In the end, it was a choice between walking 12 miles in the snow with my wife and our four-year-old, or just turning around. Here's how the story unfolded.  

We made a quick trip to Bend, OR, this weekend, to attend an organizational meeting for this September’s Oregon Festival of Cars (formerly the Sun River Festival of Cars). As the fastest way to reach Bend from Portland is to go over Mt. Hood, we thought the 1989 Range Rover Classic would be the perfect ride.

However, Subaru graciously made a 2012 Impreza 2.0i Sport available, with Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and Vehicle Dynamics Control. It was just a matter of moving Bradley’s car seat and our overnight bags from the Rover to the Impreza, and we were off.

The Martin family had its traditional Super Bowl Party Sunday, and we all wished we had placed a bet on the first possession of the Patriots ending in a safety. Someone, somewhere did, and we hope they’re buying a Ferrari today with their winnings.

Two SCMers from opposite ends of the spectrum brightened up our driveway with their rides. Long-time friend (and American Car Collector contributor) Michael Pierce brought his 1967 427/435 Corvette, and Round-Fendered Volvo Club founder and guru Dean Koehler drove his 1973 Volvo 1800 ES. Parking cars on the lawn is against all the household rules, but Wendie has agreed to a few exceptions – it must be a party day, and the cars must be exceptional.

Dean’s Volvo is a prize-winner at a national level, and Michael’s Corvette has received NCRS recognition. My own Volvo ES is at Guy’s Upholstery, having the interior freshened, the door-opening mechanism repaired and various small things attended to. When I get it back, I’m eager to drive it back-to-back with Dean’s.

When Michael offered me the chance to drive his 427, there was no way I could have refused – especially in the top-down, 55-degree sunny weather we had Sunday.

The weekend was fast and long, with me flying to Kissimmee and back in the span of just a few days. It was my first time attending Mecum’s mammoth Florida auction. With over 2,000 cars on offer, I’d liken the experience to wrestling with a porcupine – there was no way I was walking away without something to show for it.

The American Car Collector editorial gang has insisted loudly that the magazine needs its own swagger-worthy set of wheels, and I had a feeling Mecum would be the place that it would happen. When I glimpsed the 1963 Dodge 440 with built 700-hp Hemi, tubbed wheelwells and roll cage built to 9.9-second regulation, I was barely able to calculate my maximum bid before the red mist set in. Add a comment

Another Arizona Auction Week has come and gone in a whirlwind. In addition to the SCM gang hosting another wildly successful Corvette seminar, consignment tours at RM and Gooding for Platinum subscribers, booths at Gooding, Russo and Silver, we managed to attend every auction and pretty much every after-hours gala event. 

The What's My Car Worth? production team had two film crews working simultaneously to keep Donald Osborne and me perpetually evaluating cars. We looked at 16 cars total, and test drove 14, including a 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Europa, a 1968 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage and, of course, Herbie, the 1963 VW "Love Bug" Beetle.

And now it's on to Kissimmee, for Mecum's annual mega-auction. I'll be doing a meet-and-greet there on Saturday, January 28 at 2pm. RSVP by Wednesday if you'll be attending. See you there!