Simanaitis Says

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Category Archives: Driving it Today

HURRAH FOR AUTO ENGINEERS!

AUTOMOBILE BUYERS want it all—and enthusiasts want even more. Performance galore, gizmos galore, glitz galore. And then there are conflicting government regulations requiring added safety features combined with increasingly stringent … Continue reading

February 22, 2014 · Leave a comment

THE CARS OF J MAYS

YOU REALIZE the passage of time when someone you remember as a promising kid now announces his retirement. And so it is with J Mays, 59, chief designer at Ford … Continue reading

November 20, 2013 · Leave a comment

WHEN IS A CHICKEN NOT A CHICKEN?

FORD MIGHT have thought U.S. Customs forgot about the “chicken tax”—but, if so, Ford was wrong. I hadn’t thought of the chicken tax in years, but I refreshed my memory … Continue reading

October 31, 2013 · 3 Comments

TAXABLE HP

HORSEPOWER IS motorized fun—so, governments say, why not tax it? Indeed, the idea of extracting cash from motorists is as old as the automobile. Some of the techniques of doing … Continue reading

October 25, 2013 · 6 Comments

SUBARU EYESIGHT

ACCIDENT MITIGATION and autonomous driving are much in the news these days. Autonomous driving claims to replace the driver in mundane tasks of mobility. By contrast, accident mitigation takes over … Continue reading

September 29, 2013 · Leave a comment

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST (MAYBE)

EVERY SO often, even the blind pig finds a truffle. And so it is with this website. One way or the other, items in the past resonate with the latest news. … Continue reading

September 27, 2013 · 1 Comment

B20: DO I FEEL LUCKY?

WHEN B20 biodiesel is discussed, I am reminded of Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood’s character, saying to the punk, “You’ve got to ask yourself a question, ‘Do I feel lucky?’” This, … Continue reading

September 20, 2013 · Leave a comment

PORSCHE GOLD

IT’S FRANKFURT Show time, and it was 50 years ago at this venue that Porsche introduced its 911 sports car. Amazing; a car in current production celebrating its Golden Anniversary. … Continue reading

September 14, 2013 · Leave a comment

CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANS

THE CONCEPT of a continuously variable transmission, CVT, for short, has been around for years. There have been several variations on the theme and a good number of applications. In … Continue reading

August 30, 2013 · 2 Comments

EURO/BENZ HASSLE

THE EUROPEAN Union in Brussels, the Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest court, and Germany’s Daimler-Benz are arguing about keeping cool. At the core of this are the EU’s stringent CO2 regulations … Continue reading

August 29, 2013 · Leave a comment