Alex Martin-Banzer

It is official — my father, Publisher Keith Martin, needs an intervention. He is on his way to becoming the cat hoarder lady of the car world. Two weeks ago he accidently bought an Alfetta, an unloved 1978  Alfa Romeo. One week ago a 1958 Sprint 750F Giulietta joined our garage. This weekend, he posted on Facebook…

It’s that time of the year again—the great migration to Monterey, California. The excitement and energy is in the air. People are detailing their beloved Duesenbergs, researching the multi-million-dollar cars that will be crossing the block and trying to predict who will win the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. People wait all year for this event,…

 Here is a lesson that I believe everyone will find valuable at some point in their life: If you go out of town and your younger sister likes cars and happens to blog for Sports Car Market, don’t leave your keys on the kitchen counter—especially if it’s keys to your 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, with…

This weekend I took a break from the car world and stepped into a world I quite enjoy, yet rarely visit—motorcycles.

Never-ending honking. Cars driving like they are playing a continuous game of chicken. The sound of locusts. Unbearable humidity. People using the few words of English they know only to bargain with you. Being offered squid on a stick. Dog soup on the menu. Being the minority for once. New and old architecture. The Martin…

“The sound of America”… 1959 Plymouth Savoy, winner of the American Car Collector prize at Beaches This past week has been my own mini version of Monterey. And when I say mini, I mean only three car events back to back instead of at least 20. The first event was Beaches Cruisin’ at Portland International…

This weekend the Portland Historic Races took place at P.I.R.  With the sun finally showing, it was the perfect excuse to take out the 1965 Alfa spider, while my dad attempted to keep up in the new-to-him 1972 Saab Sonnett. As we entered the corrals to park, the sound of vintage Formula cars filled the…

I concluded my French foreign exchange a few weeks ago and returned to Portland just in time for Bloomington Gold. After living for almost a year in a country full of Citroëns and Renaults, walking into Bloomington was my first major experience of culture shock. You would have to combine two European cars to even…