Keith Martin’s Adventures

In my previous two blogs I’ve shared by thoughts about the events leading up to a concours. Now we can turn to the event itself. First, I think concours can open for cars to arrive as early as feasible, but should ask for the last cars to enter the field by 8:30 a.m. For the…

I appreciated all your responses about how early a concours should start in last week’s blog. I’ve decided that this week I will give you more ideas for a concours weekend, based on the Forest Grove Concours template. I want to recognize that this will be the concours’ 53rd year, and it is the longest…

I was recently on a Zoom call with the advisory board of the Forest Grove Concours. Head of the board is Allen Stephens, whose father founded the event. It is celebrating its 53rd year, and considered the longest running concours in the Northwest. SCM alum Donald Osborne and I were co-emcees of the event for…

I continue pondering the Alfa Romeo 4C as a solution to my inability to drive our Lotus Elise, due to its 6-speed manual transmission. If I trade out of our Elise and into a 4C, two things will happen. First, it will somehow cost me around $15k. I’ve learned than whenever you sell one car…

I was recently at the AROC National Convention in Ogden, UT, where I gave a presentation about the evolution of Sports Car Market. Getting there and back involved a 2,000-mile trip in our 35-year-old 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider S4 automatic. But that’s a story for later. During my presentation, I explained that after my stroke…

We’re on the home stretch of our epic road trip in our 35-year-old Alfa S4 Spider, having just participated in the Alfa Romeo Owners Club national convention in Ogden, Utah. While I was there, I gave a presentation about SCM and the way the world of car collecting has changed in the past 38 years.  The…

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…