Keith Martin

We just had the 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider S4 out for a 4th of July parade. We hadn’t had the fancy tonneau cover that goes over the folded top on the car in a couple of years. Consequently, we had to stretch it to fit and consequently pulled a couple of snaps loose. Once it…

There’s been a lot of buzz about classic English sports cars recently. Most notably, some Austin Healey 3000s that used to be able to crack $125k are now selling for half that online. I grew up with these cars; my first two roadsters were a Bug Eye Sprite and an MGA, so I will always…

I mentioned last week that Chevrolet Corvairs, Corvette C3s and Avantis are on my online auction watch lists. Having a watch list is similar to subscribing to a series of documentaries on The History Channel. I’m not sure I want to know much more about Roman chariot warfare, but don’t mind prowling around a little…

A few weeks ago, in my discussion of how I bid online, I mentioned the different models I was watching. I concluded by saying that Chevrolet Corvairs and Porsche Macans were also currently on my watch list. Looking at online auctions is a lot like no-risk fishing. You bait your hook by putting cars on…

We’re in the final shakedown period for the local Porsche club NW Passage tour. SCM is a sponsor. It begins in a week and encompasses five days and over 700 miles of driving. It starts in Portland, goes to the Running Y Resort in southern Oregon near Klamath Falls for four nights, then returns home.…

I have a simple question. I see an increasing number of rallies and tours offering the option of having the route available as an app on a smart phone. On the SCM 1000, we used both the  Rallista app and had a printed route book. Do you have a preference? Does using an app detract…

Two weekends ago, there were 10 vintage Alfa Romeo convertibles lined up at a rest stop near the Santiam Pass in Oregon. Cumulatively, they represented over 400 years of driving. Each year in April, the Alfa Romeo Club of Oregon puts on the “Old Spider Tour” to celebrate Alfa convertibles built prior to 1966. This…