WONDERS OF A CAR’S CATALYTIC CONVERTER
MY RECENT item on fuel cell catalysts got me and several readers thinking about conventional automotive catalytic converters. Are automotive catalysts the same as those in a fuel cell? No. … Continue reading
CUTTING FUEL CELL COSTS
AN ADVANCE at Argonne National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy may significantly lower the cost of fuel cell propulsion. Briefly, Argonne researchers have developed a less costly replacement … Continue reading
VW’S DIESEL SCAM
THERE IS technical interest in Volkwagen’s scamming of government and customers. According to Bloomberg Business, almost 500,000 VW and Audi diesels, beginning in Model Year 2009, are involved in the … Continue reading
ON THE VIRTUES OF (HIGHLY SELECTIVE) CONNECTIVITY
WE LIVE in a highly connected world. (Otherwise, of course, SimanaitisSays wouldn’t exist.) But a couple of happenings suggest we have reached a tipping point. The two I have in … Continue reading
“POINTLESS” CARS?
BACK IN the 1980s when most cars still had traditional breaker-point ignitions, one carmaker’s innovative state-of-the-art electronic system was heralded with a wonderful press release: “New Rapidfire has a pointless … Continue reading
TOYOTA MIRAI TIDBITS
HERE ARE 10 tidbits about the 2016 Mirai FCV, Toyota’s production fuel-cell car appearing in California showrooms this October. These tidbits are gleaned from my taking part in what amounted … Continue reading
KISS OFF EVS??
THE PROMISE of electric vehicles was fun while it lasted, but several recent articles in Automotive News are anything but promising. EVs are glued to dealership floors. Government EV subsidies … Continue reading
MYSTERIOUS DODGE MINIVAN ROAMING SOCAL
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA is finally catching up to northern California and the New York City area. Yesterday in a local mini mall parking lot, a dark hued Dodge minivan mingled with … Continue reading
E2F2 AND OTHER COMPUTERIZED FUN
A READER with an evidently good memory asks about E2F2, the Engineering Editor’s Fun Factor. This assessment of enthusiast car goodness originally appeared in Road & Track, August 1984. Its … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 
HYBRID VS. GASOLINE VS. DIESEL: TWO SNAFUS
THE RECENT Volkswagen diesel deceit reminded me of a 2010 SAE International presentation of mine that coordinated with an article in R&T. In retrospect, the presentation involved a pair of … Continue reading →