Bradley and I just returned from spring break in California. We saw Legoland and Universal Studios, and we even crossed the border for a car show in Tijuana. Now it’s time to hit the road again. Spring car season is here, which means I’ve got places to go and people to see. I’m […]
Author: Keith Martin
Tar Pits, Concours and a Seminar at the Petersen
I can’t think of a better way to spend a nice Sunday morning than chatting with good friends about old cars. Noted collector Bruce Meyer is a board member at the Los Angeles-based Petersen Automotive Museum, and he hosted a panel discussion there last weekend. I was the moderator, and with […]
1952 Pegaso Z-102 Cupola and 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Take Amelia Island Best in Show
The 21st annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is all wrapped up. I’ve been here for 19 of the events to date, and each has been memorable. In many ways, the Amelia Island weekend is a spring break camp for gearheads. It’s as if each year our parents bundle us off and […]
Is the Tiptronic 911 Turbo Really Just a Cayenne?
Since it first arrived in January of 2015, the SCM 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo has seen almost nonstop action. Alexandra confiscated the car as soon as it was unloaded from the trailer that brought it up from Los Angeles, and I didn’t see it for a month. Then Bradley and I took it […]
The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling! (Well, Maybe Not)
“We’ve got to separate the signal from the noise.” That’s what collector car connoisseur Miles Collier says when we are trying to find our way to the core of a challenge. Miles’ saying refers to tuning a vintage radio, where you adjust the dial until the static disappears and a […]
Trade the Porsche for a Lotus?
This stuff always seems to happen by accident. I had just finished driving the 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo to a lunch meeting in Wilsonville, OR – a suburb 19 miles south of SCM World Headquarters. I hadn’t put many miles on the car recently. My trip log showed the last time […]
The Alfa Barfmobile
We’ve talked a lot about ways to get and keep young people involved with classic cars. I believe you have to get them used to old cars while they are children, and one good way to do this is to include them in your old-car activities. Both my children, Alexandra […]
Alfa Super Saves Porsche 911
It’s driving time again. My rotator-cuff surgery is healing well, and the surgeon has given me the okay to drive stick-shift cars. So I’ve been driving the Giulia Super for the past couple of weeks and thinking about how much I appreciate vintage cars, the mastery they require and how […]
Driving the Alfa Super on Super Sunday
SCM Legal Files author John Draneas and his wife Carlyn hosted a Super Bowl party on Sunday at their home, about 20 miles away in Wilsonville, OR. The weather was glorious, and it was the perfect opportunity to exercise SCM’s 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super. I pulled the Super out of long-term storage and went […]
No Regrets in the Morning
I’m now into the restoration of my 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider over $50,000. What I have to show for it is a completely stripped body shell, with all the rust removed and damaged panels repaired. It is ready for paint and reassembly. As I wrote in my January “Shifting […]