The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, won the 1972 Motor Trend Car of the Year award in the U. S. In 1961, Citroën began work on'Project S' – a sports variant of the revolutionary Citroën DS; as was customary for the firm, many running concept vehicles were developed complex and upmarket from the DS. At some stage in the 9-year project, it evolved from developing a faster variant of the 1955 DS to developing an new engineered car – in terms of engineering effort, a replacement for the high volume DS model. Citroën purchased Maserati in 1968 with the intention of harnessing Maserati's high-performance engine technology to produce a true Gran Turismo car, combining the sophisticated Citroën suspension with a Maserati V6; the result was the Citroën SM, first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970. It went on sale in France in September of that year.

Factory produced cars were all left-hand-drive, although RHD conversions were done in the UK and Australia. This car was unusual for France – the thriving French luxury car industry was decimated by post-World War II puissance fiscale regulation, which has hamstrung French manufacturers for decades, so France had not had a production vehicle in this segment after World War II; the SM had an unusually small engine of 2.7 liters due to these regulations. Citroën's flagship vehicle competed with high-performance GTs of the time from other nations and manufacturers, such as Jaguar, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche; the origin of the model name'SM' is not clear. The'S' may derive from the Project'S' designation, the aim of, to produce what is a sports variant of the Citroën DS, the'M' refers to Maserati, hence SM is assumed to stand for "Systeme Maserati" or "Sports Maserati". Another common alternative is Série Maserati, but others have suggested it is short for'Sa Majesté', which aligns with the common DS model's nickname'La déesse'.

The SM did not find a sufficient customer base in the small European GT market, but much of the SM's technology was carried forward to the successful Citroën CX, launched in 1974 the DIRAVI steering being the most obvious example. The same basic engine in enlarged 3.0 L form was used in Maserati's own Merak and with some modification in the Biturbo. The Merak and Bora, used Citroën's high-pressure hydraulics for some functions, the Citroën gearbox in the Merak, during the Citroën-Maserati alliance. Contemporary automotive journalists were effusive about the SM's dynamic qualities, which were unlike anything they had experienced before; the SM provided a combination of comfort, sharp handling, braking not available in any other car at the time. The magazine Popular Science noted that the SM had the shortest stopping distance of any car they had tested. Automotive journalists marveled at the resulting ability to travel for hours at 200 km/h in comfort. In 1972 Motorsport noted..."that rare quality of being a nice car to be in at any speed, from stationary to maximum."

The touring range based on the SM's fuel economy and the large 90 l fuel tank made long, relaxing journeys possible. Because the SM had a small 130 kW engine, the acceleration was adequate rather than exemplary – some competitors were quicker; some owners have fitted the similar sized 160 kW Maserati Merak SS engine, which does improve the driving experience considerably. Fuel consumption compares favorably to most competitors; the SM combines many unusual and innovative features, some of which are only just becoming commonplace on cars of today. It borrows from the innovations introduced on the DS, by including hydro-pneumatic self-leveling suspension, self-leveling lights that swiveled with the steering; the SM was Citroën's way of demonstrating just how much power and performance could be accommodated in a front-wheel drive design. This was novel, many technical issues needed to be overcome related to torque steer, where excessive steering feedback affects control of the vehicle. A solution was found – no road feedback at all – the driver points and goes, regardless of what the driven wheels are experiencing.

Hitting a pothole at high speed would not turn the steering wheel in the driver's hands. This new type of variable assist power steering was fitted to the Citroen CX in large numbers and its basic principle has since spread throughout the vehicle population. DIRAVI as it was called, allowed great assistance to the motorist while parking, but little assistance at motorway speeds; the system adjusts the hydraulic pressure on the steering centering cam according to vehicle speed so that the amount of steering feel remained constant at any speed, counteracting the tendency of manual and ordinary power assisted steering to feel light at high speed. Thus the car turns at low speed, emphasized by high gearing given two turns lock-lock, more effort is required at higher speed. If the driver released the steering wheel the steering would center back to the straight ahead position, it was geared for minimal steering input – with 2 turns from lock to lock described as like a go kart. Many contemporary reviewers remarked that this system would take at least 80 km of driving to become familiar, but

Louis Philip Kentner was a Hungarian British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire. He was born Lajos Kentner in Karwin to Hungarian parents, he received his education as a musician at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest from 1911 to 1922, studying with Arnold Székely, Hans Koessler and Zoltán Kodály, Leo Weiner. Kentner commenced his concert career at the age of 15; until 1931 he was known internationally as Ludwig Kentner. He was awarded 5th Prize at the 1932 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, he moved to England permanently in 1935. He gave radio broadcasts of the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert, the complete Well-Tempered Clavier, the complete Années de pèlerinage, he was President of the British Liszt Society for many years, until his death. In 1975 he invited the Argentinian young pianist Enrique A. Danowicz, in order to take his musical education under his personal care at the Menuhin School of Music in London,U.

