Simanaitis Says

On cars, old, new and future; science & technology; vintage airplanes, computer flight simulation of them; Sherlockiana; our English language; travel; and other stuff

BILL DOBSON AND MR. WRIGHT

FOR MANY years, the talented artist Bill Dobson (1935-2011) did the side view drawings—little gems of automotive art—for Road & Track road tests. Bill was also a world-recognized authority on … Continue reading

December 3, 2012 · 5 Comments

LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW 2012

I ATTENDED the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, as opposed to my remote analyses of 2012 Paris (see http://www.wp.me/p2ETap-ho and http://www.wp.me/p2ETap-i2). Generally, it was good fun to be there. Any … Continue reading

December 2, 2012 · 1 Comment

FORD OVERDRIVE

RECENTLY IT was May 22, 1949, and I was listening to an ad for Ford Overdrive. (Such are the wonders of Sirius XM and its Radio Classics channel 82.) Despite … Continue reading

December 1, 2012 · 7 Comments

PHOENIX GRAND PRIX 1989

STILL SAVORING the overwhelming success of the inaugural Circuit of the Americas Grand Prix in Austin, I thought about highs and lows of previous U.S. Grands Prix. Though I never … Continue reading

November 30, 2012 · 4 Comments

BRITAIN INVADED!

A CAR book can offer most marvelous tales having nothing to do with cars. And so it is with Bentley Motors On The Road, an assemblage of the owners’ magazines … Continue reading

November 29, 2012 · 1 Comment

PORSCHE SINGLE-SEATER

NEWS OF a particular Porsche displayed at the Essen Motor Show1 prompts me to recall my own once-in-a-lifetime experience piloting a single-seat Porsche. Known as der Volksschlepper, this vehicle gets … Continue reading

November 28, 2012 · 6 Comments

DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISERS

ONE OF the grandest adventures in aviation occurred in 1924 when a trio of U.S. Army Air Service Douglas World Cruisers became the first aeroplanes to circumnavigate the globe. The … Continue reading

November 27, 2012 · 1 Comment

WRONG WORDS

AS A linguistic hobby, I’ve been collecting two kinds of misused words, one category dating back more than 200 years, the other defined as recently as the current decade. They’re … Continue reading

November 26, 2012 · 3 Comments

BENETTON B186

THE RECENT U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, reminds me of my own Formula 1 drive. (It’s difficult to work this into ordinary conversation—but it can be done.) The car … Continue reading

November 25, 2012 · 2 Comments

HIGH TECH, WHY TECH

AVOWED TECHIE though I am, some modern automotive offerings have me wondering. Here are my current citations in both categories, High Tech and Why Tech. Rear view camera. High Tech! … Continue reading

November 24, 2012 · 1 Comment