LE BELLEZZE DELLA FIAT
THE BEAUTIES of Fiat, le bellezze della Fiat, have been part of this Italian automaker’s image since the very beginning. They did more than reflect the era; at times, they … Continue reading
PETER BROWN’S PETEYS
FOR 25 YEARS, Peter Brown has been editor or editorial director of Automotive News, which is the weekly newspaper of the multifaceted automotive industry. He’s approaching retirement and, in the … Continue reading
BURMA-SHAVE
ARE YOU old enough to remember Burma-Shave signs? I feared as much. However, these sequential roadside messages, typically in verse, tell a lot about advertising during the middle decades of … Continue reading
VINTAGE MAGAZINE
MAYBE YOU’RE already reading Vintage Racecer/Vintage Roadcar. If not, and if, like me, you enjoy vintage automobiles, I highly recommend this monthly magazine (www.vintageracecar.com). Publisher/Editor Casey Annis has gathered a … Continue reading
AUTO SHANGHAI 2013
IN A rich tradition of reporting on auto shows I haven’t actually attended (see Paris 2012 at http://www.wp.me/p2ETap-ho), I offer an outside look at 2013 Auto Shanghai. In full disclosure, … Continue reading
NEW CAR MATH
ARITHMETIC TRENDS of new car purchases are downright scary. According to an item in the Orange County Register, April 21, 2013, auto loans are lengthening to 96 months—that’s eight years! … Continue reading
IMPERIAL HOTEL TOKYO
THERE’S MORE than 100 years of history in Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel—indeed, in all three of the hotels occupying this site just south of the Imperial Palace. And all three (http://goo.gl/ctzhf) have … Continue reading
OPERATIC CHAOS
IT HAS been a while since I’ve had fun here with opera. Having already cited (see http://www.wp.me/p2ETap-u7) what Sir Peter Ustinov called opera’s “razor edge of absurdity,” it seems not … Continue reading
ASTON MARTIN’S 100TH
LET’S CELEBRATE the 100th anniversary of Aston Martin. Let’s also clarify some hype about its dual-fuel Rapide S Hydrogen Hybrid to be raced at next month’s Nürburgring 24-hour. It’ll be … Continue reading
SUPERMARKETS ARE SUPER
THE EARLIEST drivers went to pharmacies, hardware stores and blacksmiths to buy gasoline—“gasolene” was another spelling for this higher distillate. By 1905, though, filling stations were appearing. And by 1914 … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 