Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Keith Martin
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Keith’s Blog: Tours for Citroëns, Lancias and Siatas
We are just a couple of weeks away from the 2021 SCM 1000 Classic. We’ve been sold out for some time; our self-imposed limit is 45 cars. Featured this year are the cars of England, although any pre-1975 sports car is invited to apply. Our first tour featured Alfa Romeo, our second, the cars of…
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Keith’s Blog: Touring for Cars Old and New
We’ve been kicking around some thoughts about sports cars tours. I wanted to share them with you and get your reactions. I believe the future of tours will revolve around events that involve driving, immersion in the geography and culture of the areas you are in, and nightly “Conversations with Collectors” with like-minded enthusiasts. For…
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Keith’s Blog: Adapt Your Driving to Suit the Car
A friend is driving his 1958 MGA on the upcoming SCM 1000. The route will take us over Mt. Hood, to Crater Lake and to other scenic destinations with plenty of elevation changes. “The brake drums and shoes on my car are tiny. I think I better upgrade to front discs.” “Why bother,” was my…
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Keith’s Blog: If SCM Were King of Cars and Coffee
As we emerge from the pandemic, weekend morning car gatherings are beginning to be held again. While I believe that these gatherings represent an important part of our hobby, they are not without their issues. I have addressed this in part before, however here I will go into more detail. There are often long lines…
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Welcome to the SCM 1000 Touring Series
Building on the success of the SCM 1000, we are going to be offering more driving tours for those who own special cars, both old and new, along with immersive experiences for these participants. The events will be a part of the SCM 1000 “Modern Enthusiast” Touring Series, beginning with an AMG Invitational held in…
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Keith’s Blog: Why You Have to Overspend to Make Old Cars Right
It costs real money to turn a classic car into a fun driver. Our 1965 Volvo 122S was a case in point. It was a decent car, but it still needed nearly $10,000 spent on it before it was enjoyable to take down the road. With any old car you acquire, my advice is…
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Keith’s Blog: The SCM Jag Becomes Another Roadside Attraction
One moment, the 1971 Jaguar V12 coupe was hustling along at 70 mph on Highway 26, heading back to Portland after a satisfying lunch of fresh-caught rockfish at the South Bay Wild Fish House in Astoria, OR. The next, it was sitting silently, hood-up, by the side of the road. The Jag had been performing…
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Keith’s Blog: The SCM Volvo is Gone
For $21,000, someone has become the new owner of the SCM Volvo 122S. Our friends at Avant-Garde Collection listed it for us on Bring a Trailer. “Being an automatic really held it back. If it had been a stick with overdrive it would easily have brought another $10,000,” said the owner, Matt Crandall (BaT moniker:…
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Cars and Kids and Moms and Dads
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 relationships early. At nine months,…
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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 and a sticker. Some of…