K. Where Kentner was director at the time. Kodaly composed his Dances of Marosszék for Kentner, who premiered the work in Budapest on 14 March 1927. At the composer's request, he was the soloist at the Hungarian premiere of Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2, in Budapest in 1933, under Otto Klemperer. He and Yehudi Menuhin gave the first performance of William Walton's Violin Sonata, at Zürich on 30 September 1949, his playing was heard in Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto from the soundtrack of the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight. However, his hands were not shown, he preferred to be uncredited as he did not think that being associated with film music would help his career; when the piece achieved worldwide popularity, however, he was happy to acknowledge his involvement. He was a member of many music competition juries, he composed, his output including orchestral works, chamber music, piano pieces and songs. His first wife was the pianist Ilona Kabos; that marriage ended in 1945, he married Griselda Gould, daughter of the pianist Evelyn Suart, whose other daughter Diana became Yehudi Menuhin's second wife in 1947.

Classical recordings for Louis Kentner available at ArkivMusic.com Biography by Naxos Records List of émigré composers in Britain

James Leroy Bondsteel was a United States Army soldier who served during the Vietnam War, where he earned the Medal of Honor. His Medal of Honor, awarded in November 1973, was the last presented by President Richard Nixon. Camp Bondsteel, located in Kosovo, is named in his honor; the northbound bridge over the Knik River along the Glenn Highway north of Anchorage, where Bondsteel died in a freak traffic collision, is named in his honor. James Leroy Bondsteel was born in Jackson, Michigan to Betty Jean Daisy and her fiancee, Kenneth Bondsteel, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1965 after graduating from Jonesville High School in Jonesville, Michigan. He was sent to Korea. Once he had finished his stint in the Corps he joined the United States Army, serving from 1965 to 1985. From 1966 to 1970 he was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, he received the Medal of Honor for his most heroic actions, which occurred on May 24, 1969 near An Lộc, South Vietnam during Operation Toan Thang III.

From 1970 to 1973 he was stationed in West Germany. After his retirement from the Army as a Master Sergeant, he worked as a veterans' counselor, he lived in Willow, Alaska with his wife Elaine and his daughters and Rachel. Bondsteel died on the Knik River bridge of the Glenn Highway in 1987 when a trailer full of logs came unhooked from the transport, pulling it and slammed into the front of his AMC Spirit. A tree was placed at Freedoms Foundation Park at Pennsylvania, in his honor. Bondsteel is buried in Alaska at Fort Richardson National Cemetery. There is a monument to him at the Alaska Veterans Memorial at Byers Lake on the Parks Highway in the Denali State Park. Camp Bondsteel, the main U. S. Army base in Kosovo, is named in his honor. Bondsteel, along with three other Medal of Honor recipients who were from the area, is honored on the Medal of Honor Memorial in Jackson County, dedicated on November 22, 2011. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

S/Sgt. Bondsteel distinguished himself while serving as a platoon sergeant with Company A, near the village of Lang Sau. Company A was directed to assist a friendly unit, endangered by intense fire from a North Vietnamese Battalion located in a fortified base camp. S/Sgt. Bondsteel organized the men of his platoon into effective combat teams and spearheaded the attack by destroying 4 enemy occupied bunkers, he raced some 200 meters under heavy enemy fire to reach an adjoining platoon which had begun to falter. After rallying this unit and assisting their wounded, S/Sgt. Bondsteel returned to his own sector with critically needed munitions. Without pausing he moved to the forefront and destroyed 4 enemy occupied bunkers and a machine gun which had threatened his advancing platoon. Although painfully wounded by an enemy grenade, S/Sgt. Bondsteel refused medical attention and continued his assault by neutralizing 2 more enemy bunkers nearby. While searching one of these emplacements S/Sgt. Bondsteel narrowly escaped death.

Shortly thereafter, he ran to the aid of a wounded officer and struck down an enemy soldier, threatening the officer's life. S/Sgt. Bondsteel continued to rally his men and led them through the entrenched enemy until his company was relieved, his exemplary leadership and great personal courage throughout the 4-hour battle ensured the success of his own and nearby units, resulted in the saving of numerous lives of his fellow soldiers. By individual acts of bravery he destroyed 10 enemy bunkers and accounted for a large toll of the enemy, including 2 key enemy commanders, his extraordinary heroism at the risk of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, the U. S. Army. List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War "Remembrance Page". Retrieved September 29, 2010. "President Nixon presents MOH". Retrieved September 29, 2010. "List of Vietnam War MOH Recipients". Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2010