Well I’ve found the solution to a problem that I didn’t think I had - and one that combines two loves: motorcycling and V8s! Lazareth, a French builder of very low volumes motorcycles and tricycles has added another wild ride to their list of vehicles and as with many of their products there will only be 10 built and several have already been sold! The LM-847 is a … [Read more...]
Humber
The Humber car company has featured a few times in my history articles. Most people know the Humber brand from the Rootes Group and was seen as the luxury brand within the group. Thomas Humber who founded the company started like many entrepreneurs in the 19th century by building bicycles. He was very successful opening 3 factories across the UK. He had invented a "safety … [Read more...]
Space Frame Chassis
A while back I described the use of the monocoque to produce a very strong but heavy chassis that probably 90% of the world's mass produced cars use. As a follow on, I’ll talk about the space frame chassis that really took off after World War 2, however like many technologies had it’s birth closer to the start of the industry. A space frame is a truss – multi interconnecting … [Read more...]
Rotary Engines
When most people think of rotary engines, they think of Mazda’s RX series or the NSU Ro80 both with engines based on Felix Wankel’s design. However, the rotary engine has been around in different forms for at least 120 years. It was first used in aircraft until superseded by the radial engine. Early rotaries were the complete opposite of current car engines. In these … [Read more...]
Potholes – The Scourge of Every Driver
I've been meaning to write this article for a while thanks to living in a city that is full of holes. The Economist magazine beat me to publishing an article, however it did spur me to write as well. My main concern over the years I have lived in Sydney and the surrounding countryside is that many potholes here are man made!. The word "pothole" comes from a Middle English … [Read more...]
