Keith Martin
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The Original Jaguar
This is all Miles Collier’s fault. I attended one of his early symposiums on collecting. I was the guest of noted collector and Lamborghini expert Simon Kidston. During the seminar, I was first introduced to the notion that we were not owners, but just the current caretakers of our cars. They had a past that…
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Keith’s Blog: An Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato for Free
I saved myself $63k this weekend. As I continue to explore the world of vintage manumatics, Porsche 911 Sportomatics have been on my radar. I’m willing to give up the third pedal, but not the satisfaction of manually selecting gears. Once unloved, Sportos now seem to be as ridiculously expensive as all other air-cooled Porsches.…
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Keith’s Blog: More Thoughts on Alfa Romeo SZ #1
Last week I described Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato S/N 001, the prototype. It was purchased by a local Alfa club member and is entered in the upcoming SCM1000. While the car is essentially complete and correct, it has been color-changed and lightly modified over the years. I asked whether you thought he should drive it…
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Keith’s Blog: Alfa Romeo SZ #1: Restore or Leave it Alone
At a recent Alfa club meeting here in Portland, a member unveiled the prototipo Sprint Zagato, S/N 001. He had purchased it in Italy and had it flown to the U.S. He will be driving it in the upcoming SCM 1000 along with other events. The car is handsome in its red and black livery,…
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Keith’s Blog: Driving the “Bill Warner” Citroën
Three guys, a teenager and a dog. That’s what the passenger manifest looked like as we pulled the SCM Citroën out of the garage. A U.S. model 1971 DS21 Pallas, we bought it last year from SCMer Greg Long. A Citroën fanatic, he drove his DS21 cabriolet with us on our Caravan to Concorso a…
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Show It Your Way
In the era before Cars & Coffee-style events, it was rare to see gatherings of collectible cars outside a highly organized setting. These were generally semi-formal concours-style events. They started with the early arrival of the entrants’ cars, sometimes before dawn. Cars were most often shown with the hoods shut, so that the overall design…
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Keith’s Blog: No Need to Hurry
I attended my first Barrett-Jackson auction 30 years ago, in 1992. There might have been one or two other people on the plane to Phoenix from Portland who were going to the auction. At that time, it was a relatively unknown event. When I arrived, I recall being stunned and delighted by the sight of…
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Keith’s Blog: Drive First, Shift Later
“Driving the Jaguar had to be one of the most unexpected experiences I’ve ever had. By unexpected I mean every time I thought the car was going to do something it managed to surprise me. Even by the time I thought I had mastered the car it managed to do something new. From the way…
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Keith’s Blog: Thirty Alfas, 300 Miles
This past Saturday marked the 44th annual Old Spider Tour. Each year, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon (AROO) celebrates the early Spiders by having a tour. The tour commemorates club founder Bob McGill’s purchase of his 1958 Giulietta Spider, new, from Rambo Motors in Portland. He traded in his MGA and never looked back.…
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Three-Shoes Were Made for Walking
Fred Amigo lived in a modest house on 28th Avenue near Quintara Street in the Parkside District of San Francisco. You could see the Pacific Ocean from the back of his home. I lived eight blocks away at 20th and Taraval. I first met Fred at an Alfa event in 1969, when I was 18…