F1 ENGINES 2014—HONDA 2015
RACING IMPROVES the (Honda) breed. The company’s recent announcement to return to Formula 1 in 2015 as McLaren’s engine supplier makes great sense for Honda, its production cars, its engineering and … Continue reading
TUPOLEV ANT-25
WHEN STALIN said “Jump,” Soviets were wise to respond “How high?” Famed aircraft designer Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev was no exception. In fact, I’ve already recounted two of his technical leaps, … Continue reading
NIKOLA TESLA
THE TALE of Nikola Tesla is one of advanced technology, high drama, eccentricity bordering on the barmy—and even modern crowdfunding. It’s almost incidental that Tesla has a car named after … Continue reading
OLD SCHOOL TIES
I’ve managed to get through most of my life without wearing ties. Not that I don’t appreciate this element of traditional menswear. In fact, rummaging through my books recently I … Continue reading
FAKED PHOTOS
IF YOU happen to find yourself in Houston, Texas, between June 2 and August 25, 2013, this city’s Museum of Fine Arts is hosting “Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop.” … Continue reading
AIRSTREAM TRAVEL TRAILERS
AIRSTREAM TRAILERS are iconic elements of transportation design. More than several years ago, I attended a gathering of Airstream and other travel trailers in Newport Beach, California. This photographic gallery … Continue reading
A MONACO LAP
ENJOYING THE excitement—and occasional chaos—of the televised 2013 Monaco Grand Prix reminds me of my own electrifying laps of this circuit. (A little EV humor here; very little.) Indeed, in … Continue reading
PLATEAU’S BUBBLES
SOAP BUBBLES make for mathematical wonders and excellent physics. One of the principal proponents of this was 19th-century Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau, whose name is associated with these ephemeral objects. … Continue reading
JENKS’ BOX OF MAGIC
WHEN Stirling Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia, his navigator Denis Jenkinson had an advantage over other co-drivers in this 1000-mile Italian road race from Brescia to Rome and return—he … Continue reading
DAYTON-WRIGHT RB RACER
THE LAST of the James Gordon Bennett Cup air races, held in 1920, had an amazingly advanced entry, the Dayton-Wright RB Racer. By any measure, the RB should have won … Continue reading
