Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Keith Martin
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Kirkland Concours d’Elegance Moving to LeMay—America’s Car Museum
Imagine the possibilities when the magnificent automobiles that the Kirkland Concours is known for are combined with the vast LeMay collection. Beginning September 2012, the Kirkland Concours d’Elegance will take place on the showfield at LeMay—America’s Car Museum showfield. Following a transition period, LeMay is to become the official steward of the long-running concours, and will…
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Keith’s Blog: A Plastic Fantastic Weekend in Effingham
16,000 Corvettes. That’s just about 128,000 cylinders – and these aren’t your puny little thimble-sized European cylinders. These are the size of wine bottles. One of the pleasures of being publisher of our sister publication, Corvette Market, is that a few times each year I get to immerse myself completely in the world of America’s…
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Keith’s Blog: “Working Girls” at the Kirkland Concours, and Another Affordable Classic Search
We’re just back from the 9th Annual Kirkland Concours, and my 8th as morning host and co-emcee with Ed Herrmann for the awards ceremony. The weather was sunny, and in fact a record-breaking high temperature in the 90s was recorded. If I’d swathed myself in Saran Wrap under my sportcoat and tie, I surely could…
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Keith’s Blog: Back Home Again, In Indiana
We finished our first day of shooting at Auctions America by RM in Auburn,Indiana, and for me it was a typical love-fest of driving old cars. During the day, I got the chance to evaluate and drive a 1966 Shelby GT350H with just 20 miles on a fresh restoration (oddly heavy steering, high idle (1,200 rpms), spongy brakes,…
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A “B-Ticket” Ride
Old cars are admission tickets to old car events. You can’t go on the Mille Miglia unless you have a pre-1958 car similar to one that was raced in the event. Pre-1968 Alfa convertibles are the preferred ride for the local Alfa Club’s annual “Old Spider Tour.” Think horses for courses. So when the National…
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Keith’s Blog: Puerto Vallarta and Potty Humor
Wendie and I are just back from the Mexican coast near Puerto Vallarta. Our five-day trip was a much-needed respite after the maddening crowds of Monterey. We arrived at the airport and picked up a new Jeep Wrangler, equipped with a delightful and economical V6 engine and a 6-speed gearbox. It turned out to be…
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Keith’s Blog: Monterey – Where Million-Dollar Cars Are Falling Like Leaves from a Tree
It’s Sunday night at 7pm, and I’m sitting in the Gooding tent watching a 1932 Alfa Romeo 1750 Series V Zagato-bodied Grand Sport hammer sold at $1.4m. Now, in most situations, that would seem like a lot of money. But this weekend, it’s just another million-dollar car. It takes something like a Mercedes 540K at…
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Keith’s Corner: Bicycle Crashes into Alfa GTV; Everyone Loses
Could it be any more ironic? Our family (Wendie, Bradley, Drew, and me) had just finished the annual Portland Bridge Pedal. Once a year, the freeways around the city are closed down, and close to 20,000 enthusiasts wearing tight shorts and jerseys grab their bicycles and go for a pedal. (I might say that a…
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Compelled to Collect
With Monterey just around the corner, collectors’ thoughts have shifted from the restore-and-refurbish activities of winter to the buying and selling of summer. While car transactions happen year round, there’s no doubt they attract more attention in the warm months—and the most attention of all in August. For me, there was a time, more…
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Keith’s Corner: Off-Road Rovers, On-Road Porsches, and a Sinking Boat
We tried to sneak away for a few days, to recharge our batteries before the Monterey whirlwind. The Martin family spent four days at Morrow County OHV Park in central Oregon. With six motorcycles and a scooter, the days were spent cruising and crashing on one-track trails; at night we gathered around the barbecue pit and…