Simanaitis Says

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Category Archives: Classic Bits

THE PRE-COBRA

THE HERITAGE OF Carroll Shelby’s fire-breathing 427 Cobra starts with a lithe British sports car, the A.C. Ace, and then moves to Ol’ Shel’s Fairlane V-8 conversion, the AC-Ford Cobra. … Continue reading

April 18, 2017 · 5 Comments

THE FIRST 1.5-LITER COOPER, AN EARLY BEETLE AND OL’ SHEL TOPS THE HILL

I’LL NEVER LACK for automotive reading material, what with a closet full of old magazines. R&T October 1956 is a perfect example. Formula 1 was at the height of its … Continue reading

April 3, 2017 · 4 Comments

LOTUS SEVEN AMERICA

THE Lotus Seven America is the John Adams of automobiles: Like this composer of Short Ride in a Fast Machine, the Seven is minimalist. It has nothing more than it … Continue reading

March 24, 2017 · 4 Comments

ALFA ROMEO SPRINT SPECIALE—AN UNFULFILLED LOVE AFFAIR

DO YOU HAVE an unfulfilled automotive love affair? Not simply a car of such exotic character—and cost—that it is clearly out of the question. (For instance, “my” 1930 Bugatti Type … Continue reading

March 9, 2017 · 5 Comments

GRAND PRIX CUTAWAYS—THE 2.5-LITER ERA, PART 2

THIS SELECTION of Bob Thatcher cutaways from R&T, May and June 1961, continues my celebration of Formula One’s 2.5-liter era, 1954–1960. The Ferrari Dino 246, named to honor Enzo’s late … Continue reading

March 7, 2017 · 2 Comments

GRAND PRIX CUTAWAYS—THE 2.5-LITER ERA, PART 1

I’M ESPECIALLY enamored of Formula One cars of the 2.5-liter formula, 1954–1960. At first, Juan Manuel Fangio dominated the field while piloting front-engine race cars to four consecutive Driver’s World … Continue reading

March 6, 2017 · 6 Comments

1920 ROAD-O-PLANE

BILL URBAN, of Lititz, Pennsylvania, told me about the Road-O-Plane. In fact, Bill is the SimanaitisSays correspondent for Lititz and its environs. Lititz is in Pennsylvania Dutch country, about 75 … Continue reading

March 1, 2017 · 1 Comment

A BUGATTI ELECTRIC VEHICLE!

THE 1931 TYPE 56 wasn’t Bugatti’s first electric car, but it’s likely his rarest. Following the popularity of his Baby Bugatti half-scale electric car for kids, le Patron had a … Continue reading

January 18, 2017 · Leave a comment

MRS. F.J. LINZ, PART 2

When we left plucky automobilist Mrs. F.J. Linz yesterday, she had already earned the respect of the San Francisco motoring community. In 1908, Mrs. Linz served as the General Manager … Continue reading

January 6, 2017 · 2 Comments

MRS. F.J. LINZ—PLUCKY AUTOMOBILIST

WOMEN AT SimanaitisSays have been aviatory, artistic, aviatory and artistic, and a passle of other descriptions. But “plucky” is a new one, perfectly suited to Mrs. Frederick J. Linz of … Continue reading

January 5, 2017 · Leave a comment