Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 30 years. As a writer, publisher, television commentator and enthusiast, he is constantly on the go, meeting collectors and getting involved in their activities throughout the world. He is the founder and publisher of the monthly Sports Car Market and bi-monthly American Car Collector magazines, has written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications, is an emcee for numerous concours, and has his own show, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity.
Summer is fast approaching. It’s our time of travel.
I asked Bradley what places he would like to visit during the next decade. His list was short — but exotic. The Serengeti in Africa, Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Australia, The Pyramids in Egypt and the City of Petra in Jordan.
I wasn’t surprised. We’ve already been to the Galapagos, the Mayan ruins in Chichen Itza, Mexico, Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica — and we’ve ridden the White Pass Railway out Read More
Last week, I told the tale of taking the 1965 Volvo 122S and the 1971 Jaguar E-type S3 V12 to the Oregon coast. My daughter, Alex, drove one of the cars, and my son, Bradley was a co-pilot.
Both cars failed at the end of the trip.
The pair got carted off to Consolidated Auto Works, where Ed Grayson performed a forensic analysis — along with a mechanical resuscitation.
Here’s what Ed discovered.
In Astoria, Alex had noted that the Read More
This pandemic sucker-punched all of us.
In the past 30 days, the collector-car world has gone from hoping that things might stay the same to realizing they are changed forever.
The cancellation of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Queen Mother of all car events, sent a clear signal.
Is our future uncertain? Yes. Are we afraid? Yes.
But it is okay to be nervous and worried when facing the unknown.
Ultimately, we will pull through this and recover, moving Read More
“Scraping! Your tailpipe is scraping!” That’s what my daughter Alex was shouting at me as we pulled into a parking lot in Astoria, Oregon.
The adventure we had planned seemed simple enough. My daughter, Alex, and her partner, Ross, would take our 1965 Volvo 122S. Bradley would join me in our 1971 Jaguar S3 coupe. The goal was a one-day, 200-mile round trip with both cars.
I haven’t had Alex and Bradley with me on a car trip in years. Read More
Don’t try to solve the wrong problem. That’s the moral of this story.
I keep most of my various car keys and condo garage fobs on separate lanyards. It makes it easier to grab a set when I am headed out the door.
Last week while re-organizing and decluttering, I put the keys to the Volvo 122 and the Jaguar S3 on the same lanyard, thinking I would never be driving both of them at once.
Thursday, I wanted to Read More
Monterey Car Week is cancelled. The SCM 1000 is postponed to 2021, along with nearly all other car activities at least through July.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking forward to using our cars again — perhaps as early as this August — in controlled, thoughtful circumstances.
Before the virus took hold, I had planned a week’s adventure with Bradley that included Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Crane Hot Springs and the Alvord Desert Scenic Highway.
Assuming that the Read More
In just over two years, Bradley will be turning 15. In Oregon, that’s the when you can get a learner permit. You can drive a car, but you have to have a licensed adult with you.
I’ve been through this rite of passage five times now — four times with now-grown stepsons. It was 13 years ago that I took Alexandra to the local DMV to get her permit.
I enjoy teaching kids to drive. It requires an inner zen Read More
“Despite the challenges we all face today, we believe the Pebble Beach Concours will be able to take place on August 16, as originally scheduled…”
The email from the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance selection committee arrived like a flashing beacon in my inbox.
It was an early sign that there is a New Normal ahead. There surely is, but we just don’t know what it will look like. And we don’t know when it will arrive.
It’s like Christmas morning when a new car arrives at SCM.
We get the call from the driver a few hours in advance.
I start watching N.E. Sandy Boulevard from the conference room windows of SCM World Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
Soon enough, the truck comes into view, and the intricate choreography of unloading begins.
Perhaps the most satisfying moment is when the car is on the ground, I get in, start it and pull it into our underground garage. Read More
It’s an odd time to be talking about classic cars.
Our whole world has been turned upside down in a matter of weeks.
We are holding our collective breath, waiting to find out what is going to happen next.
But, in fact, many service and restoration shops are open. People are buying and selling cars online (I’ve bought one myself). Private sales are still happening (I sold the GTV and the Sprint Speciale to SCMers).
Since I decided to buy Read More
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