Archive for Items Categorized 'Technology', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

The Diesel Odyssey of Clessie Cummins

by C. Lyle Cummins Jr.

Cummins is not only the name behind the ubiquitous Cummins Diesel truck engine but also a world speed and endurance record holder. Readers with historical awareness will recognize in the publisher’s name a clever homage to Sadi Carnot, the brilliant young French scientist who is considered the father of thermodynamics.

Fundamental Carburetion, From the Gas Tank to the Combustion Chamber

by Dean G. Tryon

EVs may be the future, and fuel injection has been around for decades—but carbs have not gone away! Air and fuel need to come together just so, and a multitude of factors influence the outcome.

Factory Air: Cool Cars in Cooler Comfort, An Illustrated History of Automotive Air-Conditioning

by Allen B. Simons

Would you spend $5K in today’s money on AC in your car? That’s what it cost back in the pre-WWII days, which is what this first of four volumes examines. Hundreds of illustrations, many rare, show Packard, Cadillac, and Chrysler offerings.

American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15

by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson

Why is this the gun we hear about all the time, and in the worst of circumstances? Who is the fellow who invented it and why? And how did a strictly military tool get into civilian hands? In calm and precise language, the authors report all the factors behind both the ingenuity and the mayhem

Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator

by Keith Houston

Do you love your pocket calculator? You should, but maybe you don’t know why. This witty and scholarly (do those words really go together?) book is as much mathematical as social history.

George Westinghouse, Powering the World

by William R. Huber

His teachers thought he was mentally disabled. He quit college, but he received his first patent at the age of 19. Hundreds more would follow and he became a captain of industry, his 60-odd companies providing paychecks to tens of thousands and changing the world.

Powered by Gibson—From F1 to Le Mans

by Mark Cole

The rubber has barely washed off the roads from one year’s Le Mans 24 Hours and the clock at Gibson is already counting down the seconds to the next one. That’s how it goes when you’re the world’s leading manufacturer of high performance LMP1 and LMP2 powertrains.

Béla Barényi: Pioneer of Passive Safety at Mercedes-Benz

by Harry Niemann

Born into the age of the horseless carriage young Barényi had a knack for engineering and an uncommonly acute awareness of unintended safety hazards—so he built himself a racing sleigh with a padded steering wheel! One of his many innovations may well have saved your life.

OBD-I & OBD-II, A Complete Guide to Diagnosis, Repair, and Emissions Compliance  

by Greg Banish

Are you the sort of person who puts masking tape over that annoying Check Engine light? If your car has an ECU, realize that more and more states require a recent OBD-reader analysis in order to renew registration.

Now I Get It! Every Driver’s Handbook

by Lewis McCaw

A new car ain’t cheap—so don’t ruin it by not understanding what it needs from you. Strange lights/noises/smells are not normal. Clear language and good analogies make this book easy to understand and remember.

The History of GM’s Ramjet Fuel Injection

by Kenneth W. Kayser

Ramjet fuel injection has been around since the 1950s—and you can still order it straight out of the current Chevrolet Performance Parts catalog. But the new electronic version has only visual similarities to the old mechanical system—and none of its problems. This book by a long-time GM engineer has the whole story.

F1: The Pinnacle, The Pivotal Events That Made F1 the Greatest Motorsport Series

by Tony Dodgins and Simon Arron

From technical and regulatory issues to people and places, this book connects those dots in time whose influence were not fleeting but gave form to what the sport is now and, more importantly, will be tomorrow.

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