John Draneas

What do you think about this? You’ve been a loyal collector-car policy customer for many years. You’ve insured 27 cars on the policy and never had a single claim. One night, one of your collector cars is stolen. The police recover it four days later, but the thieves have damaged it to the tune of…

Drifting is perhaps the most exciting new auto-racing variant of the times. Propelled to stardom by the “Fast and Furious” movie series, drift fans can’t get enough of the sideways-sliding, rubber-burning spectacle. The problem has been finding appropriate venues for the sport. The first, and likely best, purpose-built drifting venue in the U.S. is Villains…

As most SCMers know, the collector-car market is way up, we are likely in a transition period for taxes, and we are getting older. All things end. Is it becoming the time to consider how we phase out of car collecting? Let’s consider the various forces that may or may not be affecting that decision.…

Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. was recently ordered to forfeit to the Iraq government a rare antiquity it had purchased for $1.7 million. The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, a rare cuneiform tablet bearing a portion of the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh, is considered one of the world’s oldest works of literature. It originated in Mesopotamia, which is…

This month’s “Legal Files” concerns a recent situation in which a friend bought a car that was listed in an online auction. Except that “Bob” didn’t win the auction; he wound up as the underbidder. The high bidder did not meet the seller’s reserve, however, and the auction was a no-sale. Shortly after the auction…

SCM Publisher Martin stoked a lot of interest with his May 2021 “Shifting Gears” column that explained how important CARFAX has become to the collector-car market. We printed excellent letters from Donald Davret and David Preston concerning CARFAX and potential errors in its reports in the July 2021 issue. Subsequently, Publisher Martin received another letter…

The #1 Briggs Cunningham Chevrolet Corvette, raced by the Cunningham team in the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans, sold for $758,500 at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island, Florida, auction in May. The result was a bit of a disappointment, given the pre-auction estimate of $900,000 to $1.3 million, but the Corvette could not have gone…

The world has gotten a lot smaller these days. Say you search the internet and find a nice-looking, numbers-matching 1964 Porsche 356SC advertised by a dealer 2,000 miles away. The car looks great, all the right boxes are checked, and there are 85 pictures of every nook and cranny. You call the dealer to talk…