Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today we've got reports from Business Insider, Road & Track, Stanceworks, and Pistonheads.
We Think We Know What Elon Musk's Hyperloop Is, And How It Can Get You From LA To San Francisco In 30 Minutes
We've seen Elon Musk talk Hyperloop before, but now we've got a better idea of what it might be courtesy of Jay Yarow.
In 1972, the Rand Corporation released a paper written by physicist R.M. Salter that detailed an underground tube system that could send people from Los Angeles to New York City in 21 minutes. He called it the Very High Speed Transit System, or VHST. (Not nearly as catchy a name as Hyperloop.) Salter concluded in his paper that "the technical problems associated with the VHST development are manifold and difficult — but no scientific breakthroughs are required."
The Evolution of Garages and Carports – Road & Track
Brett Berk takes up the evolution of something many of us wish we had.
Sears Roebuck began selling a portable garage in 1908. And by the 1920s—with the Federal government’s passage of a couple acts focused on funding roads, and the invention of the roll-up overhead door—garages were beginning to become incorporated into the design of new houses, usually still as separate buildings out back or accessed through an alley. The attached garage didn’t really come into vogue until the massive postwar suburban building boom, which was fueled by, and dependent upon, the equally massive postwar car boom.
THE ART OF HOT RODDING – MIKE BURROUGHS’ BMW-POWERED 1928 FORD MODEL A – Stanceworks
DAT ENGINE.
I hadn't planned on buying a car that day, or any time soon in all honesty. However, after selling a car, I had money burning a hole in my pocket, and excitement got the best of me. I called up one of my closest friends, Geoff Tumang, and asked him if he was on board to pick up a car. Without hesitation, he rushed over and off we went - to Pete's Rod and Custom, about 45 minutes inland, where the old girl sat out front. I didn't bother asking questions - let's be honest - I didn't know what to ask. While my understanding of how cars work and the fundamentals behind them is solid, Model As were as foreign to me as BMW's S54 is to a Nissan fanatic. The car got me excited, and that's all that mattered. I was ready to build a hot rod despite whatever challenges it presented, and after some negotiating, I handed over $2,200 and called up a tow truck to take her home.
The 599 has been sold and Chris has to confront the ugly face of man maths gone wrong – Piston Heads
When Chris Harris pissed off Ferrari he knew he'd have to buy one himself. He just didn't know how expensive it would be.
When we consider those two amounts within the depreciation sum, the number drops from £6K to less than £2K, leaving us with the truly spellbinding discovery that running a V12 Ferrari costs a sum not unadjacent to 'a sh*t load of money'. In other words, if I'd kept it, I would have spent £4.5K just to maintain the car as it was when I bought it. You learn something new every day folks.