Simanaitis Says

On cars, old, new and future; science & technology; vintage airplanes, computer flight simulation of them; Sherlockiana; our English language; travel; and other stuff

Category Archives: Classic Bits

TROJAN TALES GALORE

THE ENGLISH Trojan automobile had more eccentricities and as many stories as the legendary Model T Ford. Introduced in 1922, the Trojan had an engine with four cylinders arranged in … Continue reading →

July 2, 2015 · 1 Comment

RACING ON THE “COLORED” LINE

EARLY AUTO race drivers were an especially courageous lot. They drove fragile yet awkward automobiles at impressive speeds under the most deadly conditions. Even more courageous were the relatively few … Continue reading →

June 25, 2015 · Leave a comment

SUPER LIGHT AND SUPER SENSUOUS

TO ME, the words “carrozzeria” and “super leggera” can enter the English language without their italics. But Italian they are, carrozzeria being bodywork, particularly automotive, and Superleggera being a trademark … Continue reading →

June 19, 2015 · 4 Comments

STANGUELLINI—FROM TIMPANI TO MACCHINE SPORTIVE

REGIONE Emilia-Romagna is rightfully known as Motor Valley. This northern Italian region begat Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and the wonderfully passionate famiglia Stanguellini. In Modena, an ancient town of the region, … Continue reading →

June 15, 2015 · 1 Comment

RACING ON THE BOARDS

JUST AS roads of wood planks had their heyday, so it was with race tracks surfaced in this same material. In fact, the first board track in the U.S. was … Continue reading →

June 12, 2015 · 2 Comments

ROAD & TRACK, PLANK AND BOARD, RESPECTIVELY

IN THE infancy of automotive travel—and racing—California was the home of a road—and a track—made of wood. Today, I share tidbits of plank roads; tomorrow, of a board track. The … Continue reading →

June 11, 2015 · 2 Comments

TARUFFI’S BISILURI

PIERO TARUFFI was a race driver—and also a dott. Ing. This Italian doctorate, equivalent to the English MEng degree, gave Taruffi the ability, and ambition, to design his own competition … Continue reading →

June 8, 2015 · 1 Comment

LIFE WITH A MOGGIE TRIKE

THE GOOD folks of HB Automotive just attended to a 12,000-mile servicing of my Honda Crosstour, an oil change of Mobil 1 Synthetic, a new oil filter and a look … Continue reading →

June 4, 2015 · 5 Comments

ALLARD TALES

SYDNEY ALLARD wasn’t your typical Englishman. For one thing, he got the point of drag racing. For another, years before Carroll Shelby stuffed American V-8s into British sports cars, Sydney … Continue reading →

May 20, 2015 · 1 Comment

A FOURSOME OF FRONTENACS

SO THERE I was, preparing a remembrance of Quebec City’s Hotel Frontenac, when my research reveals yet more valve orchestrations. The resulting foursome of Frontenacs includes the famed hotel, a … Continue reading →

May 14, 2015 · 1 Comment