Owners of Alfa Romeo Giuliettas and 101-series Giulias were on their own by the 1970s when Evan Wilson served as editor, in sequence, of Alfantics, the newsletter of the Capital Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club, and the Alfa Owner, the newsletter of the national club. Evan’s position enabled him to observe the imaginative ways owners talked about and worked to keep their cars running, whether as daily drivers, for weekend outings to club gatherings, or on the track.

The original version of Evan’s book was ready for publication by 1976. But every publisher Evan approached passed on it, adding something like “If you’ll expand your book to cover all (or all postwar) Alfas and include color pictures, we’ll consider publishing it at the $40 price point.”

Evan believed that what the market wanted more was a useful guide for serious enthusiasts at $12 or so. Finally, in 1982, the first firm that had seen and rejected his Giulietta came back with “You were right, we think a book such as you describe will do well in the current market.”

By 1983, when Evan’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta 750 and 101 series Giuliettas and Giulias; 1954-1965 was released, his hoped-for $12 had, ironically, morphed into that magical original $40. Talk about a bargain! As soon as Alfa Romeo Giulietta 750 and 101 series Giuliettas and Giulias; 1954-1965 was out of print, people were paying up to $400 a copy. Then along came cyberspace. Now, one still sees copies at from $100 to $300 on the Web.

This long-awaited revised and updated edition of one of the most referenced carbooks ever is meant to continue to answer the need and advance the story Evan set out to tell at a price more like the one he envisioned so long ago. It contains 48 per cent new content plus 40 new tables and wiring diagrams for all models, and including collector car market tracking for the new financial reality.