For six decades, Motorbooks has been the go-to authority on transportation, creating books on motorcycles, cars, and motorsports at large. Now, on the eve of the imprint's 60th birthday, we spoke to publisher Zack Miller about branching out into new categories, what makes for a beautifully-designed book, and the key to publishing longevity.

Can you share the Motorbooks origin story?

Motorbooks was founded by Tom Warth, an English expat car enthusiast who found the selection of motoring books in the U.S. rather lacking compared to England. He launched Motorbooks International out of his Minneapolis, Minn., garage (of course) in 1965. Initially, Motorbooks was a mail-order seller of transportation and motorsports books that Warth brought in from the U.K. and Europe. In the latter 1970s, it began to do book publishing of its own with that part of the business continuing to grow steadily from the 1980s.

The world of motorized vehicles is a broad one. How do new potential projects land on your radar?

Many of our publishing ideas are generated internally by Motorbooks editorial staff. We also receive unsolicited ideas as well as agented projects.

You've had many licensing partnerships–NASCAR, Harley-Davidson, Chevrolet, Ford, etc. How have these partnerships helped to shape your library of titles?

Working with official partners can provide access to information, background stories, staff interviews, and historical imagery that could otherwise be challenging to access. In some instances, it allows us to tell a story either more deeply or gives us the opportunity to delve into an aspect of a manufacturer’s history that might otherwise not be known.

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Trace the 50-year success story of BMW’s 3-Series in this luxuriously produced and stunningly illustrated volume.

From its launch in 1975 with the 316, the 3-Series has moved from strength to strength, defining what it means to be a performance sedan/coupe/wagon. Beloved by enthusiasts worldwide, it is the series benchmarked by all other manufacturers. Whether daily driven, tracked, or raced, BMW’s 3-Series delivers the goods.

BMW 3-Series 50 Years charts the 3-Series’ design and technical evolution from the 1970s to today, from the clean, classic two-box design of the E21 and E30 to the handsome E46 to today’s sophisticated G20.

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There is Formula 1, and then there are all other forms of motorsport. F1 is what every competition driver aspires to, whether they admit it or not. Top drivers, top teams, top racing cars, top tracks. It is the pinnacle of motor racing.

Formula 1 marks its 75th anniversary in 2025. Established as the top motorsport category in Europe in 1950, its grand-prix roots go back to the earliest days of the automobile. There was the first car, then there was the second car. The racing commenced shortly thereafter.

Written by top F1 journalists Stuart Codling and James Roberts, Formula 1 75 Years takes you on a thrilling ride through it all.

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In Petty vs. Pearson, veteran motorsport journalist Mike Hembree examines how the co-dominance of drivers Richard Petty and David Pearson helped drive NASCAR to national prominence.

The battle for NASCAR dominance was never more pronounced than when Richard Petty and David Pearson met on the track. In 551 head-to-head races between 1960 and 1986, they finished one-two an astounding 63 times (Pearson won 33, Petty 30). Each showdown attracted more media attention and new fans, helping the sport to evolve evermore rapidly.

Petty vs. Pearson is the only book to examine this storied relationship, beginning with their pre–Winston Cup careers.

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Get the complete, up-to-date story of Porsche’s most important model, year by year, in behind-the-scenes insights and over 500 stunning images.

For more than six decades, Porsche’s ever-evolving 911 has served as the company’s ultimate expression of Ferdinand Porsche’s sports-car vision. Its unique form defines excellence in automotive design and engineering while providing an unrivaled driving experience. In The Complete Book of Porsche 911, author and automotive historian Randy Leffingwell provides a detailed year-by-year overview of Stuttgart’s most famous performance car.

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Gorgeously illustrated and authoritatively written, Fender Telecaster 75 Years is the officially licensed celebration of one of the world’s most beloved electric guitars.

Embraced for its simplicity and adaptability, the Fender® Telecaster® guitar is a musical icon around the world and across musical genres, its distinctive design as beloved today as it was when Leo Fender introduced the guitar to the world in 1951.

In Fender Telecaster 75 Years, guitar historian Dave Hunter traces Telecaster® guitars across seven-plus decades, beginning with Leo Fender’s breakthrough design in his modest Fullerton, California, workshop.

