brzi zas setká se svojí manželkou.
Bylo to ale strašlivě číst jak říká (před 55 lety) o mládeží přesně to co říká teď moje babička o nový generaci. Je mi to náhle hrozně jasný, že to je nekonečný ciklus a já pravděpodobně skončím podobně, stěžující si na to, že nová generace je odpad.

To je asi všechno co jsem chtěla říct. Jsem ráda že jsem tohle přečetla. Ukazuje to těžkou realitu životů co jsem nikdy nemohla sama zažít.

[Manisha Lakshman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh! Automobiles! Great word! But maybe not so great in the book. I went on from one page to another, hoping I would stumble on an insider look of the Big Three Automotive companies. All I got is some revolutionary verbatim, unfulfilled sexual desires, extra marital affairs, some mafia related stuff in the end in the face of it all. It started off on a high note for me, with the characters all sketched out in ambitious, career-driven moulds. But the magic just got lost. Although it's a really old work by Mr.Hailey, it would have been really, really great if he could have included that automobile feel to the story. One other off point for me was when Brett decides to quit the industry. Its good to follow your dreams but not everyone can be so put out by Cars, when initially they showed so much integrity towards it. It was not justified for me. I'm dissatisfied and disappointed by the end. Not recommended when you want it to be exclusively about Cars. But there were a few highlights in the book. In the beginning when we get a view of how critics diss everything coming out of the industry, how adamant Adam is about his work life, almost his passion. The bit about the superconductors got me interested again. But overall it could have been better than this. Sad, sad, sad.

[Sue Ellen Melo]

I picked up this book because I wanted to understand the industry my sister worked in and what she did. Maybe I just waited too long to get around to reading it. Now my sister is long since retired from that industry and my curiosity about how automobiles are made has waned. In addition, how cars are built now and many of the challenges now facing that field are radically different so I’m not as inclined to look backward. I did read enough to see that MR. Hailey has done his usual job of intensive and detailed research so you really get an insiders look at daily life in an auto manufacturining plant. The other problem I had with this bbook was that of all the characters we met, there was no one that jumped out to me as someone to pull for as there has been in books like Airport, Hotel and The Final Diagnosis. Though each character was complex in their own way, there was no one I could see that I really liked and wanted to see have good things happen to. This book just wasn’t my cup of tea.

[Mehriban · Rating 4 out of 5]

Свое знакомство с творчеством Артура Хейли начала с этого произведения. Отзывов об авторе читала много – положительных и отрицательных, кому-то его производственные романы нравятся, другие считают их скучными. У меня выбор стоял между двумя книгами – «Аэропорт» и непосредственно этой, «Колёса». Сначала я взялась за «Аэропорт», но быстро передумала. Решила оставить книгу с зимней атмосферой на новогодние праздники (да, есть у меня привычка делить книги на сезоны по настроению). К «Колёсам», должна сказать, у меня было неоднозначное отношение. Не совсем понимала чем меня, человека с нулевыми знаниями об автомобилях, может заинтересовать роман об автомобильной индустрии в США 70-ых годов. Сейчас, дочитав книгу до конца, могу сказать что была приятно удивлена. Читалось легко и интересно, а с учётом пары моментов, даже познавательно. Хейли понравился мне намного больше, чем я ожидала. Буду продолжать с ним знакомиться.

[Chaitalee Ghosalkar · Rating 2 out of 5]

The primary reason why I like Arthur Hailey books is the amount of research that goes into it. Reading one book guarantees you a crash course on the industry that the book is based on.

That however, works against him in this case. Before detailing the same, I must admit that the automobile industry isn’t something I would read about, out of my own volition. But this is Hailey and so I decided to give it a chance.

Even if I subtract the nitty-gritties of the automobile industry, there are still many points of concern. For starters, there’s no defined plot. One could say that the subject of a car in development runs throughout the novel, but that’s always backstage, and never really shines. Also, there is protagonist to speak of. Thus, the book comes out as a detailed article on the workings of the car industry-fact glaring over fiction.