So it is not long ago that the world was up in arms about VW and its ability to deliver emissions control test results that the authorities wanted. The scandal was embellished by the outrage of the media when they found out that VWs engineers had developed software that could detect if a vehicle was being tested and then reconfigure the engine management system to ensure that … [Read more...]
Max Hoffman
I enjoy reading classic car magazines from Europe and the US and one name seems to appear in every edition - Maximilian Hoffman! Who was he and why was he such an important figure in the automotive industry? By the way don’t confuse him with his namesake who was a World War 1 military strategist who helped defeat Russian advances in 1917 - a pivotal reason for the Russian … [Read more...]
Open Top Cars
What is fascinating about the car industry is the number of names used for the same item - and often it comes down to history with Europe and the US adopting different names at different times. The convertible is such a beast - it has so many different names, some driven by marketing and others by other long forgotten reasons. The simplest of the names, a convertible … [Read more...]
Boxer & Flat Engines
Like the W formation engine discussed recently, the flat engine has been around since the very early years, in fact Karl Benz used a boxer engine in his first car! There is actually a subtle difference between a flat engine and a boxer engine: both are flat however a boxer engine uses horizontally opposed cylinders where the corresponding pistons on each side reach top dead … [Read more...]
VW Diesel Scandal Takes Heat From Other Issues
The media attacks on VW about their diesel emissions testing has taken another subject off the table: security flaws in the electronic locking systems! This is another case that has been ongoing for a number of years. Unfortunately this issue doesn't just cover VW but a number of other non VW Group manufacturers, however it was VW that got the headline - and this was before … [Read more...]