Simanaitis Says

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Category Archives: Classic Bits

ELECTRIC CARS, R&T, AND ME—1992

WHAT DID I KNOW ABOUT EVS IN 1992? Was I smarter than Donald Trump is today? It’s no contest, I claim, and offer the following as proof.   This and … Continue reading

February 18, 2026 · 1 Comment

OLD ’ZINE FUN PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN LEAFING THROUGH R&TS from January-March 1950. And, wouldn’t you know, this developed into a two-parter.  Another Famous Personage. A classified ad in February 1950 listed quite a … Continue reading

February 9, 2026 · 3 Comments

OLD ’ZINE FUN PART 1

MY FIRST R&T WAS MAY 1954, BUT OVER THE YEARS I’ve accumulated earlier ones, including a specially published set of five from December 1949-April 1950, reissued by pal John Dowdeswell’s … Continue reading

February 8, 2026 · 3 Comments

HMS TRIALS REPLICA 

“ROVING CORRESPONDENT ROGER T. PATTERSON tests one of Britain’s rarest cars” reads the subtitle of this R&T September 1959 road test. I cannot speak to the whereabouts (or whoabouts) of … Continue reading

February 1, 2026 · 10 Comments

PAUL FRÈRE ON FERRARI PROTOTYPES 1961–1967 PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN SHARING PAUL FRÈRE’S INSIGHTS gleaned from Cars in Profile Collection 1. Here in Part 2, Paul recounted Ferrari’s achievements as well as foibles.   Ferrari’s Initial Views … Continue reading

January 12, 2026 · 2 Comments

PAUL FRÈRE ON FERRARI PROTOTYPES 1961–1967   PART 1 

PAUL FRÈRE WAS A BELGIAN RACING DRIVER, ENGINEER, AND JOURNALIST. Indeed, as the European Editor for R&T he was also a pal (and mentor). Paul Frère, 1917–2008, French-born Belgian race … Continue reading

January 11, 2026 · 1 Comment

CELEBRATING AYRTON SENNA, LEGO, AND GRANDSON CARTER

CARTER RECENTLY SHARED NEAT PICS, the topic of which suggest the efficacy of DNA. He along with his mom, Daughter Beth, are hooked on Formula 1 (along with Daughter Suz … Continue reading

January 9, 2026 · Leave a comment

COUNTACH!! 

THE WORD ABOVE IS DISPLAYED IN ITALICS to emphasize contacc, its Piedmontese meaning roughly “WOW!!” As noted by the car’s designer Marcello Gandini, the word literally means ‘plague,’ ‘contagion,’ and … Continue reading

December 1, 2025 · Leave a comment

A TRIP BACK TO NASCAR—1982

“BEFORE OUR TRIP TO CHARLOTTE, I probably couldn’t have challenged one of that city’s average 10-year-olds with my NASCAR knowledge.” Indeed, it’s even less so for me today 43 years … Continue reading

November 25, 2025 · Leave a comment

“WINDOW; WINDOW IN THE TEST; WHO’S AMONG THE VERY BEST?” PART 2

YESTERDAY, THE 1982 R&T BOUND VOLUME brought back memories of tire testing. We continue here with details of our hard-working tire-changing crew, confidence windows, blind testing, and an R&T visit … Continue reading

November 15, 2025 · Leave a comment