CHINESE PLATES
THE CHINESE have been entrepreneurs for millennia; they’ve been communists for less than 64 years. This is confirmed by recent happenings concerning Chinese license plates for automobiles. I add my … Continue reading
MY TARGA FLORIO
ITALY’S AUTONOMOUS Regione Siciliana has a rich Greek, Roman, Arabic, Norman, Spanish and Italian history—and a wonderful cuisine that reflects all these. It also has the Piccolo Madonie, one of … Continue reading
IS ANYONE OUT THERE??
THERE ARE billions and billions of stars in the universe. Some of these stars likely have planets orbiting them. Some of these orbiting planets likely lie in what’s come to … Continue reading
LE BELLEZZE DELLA FIAT
THE BEAUTIES of Fiat, le bellezze della Fiat, have been part of this Italian automaker’s image since the very beginning. They did more than reflect the era; at times, they … Continue reading
PETER BROWN’S PETEYS
FOR 25 YEARS, Peter Brown has been editor or editorial director of Automotive News, which is the weekly newspaper of the multifaceted automotive industry. He’s approaching retirement and, in the … Continue reading
BURMA-SHAVE
ARE YOU old enough to remember Burma-Shave signs? I feared as much. However, these sequential roadside messages, typically in verse, tell a lot about advertising during the middle decades of … Continue reading
VINTAGE MAGAZINE
MAYBE YOU’RE already reading Vintage Racecer/Vintage Roadcar. If not, and if, like me, you enjoy vintage automobiles, I highly recommend this monthly magazine (www.vintageracecar.com). Publisher/Editor Casey Annis has gathered a … Continue reading
AUTO SHANGHAI 2013
IN A rich tradition of reporting on auto shows I haven’t actually attended (see Paris 2012 at http://www.wp.me/p2ETap-ho), I offer an outside look at 2013 Auto Shanghai. In full disclosure, … Continue reading
NEW CAR MATH
ARITHMETIC TRENDS of new car purchases are downright scary. According to an item in the Orange County Register, April 21, 2013, auto loans are lengthening to 96 months—that’s eight years! … Continue reading
IMPERIAL HOTEL TOKYO
THERE’S MORE than 100 years of history in Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel—indeed, in all three of the hotels occupying this site just south of the Imperial Palace. And all three (http://goo.gl/ctzhf) have … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 