If your car manual were an entertaining work of fiction filled with pretty illustrations, you might be more inclined to read it.
That, at least, is the hope behind a new marketing stunt from Romanian auto brand Dacia. This November, the company celebrated its 10th year sponsoring the Gaudeamus book fair by commissioning 30 writers and artists to transform its driver's manual into a work of prose and poetry.
The resulting publication turns dry—if important—chapters like "Tools," "Dashboard," "Child's Security" and "Safety Belt" into pieces that traverse genres from science fiction to romance, with every story illustrated accordingly.
Publicis Bucharest is billing the book as literature, which might be a stretch for any utilitarian product like this. But it's a fun and clever idea, and the illustrations look great. 
If you're concerned about useful details getting lost in translating a technical document into art, don't worry: While the brand is looking to distribute the "Alternative Manual" in showrooms, it plans to do so alongside—not instead of—the standard manual. (Which means you now have two things to read instead of one.)
