Simanaitis Says

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Category Archives: Classic Bits

ROOSEVELT FIELD—AND RACEWAY

YESTERDAY WE admired the Rhonie murals at Roosevelt Field (http://wp.me/p2ETap-2GJ). Today, I’ll fill in some of Roosevelt’s history between its 1909 origin and 1951 demise. In between, there’s Glenn Curtiss, … Continue reading

December 7, 2014 · 1 Comment

REVENTLOW’S F1 CAR—A MATTER OF TIMING

AMERICAN LANCE Reventlow’s Formula One car had the same high-skilled fabrication and immaculate presentation as his Scarab sports cars. These dominated sports car racing throughout the 1958 season. However, the … Continue reading

December 5, 2014 · 3 Comments

AMILCAR—A ROLLING SPIRIT OF THE ROARING TWENTIES

RACING, IT is said, improves the breed. And, maybe inadvertently, government improves the breed as well. Or at least racing and government combined to the benefit of the French Amilcar. … Continue reading

November 26, 2014 · Leave a comment

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

November 14, 2014 · 4 Comments

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

November 7, 2014 · 5 Comments

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

October 31, 2014 · 15 Comments

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

October 26, 2014 · 3 Comments

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

October 24, 2014 · 1 Comment

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

October 21, 2014 · 2 Comments

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

October 13, 2014 · 2 Comments