Suddenly we have more cars than we have parking spaces. It’s those darn “accidental purchases” catching up with me. So our 911 has to go. It’s a 2003 996 6-speed coupe with sunroof. It’s an unusual and attractive seal gray with a light gray interior. The wheels have been powder-coated […]
Author: Keith Martin
The Bidders of the Future
In the years that SCM has been reporting on Monterey, we’ve watched the auction sales totals go from $10.8m in 1996 to this year’s $374.4m. From just 209 cars being offered in 1996 at Monterey (Rick Cole and Christie’s), there were 1,389 cars looking for new buyers this year at […]
Keith’s Blog: Rain or Shine, Radnor Hunt Goes On
There is one element of a concours that is beyond our control: the weather. We can spend years restoring our cars and attending to every little detail. Likewise, months of preparation can precede the one day of glory that concours anticipate. But mother nature can have her own ideas. This […]
Keith’s Blog: Red Duettos and a Green Giulia Super
It was an all-Alfa weekend. Last Thursday, the Alfa Romeo Club of Oregon hosted its annual “Red Duetto Tour.” The brainchild of Fred and Lisa McNabb, the entry rules are simple. To participate, you must have a red “long-tail” Alfa spider, built between 1966-69. Long-tail spiders were Alfa’s in-your-face response […]
Keith’s Blog: A Collection of World-Class Winners — The Simeone Museum
The 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe. The 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II. The 1970 Porsche 917LH. The 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B MM. These are some of the greatest racing cars of all time. They are four of the 65 world-class racing cars in the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in […]
Keith’s Blog: Driving 1000 Miles in Stupid Old Cars
We were sitting outside a Porta Potty near Tenmile, Oregon. Our unlikely four-car caravan had traveled about 200 miles from Portland before our first catastrophic failure. Our group included a 1966 Citroën DS-21 décapotable (cabriolet) owned by Greg Long from Seattle, a 1972 Alfa Berlina that belonged to Brad Miller and […]
Keith’s Blog: Stuck on the Way to Monterey
Editor’s note: Keith Martin invited SCMers Luke Chennell and Richard Lincoln to come along on SCM’s Caravan to Concorso. Last week, Luke took over Keith’s Blog and wrote about the SCM Autozam blowing a head gasket. In this installment, Chennell takes us to California’s Lost Coast with a failing master […]
Keith’s Blog: On the Way to Monterey
Editor’s note: Keith Martin invited SCMers Luke Chennell and Richard Lincoln to come along on SCM’s Caravan to Concorso. The catch: They had to drive SCM’s Autozam. Luke took over Keith’s Blog this week to tell the tale: Road trips start off with a great longing of what’s to come, […]
The 4-Door Key to the Magic Kingdom
I’ve known Brad Miller for 20 years. We have many mutual friends, and his wife, Nancy, and I serve together on the board of directors of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Brad, who’s a successful real-estate investor, and Nancy keep a barge in France in which they ply the canals of Europe […]
Keith’s Blog: Datsun Ratrods and Alfa 8Cs
It’s been a busy car weekend. I spent Friday and Saturday in Olympia, Washington attending the Alfa Romeo National Convention. “Sempreverde,” Sea to Summit, attracted more than 200 Alfas and 400 registrants. I drove the 1958 Sprint Veloce to the convention, and Doug Hartman and Julie Brown drove her 1969 […]