Keith Martin

I am on the plane home from the inaugural Chantilly Concours d’Elegance, and I feel a little bit like a gearhead Cinderella having to leave the ball. Participants began arriving at the Chantilly Chateau, located 35 miles north of Paris, on Friday, September 5th. Cars were unloaded the morning of the 6th, with many of…

My 23-year-old daughter Alexandra has had a summer of milestones. First, she graduated from Oregon State University, with a B.S. in Business Administration with a focus on Entrepreneurship and a minor in Writing. (Two years ago, following a year studying in France, she earned a diploma in International Business from L’École de Management in Grenoble.)…

Sometimes I just feel contrarian. A few weeks ago I drove our 1967 Duetto on the Porsche club-sponsored Northwest Passage. This past weekend, the Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Oregon had its annual summer tour. As I have five Alfas, naturally I decided to drive our 1967 Volvo 122S, a.k.a. “The Amazon.” There was actually…

Monterey Classic Car Week 2014 is over. You’ll be able to read the complete auction results in an upcoming issue of SCM, along with reports on the concours and gatherings. For collectors, the most awaited moment was when the 250 GTO crossed the block at Bonhams on Thursday night. Some media fantasizers had predicted a…

It does say something about the nature of a tour when the primary topic of conversation each night revolves around whether or not your car has air conditioning. And when you offer someone the chance to drive your vintage Alfa in exchange for a turn behind the wheel of their late-model Porsche, you get turned…

It’s been five years since I’ve been to the Concours d’Elegance of America (formerly known as Meadow Brook). I’d heard good things about the new location, and when Concours Chairman Larry Moss asked if I would be interested in being co-emcee, I eagerly accepted. As Michigan has been the location of so many car manufacturing companies,…

There’s nothing better than a great car event that happens in your own backyard. No packing, no airports, no rental cars, no hotel rooms – just go into the SCM garage, pull out your favorite car (and a couple for your good friends) and head out. This was the 42nd year of the Forest Grove…

Last week, I savored a four-wheeled gourmet experience at RM headquarters in Chatham, Ontario (Canada). CEO and founder Rob Myers invited me to spend a couple of days at RM, and a generous buffet line of cars awaited my arrival. Gord Duff, one of RM’s top car specialists, showed me around, and he immediately offered…