Keith Martin
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Keith’s Blog: Mr. Bright’s Wild Ride
Until this weekend, I was unaware that Maserati had built a commercial-grade spin dryer in 1956. That was until SCMer Chris Bright poured me like tube of freshening agent into his replica Maserati 350S and took me on a Friday afternoon blast through downtown Portland and the surrounding hills. During rush hour. Built in Argentina,…
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Keith’s Blog: Cadillacs and 4Cs in Camas
Social media has its plusses and minuses, but a definitive positive is the ability to find out about events you would never hear of otherwise. Late Friday night I was forwarded a notice of the “Discovery Vintage Car Show – Vintage Wheels and Timeless Appeal.” It was being held at Discovery High School in Camas,…
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Keith’s Blog: Just Chasing a Maserati
Through happenstance, SCMer Chris Bright and I ended up living a floor apart in the same condo. As you wind down through our building’s four levels of underground parking, you see some unusual cars. The most mysterious is covered, but a discerning eye can spot the sensuous lines of a 1956 Maserati 350S. Chris has…
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Wheel of Misfortune
This whole thing started like many of my adventures, behind the wheel of an Alfa. As my stroke-weakened left leg responds to physical therapy, I have begun to be able to drive a manual-shift car again, though in a limited fashion. I took our 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce around the block a couple of times.…
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Keith’s Blog: Wouldn’t You Rather Drive a New Porsche 911?
The 2025 NW Passage — Spring, an annual tour put on by the Porsche Club of America Oregon Region, is fast approaching. From June 11-16, some 40 sports cars, mostly late-model Porsches, will set off on a 1,500-mile romp through the Pacific Northwest. Stops include Leavenworth, WA, Sandpoint, ID, and Walla Walla, WA. SCM has…
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Keith’s Blog: How the Internet Changed Swap Meets
I’ve been attending the Portland Swap Meet for more than 30 years. It is billed as the largest auto swap meet on the West Coast. In the early, pre-internet days, walking though the swap meet gates was like dropping into an Alice in Wonderland hole with no idea what magical things you would find inside.…
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Keith’s Blog: Back in the Saddle
Long-time readers will remember that I suffered a stroke in January 2019. Ever since, my left leg has been too weak to depress a clutch, and I have not been able to drive a manual-shift car. I have been working at physical therapy every day, and it has begun to pay dividends. Last week, I…
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Keith’s Blog: Flat Out
My son Bradley and I had spent two good-weather days driving a pair of our classics that were cumulatively more than a century old. On an atypically sunny Thursday and Friday, we put 100 miles each on the 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 and 1975 Porsche 911S. On Saturday, we were headed to an event with…
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Cars vs. Cash
We live in changing times. Which makes the passing of classic cars from one generation to the next a complicated issue. One of my children wants my Lotus Elise; the other, the narrow-body Porsche 911S. As a 1975 model, the 911 is already a classic, while the 19-year-old Elise is well on its way. Neither…
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Keith’s Blog: From GT to Sports Car
As I mentioned last week, it’s been a cold, wet miserable winter, even for Oregon. So when three days of bright, 60-degree sunshine came along, we “seized the moment.” After spending a day behind the wheel of the SCM 1971 Jaguar E-type, with its pre-emission 5.3-liter V12 and 272 horses, on Friday we opted for…