BUGATTI ART AT THE MULLIN
ARTISTIC GENIUS surfaced often in the Bugatti family. Ettore Bugatti built cars—with an artistic flair. His brother Rembrandt was a sculptor. Their father Carlo designed and fabricated Art Nouveau furniture. … Continue reading
NEW ZEALANDER RICHARD PEARSE—FIRST TO FLY?
WHO WAS the first person to fly? Do balloonists count? What about piloting a glider? Was it Icarus? Orville or Wilber Wright? And what about New Zealander Richard Pearse? There’s evidence … Continue reading
FIA FORMULA E—PLUGGED IN FOR 2014/2015
BERNARD NICLOT, Technical Director, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, spoke on February 11 at the SAE 2014 Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Symposium in La Jolla, California. His topic was “Growing Importance … Continue reading
S.S. VAN DINE’S 20 RULES
THE DETECTIVE novelist S.S. Van Dine devised a list of 20 rules for writing detective stories. Whether in observance or willful disregard, the rules first published in 1928 make for … Continue reading
COUNT THEM AGAIN—IN MY PRESENCE
THE GREAT line “Count them again—in my presence” appears in one of my foreign language phrase books under the heading “Dealing with the Help.” Many years ago, famed humorist James … Continue reading
QUICK CHARGE = QUICK DEGRADATION?
RECHARGE TIME is a major shortcoming of battery electric vehicles. As an all but impossible target, a conventional car’s fillup at the corner gasoline station takes perhaps five minutes. By … Continue reading
OPERA CHAOS IV
IT’S TIME—ta da!—to share more operatic madness. As Peter Ustinov noted, opera “rides the razor edge of absurdity,” and it’s good fun to read about the occasional hysterics of this … Continue reading
SAE 2014 HYBRID & EV SYMPOSIUM—BATTERY UPDATE
SAE’S ANNUAL symposium on hybrids and electric vehicles, held February 11 – 13, 2014, in La Jolla, California, was rich in technical nuggets. This first of several postings shares battery … Continue reading
JUDY AND THE SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CAR
FROM TIME to time, I have an image of a lovely Judy Garland hanging off a San Francisco cable car as she sings “The Trolley Song.” Ah, but the mind … Continue reading
FOR SALE—WITH STORIES ATTACHED
ONE OF the high points of my career as an automotive journalist was enjoying Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks with friend and Grand Prix driver Innes Ireland as we … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 