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Discover what it takes to be a NASCAR Cup Champion! This officially licensed and stunningly illustrated volume chronicles the story of every Champion in the series’ history.

Over the decades, NASCAR’s top drivers have achieved legendary status. Winners like Lee and Richard Petty, Dale “the Intimidator” Earnhardt, “Wonder Boy” Jeff Gordon, and super-champion Jimmy Johnson have etched their names in the record books, each contributing to NASCAR’s ongoing evolution. Fierce rivalries, unforgettable victories, and crushing losses weave through the stories of each of NASCAR’s Cup Champions.

From NASCAR’s birth on the dirt tracks of the South to today’s superspeedways, NASCAR Champions: Every Cup Winner from 1949 to Today details it all.

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Produced in cooperation with HOT ROD magazine, HOT ROD Mavericks takes you on a rollicking look back on more than a century of trailblazers, risk-takers, hell-raisers, and forward-thinkers.

No aspect of automobile culture embodies the DIY spirit like hot rodding. From prewar pressed steel and milled four-bangers to modern machined billet and 800-hp behemoths, the story of hot rodding has been the story of can-do iconoclasts who did for themselves what Detroit wouldn’t do for them. Longtime hot rod and custom car historian Tony Thacker crafts an illustrated history that leaves no camshaft unturned.

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No period in the history of rock music offered such an abrupt shift in prevailing tastes as the 1990s. While just a short while before, radio and MTV were clamoring for hair metal bands, suddenly alt-rockers such as Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, Primus, Smashing Pumpkins, and of course, Nirvana, brought a sea change not just in what the most popular bands sounded like, but also in fashion, politics, and seemingly all aspects of pop culture.

In Alternative for the Masses: The Oral History of the ’90s Alt-Rock Revolution, veteran music critic Greg Prato presents more than 60 new interviews conducted exclusively for the book—with an emphasis on the 1990–1995 peak period—including insights from renowned names and excerpts from one of the last interviews with Steve Albini, arguably the period’s most influential recording engineer and producer, responsible for influential albums by the likes of Nirvana and PJ Harvey producer, among many others.

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A unique and lavishly produced celebration of the iconic rocker, Tom Petty: The Life & Music examines an extraordinary career through the lens of 75 key events and releases.

Twenty-eight Billboard Top-10 singles, induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a string of best-selling studio albums... nearly a decade after his passing, Tom Petty remains one of rock’s most beloved figures. In Tom Petty: The Life & Music, veteran rock journalist Gillian G. Gaar reveals this rock icon through 75 career releases, performances, and accolades.

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Few musicians or celebrities are as widely adored as Willie Nelson. The legendary Texas singer-songwriter is still recording and performing music well into his nineties. In this photo-filled coffee-table gift book, noted country/roots/Americana music writer Geoffrey Himes traces Nelson’s entire career through the lens of his albums.

Along the way, read about Nelson’s film roles, notable collaborators, famous Fourth of July picnics, iconic Martin guitar “Trigger,” and involvement in causes like Farm Aid, biodiesel fuels, and marijuana legalization. The text, together with more than 250 images of Nelson on- and offstage, make for a unique and visually entertaining celebration of an American treasure who has transcended America’s increasing polarization to become a national treasure.

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Run-DMC and Raising Hell examines one of the most influential hip-hop albums of all time with an authoritative text and a beautifully designed presentation. Take a deep dive into legendary hip-hop group Run-DMC’s groundbreaking album, Raising Hell, on its 40th anniversary with this handsome slipcased celebration.

In 1985, Queens, New York–based rap group Run-DMC teamed with heavy metal producer Rick Rubin to record their breakthrough album and one of the most influential songs in rap and rock. The album, Raising Hell, went double platinum and sold over 3 million copies. The song, a collaboration with rock group Aerosmith covering that band’s 1975 hit “Walk This Way,” is credited with pushing hip-hop into the mainstream and launching the rap-rock genre.

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Founded in 1965, Motorbooks was acquired by The Quarto Group in late 2007. Motorbooks is among the world’s leading transportation publishers, offering books created by motoring’s top photographers and writers, many created with major partners like Harley-Davidson, Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler, in addition to magazines like Hot Rod and Cycle World.