Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Keith Martin
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The Méhari Out-Climbs a Land Rover
We were sitting in the SCM Citroën Méhari, watching a Land Rover Discovery make several attempts to climb a wet, grassy hill. The Rover would get halfway up, its wheels would lose traction and back down it would come. “Watch this!” said Bill Lonseth, caretaker of the Méhari. He revved up the mighty 600-cc twin-cylinder,…
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Winter and the SCM Fleet
Our unseasonably long, hot summer is finally coming to an end. The temperatures today are in the 60s with overcast skies and a light drizzle. While this would be considered summer weather in my native San Francisco, here in Portland it’s time to start prepping for winter. I’ve begun shuffling the SCM fleet around, in…
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The Viper and the Alfa – Two Different Types of Snakes
As I’m still recovering from rotator-cuff surgery, I’ve become a passenger in the cars in the SCM collection. This weekend I rode in two of them: the 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce and the 2000 Dodge Viper GTS ACR. Aside from the snakes they each have in their logos, they have little in common…
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The Best First Sports Car
This is a question that comes up all the time. Sometimes I’m asked, “What’s the best first Alfa Romeo or Ferrari?” Other times it is just, “I’m thinking of getting into vintage sports cars. Which one would I have the most fun with?” There are many layers to these types of questions. My first answer…
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Bidding and Touring With One Good Arm
Mitch Silver was ready for me last Saturday at the Portland Expo Center. I asked if I could have a left-arm bidder’s paddle, and he said yes. Tuesday I’d had rotator-cuff surgery, and my right arm was in a sling. That wasn’t going to stop me from seeing if the collector car of my dreams…
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Two Alfas in the Shop, Four in the Garage – SCM Fleet Update
Fall is here. It’s time to start shuffling the SCM cars around, putting the convertibles away for the winter and making sure the coupes and sedans are ready to go. Here’s a quick look at the status of the cars in the SCM fleet: The 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Veloce (pictured above) went to Bill Gillham’s for…
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If I Were King of a Concours
One of the magnificent spectacles in the collector car world occurs as the morning mists lift off a concours field. Dozens of rare and important machines that trace the history of the automobile are revealed. From diminutive Hupmobile roadsters to imposing Cadillac phaetons, our love affair with cars is on display. But like all aspects…
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Hitting Its Stride – The 2015 Pacific Northwest Concours
There’s something magical that happens when a performance comes together. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a brilliant performance of the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth, a breath-taking rendition of Puccini’s “Un bel di, vedremo” from “Madame Butterfly” or an explosive presentation of “Rocka My Soul” from Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations.” With an automotive event, the magic…
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Horses and Horsepower — the 2nd Annual Chantilly Concours
Jousting. That was a first for me. I’ve seen many things at car events, but never armed knights charging toward one another horseback. Losing a joust might entail being dumped from your horse, summersaulting mid-air and landing hard on the ground. Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille co-founder Patrick Peter has now found a way to…
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A Supercar for the Ages
During the 900 miles I drove a McLaren 650S Spider, my heart only stopped twice. Once was at a gas station at Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde near the Oregon coast. When you come to a halt in the McLaren, it takes the transmission a couple of seconds to realize you really are stopped,…