Author: Keith Martin

Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 30 years. As a writer, publisher, television commentator and enthusiast, he is constantly on the go, meeting collectors and getting involved in their activities throughout the world. He is the founder and publisher of the monthly Sports Car Market, now in its 33rd year. Keith has written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications, is an emcee for numerous concours, and had his own show, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity. He has received many honors, including the Lee Iacocca Award, the Edward Herrman Award, was inducted into the Concorso Italiano Hall of Fame and more. He is on the boards of directors of The LeMay Museum and Oregon Ballet Theater, and was formerly the chair of the board of the Meguiar's Award.

Hitting the Road for Spring Car Season

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]