AN ALVIS SPEED 20 SB? A TALBOT LAGO T26?
“IF I were a rich man…,” mused Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Though my circumstances are decidedly different, my musings are the same as I look through the catalogs … Continue reading
TWIN-ENGINE CARS
HOLLYWOOD PRODUCERS know that if one elephant is good, then more than one is even better. Over the history of the automobile, designers have occasionally shared this view. Many Land … Continue reading
SUZUKA’S GRASSY HILLOCK, 1989
MARGIT MOTTA and I witnessed one of the most dramatic—and controversial—moments of Formula 1 racing at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix. The drama was a high point of the intense … Continue reading
NAPIER-RAILTON, PART 2
JOHN COBB and his 1933 Napier-Railton (www.wp.me/p2ETap-1lR) were certainly the pair for setting record after record on Brooklands’ 2 1/4-mile circuit in England. Between 1933 and 1937, Cobb’s Napier-Railton set world … Continue reading
NAPIER-RAILTON, PART 1
AUTOMOTIVE SPORTSMAN John Cobb’s directive to Thompson & Taylor Ltd. was clear: Build a car to set records at the 2 3/4-mile Brooklands circuit. Chief engineer Reid Railton responded with … Continue reading
TRANNY TALK
HOW COME electric vehicles don’t have transmissions whereas traditional vehicles need gears, seemingly the more, the better? The answer is surprisingly straightforward—it’s all a matter of torque. Torque, or twisting … Continue reading
PROPULSION FIGHT
THIS ISN’T the first time society gets to decide on personal mobility. Back at the previous turn of the century—the 19th to the 20th—the propulsion fight was among electricity, steam … Continue reading
WHEATIES CAR BADGES
DURING THE 1950s, General Mills cereal brand Wheaties—even then “The Breakfast of Champions”—had a neat program of offering car emblems as premiums. Thirty-one of these embossed and painted tin badges … Continue reading
LE MANS TOPS AND SUITCASES
THERE’S A neat story of tops and suitcases associated with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, curiously enough with a gap of 30 years. Here are several of my favorite … Continue reading
ROARING TWENTIES
IT’S NO wonder the 1920s acquired the name Roaring Twenties. It’s certainly warranted from an economic point of view. A recent piece, “The Myth of Gatsby’s Suffering Middle Class,” by … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 