When we produced our first issue of the then-Alfa Romeo Market Letter, I was 38 years old and had never had children. Now, more than three decades later, I have watched my daughter, Alexandra, and my son, Bradley, grow and prosper in this car-centric household. They both started their automotive […]
Author: Keith Martin
Keith’s Blog: Which Car to Monterey?
We are gearing up for our annual Caravan to Concorso. Run “cowboy-style” as tribute to Martin Swig’s love of irreverent motoring, we know only a few things for sure. Everyone is welcome, but sports cars are preferred. There are no entry fees or route books. You’ll get an SCM hat […]
Keith’s Blog: A Ferrari Afternoon
I’ve been driving sports cars on Marmot Road since 1969. That was the year I moved from San Francisco to Portland to attend Reed College. Over the past decades, I’ve discovered a variety of ways to go from my home, loop around Mt. Hood and return. I’ve driven my “Circuit […]
Keith’s Blog: The Modern-Day Three-Car Collection: AMG, Z4 and R8
I took the SCM 2004 Mercedes AMG SL 55 out for a 100-mile drive through the Oregon wine country last Saturday. It was a glorious early-spring sunny day. I spent most of the time with the top down. The most attractive feature of this 500-hp machine continues to be its […]
Keith’s Blog: Join the SCM Caravan to Concorso
We are currently planning our annual informal tour down the coasts of Oregon and California to Monterey. Anyone is welcome to join, although cars with at least a pretension of sportiness are preferred. Event stickers and SCM hats will be provided. At the moment, our plans call for me to […]
VIN-dicated
CARFAX was founded in 1984 in Columbia, MO, by a computer professional named Ewin Barnett III. He worked together with Robert Daniel Clark, an accountant from Huntingdon, PA. It started with a database of 10,000 records, but the company was soon getting reports from all 50 states. CARFAX is now […]
Keith’s Blog: Your SCM Books Are Finally in the Mail
Producing “The Best of Shifting Gears, Volume 1” and “The Best of Legal Files” has turned out to be a more formidable task that we imagined. But the books are finally printed and in the mail. Through the yeoman efforts of designer Jodi Ellis, print coordinator Matthew Strauss and editor […]
Keith’s Blog: Disco or U-boat? Two Eight-Cylinder Choices
It was a brilliant winter afternoon. The SCM 1991 928 S4, dark blue with blue leather, was slicing through the turns on Washington State Highway 14. It’s a two-lane road that follows the northern side of the Columbia Gorge. The road is vastly more interesting than the four-lane Interstate 84 […]
Keith’s Blog: Buying a New Car – It Has Nothing To Do With Performance
When it came to making a choice about buying a new car for SCM everyday use, the drivetrain and suspension were irrelevant. Over the past decade, I have watched with interest as new-car platforms have become increasingly digital. More features and benefits related to safety are standard with each new […]
Recognizing the Next Gen
We are now accepting nominations for SCM’s second group of 40 Under 40 honorees. First awarded in 2017, this program became our most popular in terms of industry recognition and resultant newsstand sales. It’s time to revisit it. In the October issue, SCM will again honor 40 enthusiasts under 40 […]