A topical in-depth exploration of events, trends and culture as interpreted by the editorial staff at Down Shift Magazine.
Have you ever wondered why the British drive on the left? Not surprisingly, there is a historical reason for this; and it’s all to do with keeping your sword hand free… In the Middle Ages, […]
Every sport has its quirky traditions. Hockey players grow beards in the postseason, baseball players don’t talk about a pitcher when he’s perfect, and Indy 500 victors drink milk in the Winner’s Circle. The Indy […]
Where does the extra power come from? Turbochargers give a car more power, but that extra power is not coming directly from the waste exhaust gas—and that sometimes confuses people. With a turbocharger, we harness […]
There’s no such thing as a perfect invention: we can always make something better, cheaper, more efficient, or more environmentally friendly. Take the internal combustion engine. You might think it’s remarkable that a machine powered […]
When the first automobile was built, the tiny engine was connected directly to the driveshaft. It worked, but the Benz Patent Motorwagen offered a slow and jerky ride. The vehicle would lurch forward as soon […]
Part 1: Household Names You can’t beat an actual name for a car rather than the alphanumeric soup some automakers (looking at you BMW) create. A name is evocative and much easier to remember than […]
Electric vehicles (EVs) are a growing industry. While they still represent only about 2% of the new vehicle market in the United States, sales in Europe and China are rising steadily. Given current rates of […]
Not long ago my wife and I took a vacation to Savannah, GA where we were enjoying a long weekend out of town and doing a road trip review of the 2017 Mazda3 5-Door hatchback. […]
Until recently, purchasing a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) vehicle in the U.S. was a real hassle. Our strict import laws only allow vehicles to be imported into the country after they have reached 25 years […]
Bloomberg New Energy Finance has a new prediction about electric cars — they will account for more than half of all new car sales globally by 2040 and account for a third of all light […]
When you are designing a 1,480-horsepower car that can top 250 mph, cooling and aerodynamics become very important factors. That was the task Bugatti director of design Achim Anscheidt faced when drawing up the Bugatti […]
The original 300SL inspired the elegant 190SL, and the later “Pagoda” version, designed by Paul Bracq, stood out for its lithe, compact shape. The R129, launched in 1989, was the epitome of sleek modernism. But […]
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