Jim’s Blog

March is finally here, which means Spring is starting to sneak into a few parts of the country. Portland has already had a few nice sunny days, and if you’re anything like me, that’s enough to make you want to pull out that muscle car that’s been in storage since September, find a straight stretch…

The ACC Nova has gone to a new home, and its empty parking spot at ACC HQ is starting to bother me. It’s time to fill it with something, and maybe you can help us find the right car for the job. The criteria: ACC wants something that our staff will take out and use…

ACC’s all about getting out and using our classic cars. Most of the time, that means picking a sunny day and hitting the road. But for vehicles like my old ’72 K10 4×4, sunny weather cruising is only part of the fun. It was designed to be a capable usable rig in all conditions, and…

Here we go: a week of auctions, over 2,500 cars for sale, and thousands of bidders and spectators. It’s Arizona time, and as you read this, the ACC team is on our way to the Valley of the Sun to cover this year’s events as they happen. Arizona is one of my favorite trips of…

It’s a new year, and the car season is about to get fired up in a big way. The annual Scottsdale auctions in January — Barrett-Jackson, Gooding, RM, Bonhams, Russo and Steele, and Silver — typically offer over 2,500 cars combined. Last year saw over 2,200 of them sell for a grand total exceeding $225m.…

Every issue of ACC includes five best buys — the cars our staff consider to be the best deals in each issue. For me, one of the best parts of reading the magazine is trying to pick the cars I would have bought had I been standing among the bidders at each auction. I can’t…

Do car people like sweaters and socks as gifts for the holidays? Sure. Is that what they really want? Nope. If you’re hunting for that perfect car-related item for the motorhead on your list, ACC is here to help. Here’s a list of five cool and useful items to consider: A good flashlight: I’ve said…

Drag racing is a funny thing. It doesn’t matter how fast your car goes — you always want to go faster, and that usually comes down to how much cash you have in your pocket. But you can pick up time by making the most of the parts you already have, and while that still…

Here at ACC and SCM, we keep a small collection of old cars around for our staffers to drive. In addition to that, most of the people who work here also have classics of their own, so there’s almost always an old car up and running somewhere nearby. Since launching ACC two years ago, we’ve…

It’s a great time to be a car guy. While the ’70s and ’80s more or less killed the muscle car, technology has brought it back to life, and from where we sit now, the big three continue to pump out progressively more powerful monsters every year. There are a lot of really great modern…