BERNIE’S CONNAUGHT DRIVE AT MONACO
THERE’S NO lack of opinion among auto enthusiasts about Formula One czar Bernie Ecclestone, but his being an ace race driver isn’t one of them. This isn’t for lack of … Continue reading
LANCIA D50 GRAND PRIX CAR
MODERN FORMULA One cars fit the technical term “hybrid” because of their complex interactive gasoline/electric powerplants. But hybrid also describes the corporate characteristics of an innovative mid-1950s Grand Prix car, … Continue reading
TEMPLAR AND HIS HIRONDEL
QUICK: NAME a British adventurer who drove really neat cars. Oh, that one? The spy. Yeah, him too. And then there’s Bulldog Drummond, who, I believe, drove an early Aston … Continue reading
U.S. GRANDS PRIX—LONG BEACH, DETROIT, INDY
NEXT SUNDAY, November 2, 2014, is the U.S. Grand Prix, held now at COTA, Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas. In the past, Formula One races in the U.S. have … Continue reading
WORLD CARS 1972
TO SOME of us, the year 1972 doesn’t seem all that long ago. On the other hand, those born that year are already in their 40s. And more than a … Continue reading
GASOGENES AND THE MILLE MIGLIA
TO SHERLOCKIANS and other high-living Victorians, the gasogene is a piece of barware, a gadget producing carbonated water for mixing with whisky. To automotive historians, a gasogene was the answer … Continue reading
STUDEBAKER’S 162 YEARS
ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2014, the Orange County, California, Daily Pilot newspaper jogged the memories of automotive enthusiasts. Unknown to many people in the area, a building being renovated in Newport Beach … Continue reading
SUZUKA SHENANIGANS
THIS WEEKEND, October 4 – 5, 2014, is the Japanese Grand Prix, held as it has been, on and off for years, at Suzuka Circuit in central Japan. I have … Continue reading
DARL’MAT SPÉCIAL SPORT ROADSTER
EMILE DARL’MAT apprenticed with French aviation pioneer Clément Ader and, thus, could have been an aircraft builder. But, instead, Darl’Mat chose automobiles. He started in 1923 with an auto repair … Continue reading
WHAT’S STYLISH FOR GM IS STYLISH FOR THE COUNTRY
MY TITLE is a paraphrase of a misquote, “What’s good for General Motors is good for the country.” What Charles Edwin “Engine Charlie” Wilson, ex-GM CEO and Eisenhower Secretary of … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 