Keith Martin’s Adventures

When you read this, I’ll be on day two of my 1,500-mile caravan from Portland to the Alfa Romeo National Convention in Ogden, UT. I’ll be driving our 1991 Alfa Romeo S4 Spider. With just 30,000 original miles on it, it’s been a joy over the past six years and 4,000 miles. While it doesn’t…

At 8 a.m. on Monday, September 21, we will be at the Lewis and Clark rest stop just outside of Portland. There, we will join up with a group of Alfas coming from Seattle, lead by SCMer and road trip guru Fred Russell. Ahead of us is an eight-day back roads adventure. We will cover…

Last week we talked about the 25th annual Collector Car and Boat Show in Lake Oswego, OR. There were 200 cars and boats and 5,000 spectators. Best Open Car was awarded to a beautifully presented Beck Spyder. That’s a replica of a Porsche 550. And I’ve heard they drive beautifully. I asked your opinion about…

Last Sunday, the 25th annual Collector Car and Boat Show was held in Lake Oswego, Oregon. That’s a suburb of Portland and about fifteen minutes from my condo. It is organized by the nonprofit Oswego Heritage Council. One-hundred percent of the proceeds go to the Council, whose mission is to preserve and interpret Lake Oswego…

I’ve been going to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for more than 30 years. For a few of those, I was the emcee for part of the morning activities, interviewing owners who had cars entered. I have to confess that watching the livestream on YouTube actually gives me a better perspective on the field. (Not…

There may be many “Guides to Monterey,” but the SCM one is the best. It’s our 21st year of producing it, and in its 106 pages you’ll find event descriptions, hot tips and even recommendations on where to eat. Download it here. Monterey has changed post-pandemic. The past few years have seen a new generation…

Last week we began the story of driving our Porshe 911 C4S from Portland 244 miles down Interstate 5 to Grants Pass, OR, population 39,194. We were headed to Cruise The Rogue, the revival of a weekend-long car show that started in 1980, but had been dormant since 2020. The weekend is produced by Main…

Grants Pass, OR, is a city of 40,000, 244 miles south of Portland. The Rogue River, famous for its whitewater rafting, runs through it. But I wasn’t aware that it had a car culture that stretched back to 1988. So when information about car show named Cruise the Rogue popped into my inbox, I was…

This year marked the 52nd annual Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance. It is the longest running concours in the Pacific Northwest, held on the bucolic, tree-lined grounds of Pacific University. This concours has a mission. Every dollar raised goes directly towards Rotary Foundation Scholarships for students in the Forest Grove, Banks and Gaston school districts. To…