AS RARE AS… EARTH?
A PRESS RELEASE dated July 12, 2016, caught my eye: “Daido Steel and Honda Adopt World’s First Hybrid Vehicle Motor Magnet Free of Heavy Rare Earth Elements.” I’d agree, avoiding … Continue reading
UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OF FINES
THE FEDERAL CIVIL Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 doesn’t just sound redundant, it’s causing havoc among automakers. As with many laws, there’s rationality and a spirit of … Continue reading
DREADFUL THINGS LARGE AND SMALL
LOOKING FOR something to worry about? I confess, my topics here at SimanaitisSays are ordinarily chosen to be pleasant, upbeat, non-threatening. I figure we’ve got plenty of other places to … Continue reading
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS—AERO THEORETICIANS
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS went far beyond being bicycle builders because of their extraordinarily methodical approach to all of their activities. Why, for example, did these Ohioans first fly at Kitty … Continue reading
THE VILLAGE OF PETER FRITZ
PETER FRITZ did more than sell insurance in Vienna, Austria. In the 1950s and 1960s, during his spare time Fritz built architectural models. Indeed, he left more than enough structures … Continue reading
AN ENTHUSIAST’S FATHER BROWN
BEING ENTHUSED about classic cars, vintage aircraft and English mystery stories, I recommend the BBC TV adventures of Father Brown. In a recent PBS presentation, this parish priest/amateur sleuth found … Continue reading
CHEAP GAS—2016
THE U.S. CONTINUES to have the cheapest gasoline anywhere in the world I’d want to live. On July 18, 2016, Bloomberg.com offered “Gasoline Prices Around the World: The Real Cost … Continue reading
JET LAGS I HAVE KNOWN
IN CASE YOU EVER wondered, Joanna Klein explained, “Why Jet Lag Can Feel Worse When You Travel From West to East,” in The New York Times, July 15, 2016. Klein … Continue reading
MID-ENGINE INDY RACE CARS—THE EARLY YEARS
THE DEMISE OF classic front-engine Indy roadsters began in 1961 when Jack Brabham’s mid-engine Cooper-Climax broke their ubiquity with a 9th-place finish. Jim Clark’s 1965 win in his Lotus-Ford hastened … Continue reading
HAPPY 75TH, JEEP!
THE JEEP is 75 years old; its conception, traceable to freelance designer Karl Probst, is a year older. The editors of Automotive News assembled a celebration of these events in … Continue reading
