QUICK CHARGE = QUICK DEGRADATION?
RECHARGE TIME is a major shortcoming of battery electric vehicles. As an all but impossible target, a conventional car’s fillup at the corner gasoline station takes perhaps five minutes. By … Continue reading
OPERA CHAOS IV
IT’S TIME—ta da!—to share more operatic madness. As Peter Ustinov noted, opera “rides the razor edge of absurdity,” and it’s good fun to read about the occasional hysterics of this … Continue reading
SAE 2014 HYBRID & EV SYMPOSIUM—BATTERY UPDATE
SAE’S ANNUAL symposium on hybrids and electric vehicles, held February 11 – 13, 2014, in La Jolla, California, was rich in technical nuggets. This first of several postings shares battery … Continue reading
JUDY AND THE SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CAR
FROM TIME to time, I have an image of a lovely Judy Garland hanging off a San Francisco cable car as she sings “The Trolley Song.” Ah, but the mind … Continue reading
FOR SALE—WITH STORIES ATTACHED
ONE OF the high points of my career as an automotive journalist was enjoying Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks with friend and Grand Prix driver Innes Ireland as we … Continue reading
PORSCHE 919 HYBRID
THE MOST interesting car being unveiled at the 84th Geneva Motor Show, March 6 to 16, 2014, is the Porsche 919 Hybrid. This LMP1-H entry for the 2014 Le Mans … Continue reading
MILLE MIGLIA STORICA, 1989
THE ORIGINAL Mille Miglia, 1927 – 1957, was one of the world’s most grand—and outrageous—motoring events. See “Jenk’s Box of Magic,” http://wp.me/p2ETap-184. The Mille Miglia Storica is its modern counterpart, … Continue reading
T C’S BELLAGIO TRAGHETTO
I DELIGHT in touring the lake region of northern Italy, as described several times here. One of these lakes, Lago di Como, is the site of a Bellagio Traghetto adventure with … Continue reading
LIVING DAGUERREOTYPES
THE FEBRUARY 21, 2014, issue of Science magazine, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, contained a news item titled “Portraits and Their Parasites.” How could I pass … Continue reading
LESHER TEAL
ED LESHER was a can-do kind of guy. A professor of aeronautical engineering, he used breaks in his academic career to perform design work at Douglas, Stinson and Convair Aircraft. … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 