DUTCH DARRIN’S FORD CABRIOLET
THE TERM custom coachwork may not resonate with the name Ford as readily as with Roll-Royce, Duesenberg or Packard. Nor does a relocation from Paris to Los Angeles seem the … Continue reading
GOODING & COMPANY 2014 PEBBLE BEACH
MAYBE IT’S a sign of my age, but I seem to resonate with a goodly number of fabulous cars being offered at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach Auctions. With some … Continue reading
CELEBRATING MORGAN
THIS YEAR, 2014, the Morgan Motor Company is celebrating a 100th anniversary, which I find a perfect opportunity to recollect Morgan’s 75th anniversary that daughter Suz and I attended in … Continue reading
CATALOG TALES—A BROADWAY STAR, AN EARLY B.A.T. AND SINATRA’S LAMBORGHINI
CATALOGS FROM automobile auctions make for great reading. They’re snapshots in time as well as in value. And, in just about any major sale, there are tales associated with the … Continue reading
THE OTTO FOUR-STROKE—SELF TAUGHT
THE UBIQUITOUS Otto four-stroke internal combustion engine didn’t originate with Otto. For instance, Frenchman Alphonse Eugène Beau de Rochas patented the four-stroke concept in 1861, fifteen years before German Nicolaus … Continue reading
CELEBRATING CHITTY-BANG-BANGS
WITH ALL the World War I reflections going on, I offer a celebration of its surplus aero engines. Specifically, three of these huge powerplants powered Chitty-Bang-Bang I, II and III, … Continue reading
MUROC MADCAPS
MUROC DRY LAKE, in the high desert about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, has a rich history in motor sport. Here are a few of my favorite Muroc madcaps, … Continue reading
MY MAYBACH—WELL, ALMOST
I CAME close to owning a Maybach 57, the Millennium’s Über-S-Class of automobiles. In retrospect, maybe not that close. But the tale touches on museum-worthy arts and crafts, mobile superiority and … Continue reading
SCHMID LSR CRACKS 800 KM/H AT BONNEVILLE
VIRTUALLY, THE Land Speed Record car of Leopold F. Schmid has achieved its design goal of 800 km/h, 497 mph or 432 knots. I include this third equivalent unit because … Continue reading
TRANSPORT MEMORABILIA, 1995 (AND TIMELESS)
I LOVE auction catalogs. They contain a wealth of information. Printed on fine stock, they are typically a bibliophile’s delight. Christie’s catalog for a Transport Memorabilia and Models auction is … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 