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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

Our winter has been cold and wet, even by Oregon standards, including some snow last month. With some sunny days in the forecast and temperatures above 50 degrees, I had dedicated last week to exercising our classics. As trickle chargers are not allowed by my condo homeowner association, I have […]

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about a low-miles (187 to be exact) 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL600 that sold for $193,500 on Bring a Trailer, including buyer’s premium. We remarked that this is no longer a car but an artifact. It’s unknown whether this car was “pickled” before it was […]

One of the great features of online auctions is their transparency.  You can see how many times a car has been listed, read all the comments for each listing, see what the previous high bid was and whether the car sold or not. Also, at least with Bring a Trailer, […]

There’s a new classic car tour here in the Pacific Northwest: The Emerald Invitational, conducted by Vintage Underground, a high-end restoration facility located in Eugene, OR. This is an all-inclusive tour, with accommodations and dining included, happening July 6 – 10. It’s limited to just 35 cars, built before 1974 […]