OPERATIC CHAOS
IT HAS been a while since I’ve had fun here with opera. Having already cited (see http://www.wp.me/p2ETap-u7) what Sir Peter Ustinov called opera’s “razor edge of absurdity,” it seems not … Continue reading
ASTON MARTIN’S 100TH
LET’S CELEBRATE the 100th anniversary of Aston Martin. Let’s also clarify some hype about its dual-fuel Rapide S Hydrogen Hybrid to be raced at next month’s Nürburgring 24-hour. It’ll be … Continue reading
SUPERMARKETS ARE SUPER
THE EARLIEST drivers went to pharmacies, hardware stores and blacksmiths to buy gasoline—“gasolene” was another spelling for this higher distillate. By 1905, though, filling stations were appearing. And by 1914 … Continue reading
RACE DRIVERS EVOLVED
TODAY’S RACE drivers—especially those in the lofty realm of Formula 1—have evolved into specialists who possess intellect as well as athleticism. They’re closer to astronauts than they are to race … Continue reading
BUGATTI F1
THE ENGINE of Bugatti’s Type 251 Formula 1 car is mounted properly aft of the driver. This engine has double overhead camshafts and its eight cylinders are fashionably oversquare, the … Continue reading
CAUSALITY?
“THERE ARE lies, damned lies—and statistics!” And one of the damnedest lies—which, I hasten to add, shouldn’t be blamed on statistics—involves the confusion of “causality” with “correlation.” This shows up … Continue reading
PAPAL HIGHJINKS
THE ACCESSION of Pope Francis I has been taking place with high ceremony and, given His Holiness’s nature, a sense of humility. But it wasn’t always that way. In the … Continue reading
TOYOTA, HONDA SITTING EPA-PRETTY
WITHOUT A lot of fanfare last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published an update of automakers and their emissions credits amassed since 2009. Toyota and Honda are sitting pretty. GM … Continue reading
THE ROYALS—OLD AND NEW
HILARY MANTEL is a marvelous writer, whether she’s documenting the Tudor goings-on of Henry VIII et al or delivering a lecture as part of the London Review of Books Winter … Continue reading
BUGATTI 100P
ETTORE BUGATTI combined artistry with his engineering of cars, boats, railway transport—and an airplane, the Bugatti 100P. In the mid-1930s, he teamed with Belgian aeronautical engineer Louis de Monge to … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 