Eight years ago, my daughter Alex (then 17) and I were trying to get up the Hog’s Back Hillclimb in our 1973 Land Rover SIII 88. My off-roading skills were rudimentary. I attacked the hill with too much speed and tried to muscle my way up. I got hung up […]
Author: Keith Martin
The Right Car for the Right Trip
I’m just back from a visit to the High Desert Museum. Located in Bend, Oregon, about 150 miles from Portland, it’s a jewel. It’s true to its location, the desert, and to its mission, which is to help us understand the ecosystem of Central Oregon’s high desert — and the […]
Old Skills for Old Cars
Last week I took the SCM Giulia Super out for an afternoon drive. There was light rain and the roads were wet — but not slick. I drove out Oregon Highway 30 towards Scappoose, and then took the turn off to Sauvie Island, a bucolic island in the Columbia River. […]
Death Waits for No One
The email arrived on July 1, 2016. It was from my oldest and dearest friend, Bjarne Holm: Hi Keith. Bad news on the health front. I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer early last month. My prognosis is a few months to a few years, depending on how I respond to […]
Taking Kids in Unsafe Old Cars
Should we really take our kids in our old cars? I got word last week that Chip Star’s Race Car Resurrections, the shop that has Bradley’s 1960 Bugeye, located a 3.7 rear end and was rebuilding it. Stock ratio was 4.22, and 3.9s are common. So scoring a 3.7 was […]
Hilton Head’s Complete Car Experience
“I fussed around, tried to get clever and missed my chance to buy the Cobra Daytona Coupe at $4m. And I’ll never get another chance at it. ” Miles Collier was telling the attendees of the SCM Insider’s Seminar at Hilton Head about “The One That Got Away.” This was […]
EURO Auto Festival
Every gathering of car owners is different. They range from the rarified atmosphere of Pebble Beach, to the chaotic exuberance of Concorso Italiano, to the “run-what-you-brung” of a local Cars and Coffee. I’ve been trying to get to the EURO Auto Festival for a decade. Founder and executive director Paul Ianuario […]
From Chateaus to Lava Fields
Each August and September, the collector car world hits high gear. Everything that happens before just anticipates the explosion of activities that mark the end of summer. Normally, this is a busy time for me — and the gang at SCM. But this year, hectic, frenetic and “my hair was […]
Roadside Repairs to the D90
It’s been awhile since I’ve found myself on the side of the road — and on my back under a disabled classic. When I found out that Timberline Lodge, on Oregon’s Mount Hood, was hosting an annual “Comedy Night” I thought the D90 would be the perfect rig to get […]
The Atlanta Concours Scores with Million Dollar Maserati
While 100-mph hurricane winds lashed the eastern seaboard, just 300 miles away 200 classic cars sat serenely on the 18th Fairway of the Chateau Elan Golf Course in Braselton, GA. For the week leading up to the inaugural Atlanta Concours d’Elegance, I anxiously checked the forecast, watching as Hurricane Matthew […]